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Take Down (Jan-1979)
Director: Kieth Merrill Writers: Eric Hendershot; Kieth Merrill Keywords: Sports Drama, Wrestling
REVIEWS Review by Anonymous (posted on 8-Jun-2007) INSPIRATIONAL & MOTIVATIONAL. Some of us come into this life at a
disadvantage: poor, ignored, shunned, and often "written off" as
irrelevant. Others come into this world with the proverial "silver
spoon" in their mouths. They are the rich, the welcomed, the sought
after, and often looked at as leaders. The students at Mingo Junction
High School are the poor and irrelevant. The students at Rockville High
are the rich and the well-connected leaders. What does it take to
succeed in life? Well, the movie TAKE DOWN has the answer. This
inspirational film should be viewed by all students in this great
country of ours. Keith Merrill teaches us that the underlying
principles of success in this life are focus, conditioning,
perseverance, and "The Action of the Tiger" which refers to one's
education; it is the "lever" by which anyone who uses it levels the
playing field regardless of your status. Wrestling is a metaphor of the
sturggles we must endure to succeed. We often must pit ourselves
against opponents who are much bigger and stronger than we are. But
using the underlying principles of life, we can adapt and overcome. Our
handicaps in life become irrelevant. The Mingo Junction wrestling team
learns these principles and applies them. They quickly become one of
the best in the state. Their objective: to beat the state champions:
Rockville High. The climax of the movie show these two schools vying
for the recognition as the Best In The State. They quickly lose one
match after another to Rockville. They learn that losing battles does
not mean the war is lost. They regoup after they win a match midway
through the meet. They "find their rhythm" - another metaphor in the
movie - and close the score with Rockville. All they have worked for
comes down to the final match between Nick Kilvitis and the unbeaten
Rockville wrestler: a much bigger and stronger opponent. Then ending
will bring tears to your eyes. It did mine. I implore any educator out
there - particularly if you teach one of our at-risk schools - watch
this movie and see if you cannot put it (or its principles) to use in
your classroom. The movie is very entertaining while, at the same time,
teaching important values to our youth. You may run into some problems
with the movie's rating: PG. This rating is misleading. Keith Merrill
purposely put this rating into his movie in order to attract a larger
audience. The PG rating was achieved by one single phrase "...son of a
bitch." This phrase was so cleverly disguised, I doubt you will every
find it.
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