When the Game Stands Tall

When the Game Stands Tall is a drama based on real events. It follows Bob Ladouceur, who takes charge of the football program at De La Salle High School in Concord, California, a team with no winning tradition behind it. Over time he, his wife Bev and his assistant Terry Eidson build the players into a national powerhouse whose long unbeaten run became a record in American sport. The central conflict lies less in the winning than in carrying the weight of a streak everyone expects to continue, and in the relationships between the coach, his staff and the young men in his care.

Thomas Carter directed the film, which he made after Coaching Carter, a 2005 film, and Gifted Hands: The Ben Carson Story from 2009; his directing career began with Swing Kids in 1993, Metro in 1997 and Save the Last Dance in 2001. David Zelon produced, and the screenplay was written by Zelon and Scott Marshall Smith. Jim Caviezel plays Ladouceur, with Michael Chiklis as Eidson and Laura Dern as Bev Ladouceur. Clancy Brown, Ser'Darius Blain and Stephan James appear among a credited cast of 67.

Released in August 2014, the film runs 115 minutes and was made for about 15 million dollars, taking roughly twice that amount worldwide. Its ratings sit in the middle range: 6.6 out of 10 on IMDb from around 18,000 votes and 6.7 out of 10 on TMDB from far fewer voters, while the critics' score of 4.6 out of 10 reflects a noticeably cooler response than that of audiences.