The Pistol The Birth of a Legend
January 2006 Reviewed by: Josh Barber Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

While "Pistol" Pete Maravich had an outstanding career in both college and professional basketball, The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend forsakes both of those periods in his career to focus, as its title suggests, on an earlier point in his life. Eighth grade, in fact. Son of former player and then-coach Press Maravich (Nick Benedict), Pete (Adam Guier) has an interest in basketball instilled in him from a young age. He often cuts class to practice in the gym, and when the school's varsity coach sees his dedication, he offers Pete a spot on the team.

A rather slight child, Pete's skill comes not from innate talent but through practice and dedication. His new teammates dislike him because he's both younger and better than they are, and the only time he leaves the bench is when it's time to head back into the locker room. Pete has to decide just how important sticking with the sport is.

The film's major flaw lies with its acting. While Adam Guier is a whiz with the b-ball, his dribbling is much more impressive than his dialogue delivery. The somewhat wooden acting can detract from the story, and so can the generic, early-'90s rock played over montages that are supposed to take place in 1959.

Pistol came out in 1991 and looks about as good as you'd expect for a movie that's 15 years old. It's slightly grainy and a bit soft overall, but colors are vibrant and the blacks are dark. Some details get lost in shadow, but not enough to really detract from your enjoyment.

There's a lot of center-channel dialogue in this film, but the basketball games really come to life, with the hectic, echoing din coming from everywhere. The audio isn't particularly flashy, but it works well for the story.

Two of the producers are present for a feature-length commentary track in which they cover the usual ground: how the story was filmed, what had to be cut, how they got the most out of their budget, and the like. They also discuss their meetings with the real "Pistol" Pete at length. There is a four-minute selection of trivia about Maravich, a listing of his multitudinous records, a 15-minute making-of featurette and ten minutes of bloopers and deleted scenes.

Overall, The Pistol: The Birth of a Legend is similar to recent Disney sports movies: the tale is inspirational and filmed well, but the acting is wooden and everything wraps up in a nice package topped by a big feel-good bow right at the end. That doesn't mean this is a bad movie, and you don't have to be a sports fan to enjoy it. Just rent it before you buy.

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