Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe) longs to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional ice hockey star, and break away from his life on the family farm. Although he has the ability, he worries that he may not succeed and end up back on the farm like his brother Kelly (Kim Youngs), who had also tried ... Read review
Handsome young men whack each other in the face with sticks and learn about life ... more
inYoungblood, an enjoyably silly hockey movie. Rob Lowe stars as Dean Youngblood, an American rookie who's been given a shot on a Canadian Junior League hockey team. Sure,...
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Handsome young men whack each other in the face with sticks and learn about life ... more
inYoungblood, an enjoyably silly hockey movie. Rob Lowe stars as Dean Youngblood, an American rookie who's been given a shot on a Canadian Junior League hockey team. Sure,...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Are you ready for exhilarating speed, invigorating competition and skating s sharp=edged ... more
you can feel the ice spreading in your face? Then prepare yourself for Youngblood! Showcasing the talents of Lowe (Bad Influence, TV's The West Wing) and Swayze (R...
Seventeen year old Dean Youngblood (Lowe) has out-skated just about everybody since he was ... more
six. Now he's set his sights toward National Hockey League fame with the ragtag Hamilton Mustangs an amateur Canadian team just across the border from his famil...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Handsome young men whack each other in the face with sticks and learn about life ... more
inYoungblood, an enjoyably silly hockey movie. Rob Lowe stars as Dean Youngblood, an American rookie who's been given a shoton a Canadian Junior League hockey team. Sure, he can skate, but can he take a punch? This coming-of-age story is about learning the beauty of vicious hockey fights. No, really. Containing both young-bucks-in-the-locker-room shots and plenty of hockey violence,Youngbloodis a surprisingly entertaining cupcake of a movie--there's not much nourishment, but it sure tastes good. Watch for Patrick Swayze as the team's leader and Keanu Reeves in his first film role as the French-Canadian goalie. --Ali Davis
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Advantages: Lowe, Swayze and good action Disadvantages: Predictable sports storyline
Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe) longs to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional ice hockey star, and break away from his life on the family farm. Although he has the ability, he worries that he may not succeed and end up back on the farm like his brother Kelly (Kim Youngs), who had also tried to become a professional ice hockey star, only to return to the farm a broken man after loosing the sight in one eye. So after some cajoling and encouragement ... ...experience with his land lady, Youngblood soon provides his worth and settles into the team. All but briefly, as he finds himself on the wrong side of the team's coach, when he is caught romancing his daughter and is unfairly dumped on the bench. After he sees his friend and mentor Derek (Patrick Swayze) seriously injured by an opposing player, Youngblood looses his nerve and flees back to the farm. Where he is given a stern talking too by his brother ... more
Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe) longs to fulfill his dream of becoming a professional ice hockey star, and break away from his life on the family farm. Although he has the ability, he worries that he may not succeed and end up back on the farm like his brother Kelly (Kim Youngs), who had also tried to become a professional ice hockey star, only to return to the farm a broken man after loosing the sight in one eye. So after some cajoling and encouragement from Kelly, Dean tries out for a small team in the Canadian league, earning his position after beating Racki (George Finn) a huge violent player into the final team slot.
After suffering an embarrassing initiation from his new 'jock' team mates and an eye opening experience with his land lady, Youngblood soon provides his worth and settles into the team. All but briefly, as he finds himself on the wrong side of the team's coach, when he is caught romancing his daughter and is unfairly dumped on the bench. After he sees his friend and mentor Derek (Patrick Swayze) seriously injured by an opposing player, Youngblood looses his nerve and flees back to the farm. Where he is given a stern talking too by his brother and given a lesson in toughening up by his father, before he is sent back to the hockey team to try and make things right.
More often than not, sports movies follow the same predictable storyline that the lead role tries to make good, comes up against a seemingly unmovable opponent, feels that they're doomed never to win and then comes back to beat the opposition and be the hero of the piece. Sad to say, but Youngblood is no different to any of the other hundreds of sport based movies which fill the shelves of the shops, but saying that, I love this film. Prior to this, the only real film of any notoriety, based around the sport of Ice Hockey, was Slapshot, which focused more on the brutal side of the sport, where as Youngblood focuses on the story of a player rising to victory and conquering his fears. Along with this you have the casting of 2 Hollywood stars in lead roles before they got sucked in to making main stay Hollywood crowd pleasers.
As I have already mentioned, the main part of the plot follows a tried and tested formula which any fans of sports orientated movies such as Rocky and Cinderella Man will be more than familiar with, but as the saying goes "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". So with a predictable plot, is there anything extra in the story to hold your attention? Well yes, there is a romance between Youngblood and the coach's daughter, which although not entirely original, gives the film some extra depth. Plus you get the funny storyline of Youngblood getting an initiation from not only his team mates but also his randy land lady. Okay, so there is nothing breathtakingly new in any part of the story line, but fans of succeed over adversity style movies will enjoy this.
In the lead role of Dean Youngblood is a young Rob Lowe (St Elmo's Fire) who has been brilliantly cast as the young hockey star. I say brilliantly cast, because part of Youngblood's character is that he is not a rough player, who fears being seriously hurt and that is demonstrated not only by Lowe's good looks, but through some very good acting skill. Opposite him is Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing) as Derek his friend and ice hockey mentor. This film came in what I would call a transitional phase for Swayze, as he was moving out of low budget action flicks and the year before he reached stardom with Dirty Dancing. Although there is no serious depth to the character of Derek, Swayze comes over very convincingly not only as a sports 'jock' but also as a hockey player, as did Rob Lowe. Out of all the supporting cast, there are two which deserve a mention. Firstly there is the team's coach, Murray Chadwick played by Ed Lauter (Seabiscuit) who plays the snarling coach down to a tee. Along with this you have his daughter, Jessie, played by Cynthia Gibb (Fame - TV series) who provides the love interest for Dean, and you can honestly see the chemistry between them. Other notable appearances in the film come from Fionnula Flanagan (Waking Ned) and a very young Keanu Reeves (The Matrix) in only his third movie role.
Youngblood is directed by Peter Markle who more recently has directed episodes of CSI and Numb3rs. Although he hasn't done anything remarkable to lift this above any other similar sports film, he has delivered a film with some very good sports action sequences and some very moody effects. What is quite surprising is that the dialogue is not full of the cliché comments which usually litter sports movies, and the delivery of the dialogue comes over as very real. As the film was made in the mid 80s, it is no surprise that the soundtrack has songs from prominent bands such as Starship and Mr. Mister, which for anyone who has fond memories of the 80s is an additional bonus.= The Cast =======Rob Lowe .... Dean Youngblood Patrick Swayze .... Derek Sutton Cynthia Gibb .... Jessie Chadwick Ed Lauter .... Murray Chadwick Jim Youngs .... Kelly Youngblood Eric Nesterenko .... Blane Youngblood George J. Finn .... Racki (as George Finn) Fionnula Flanagan .... Miss McGill Keanu Reeves .... Heaver Martin Donlevy .... Hannah Referee Racki …. George Finn======= Technical Details =============Certificate: 15 Length: 110 mins Year: 1986======= Bonus Material =============No surprise really seeing that this movie was made back in 1986 that there are no extras other than some trailers.========== Conclusion & Rating ================Youngblood may follow the same plot that many other more popular sports movies have followed, but it is still a very enjoyable watch. With the emphasis being on the story rather than the sports action, it has some nice touches of humour to accompany the drama. I feel that this is a much overlooked gem that is easily comparable to the much more popular sports films such as the acclaimed Rocky and the recently released The Cinderella Man. Of course this will appeal to fans of sports movies but will also appeal to fans of both Rob Lowe and Patrick Swayze, as you get to see them before they really hit it big.
Youngblood is available on Amazon for £5.97 which is more than reasonable for a very enjoyable movie, especially as they have cleaned up and improved the quality of the print for the DVD release.
= Trivia =======
Keanu Reeves had hockey experience upon being cast, having been MVP and nicknamed "The Wall" for his goaltending capabilities at De La Salle's college team in Toronto. Patrick Swayze had been trained as a figure skater but never played hockey, and 'Rob Lowe' had to be taught to ice skate before filming began. - Courtesy of IMDB
NB. This review also appears at www.maximovie.co.uk
Advantages: Dramatic and Sexy! Disadvantages: None really!
...Fire) plays hockey player Dean Youngblood in this 1986 movie. The film opens with a touching home movie of Dean and his older brother playing hockey as youngsters. Much to his Dad's dismay, Youngblood joins hockey team the Hamilton Mustangs. Dean is fast on the ice and we soon see him trying to be just as fast with his new team mates when it comes to alcohol - there are some funny moments here (watch th efilm to see!). Obviously, there needs to be ... ...ice. Firstly, Youngblood gets some action with his landlady (she welcomes all new team members in a very friendly way!) before falling in love with Jessie who happens to be the team coach's daughter (palyed byCynthia Gibb - The Karen Carpenter story star). This doesn't go down well with the Coack so this romance has to be kept secret! BVesides the romance, the main theme is Youngblood's friendship with Derek (played by Patrick Swayze -Dirty Dancing) ...
sarahbooke 25.04.2005
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Youngblood (DVD)
Advantages: Classic 80's fodder Disadvantages: Standard sports film storyline
I guess the target market for this DVD release would be the now (late)-30 somethings who fondly remember this film from their various misspend youths. Certainly that was how I picked up the film as this formed a vast amount of my video and film watching time back when I was a teenager. "Youngblood" tells the story of Dean Youngblood, a talented young ice hockey player who is desperate to leave the impoverished farm he works with his father and older ... ...Canadian youth team, the Hamilton Mustangs, he impresses the coach, Murray Chadwick, with his speed and skill but not so much with his size and strength. When the rough and ready Racki, a formidable rival trialist kicks Dean all over the ice it looks like Dean may not get the call up he so wants. Still all's well that ends well and Dean makes the team and gets to meet his new teammates, who strip and shave him. He also encounters Miss McGill his ...
etala 05.07.2006 (19.09.2006)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Youngblood (DVD)
A sensitive young farm boy, fights against all the odds as he struggles to survive in the often brutal sport of ice hockey.
Release details
DVD Region
DVD
Studio(s)
MGM ENTERTAINMENT; CINRAM LOGISTICS
Release date
12/01/2004
No of Discs
1
Catalogue No
10001008
Barcode
5050070020083
Languages
Main Language
English
Technical information
Special Features
Trailer
Sound
Stereo
Dubbing Sound
Stereo English
DVD Description
Dean Youngblood (Rob Lowe), a sensitive young farm boy, leaves behind a humdrum life on his father's farm to fulfill his dream, and that of his blind brother, of becoming a star of the skates and stick in the ice hockey team. As he gets the stuffing kicked out of him in the first games and practices, he learns he will need more than ambition and confidence to prove himself in this cold-hearted arena. He soon falls in love with the daughter of his no-nonsense coach, which lies at odds with the fighting which is a necessity in the sport for him to be noticed by professional hockey scouts. He believes he has what it takes to make it in the no-excuses world of professional ice hockey. YOUNGBLOOD also features a mulleted Patrick Swayze and an early appearance from Keanu Reeves.
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