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Take Down (Jan-1979)

Director: Kieth Merrill

Writers: Eric Hendershot; Kieth Merrill

Keywords: Sports Drama, Wrestling

NameOccupationBirthDeathKnown for
Stephen Furst
Actor
8-May-1955 16-Jun-2017 Vir on Babylon 5
Edward Herrmann
Actor
21-Jul-1943 31-Dec-2014 Richard Gilmore on Gilmore Girls
Kevin Hooks
Film Director
19-Sep-1958   Passenger 57
Lorenzo Lamas
Actor
20-Jan-1958   Renegade
Kathleen Lloyd
Actor
13-Sep-1948   It Lives Again
Maureen McCormick
Actor
5-Aug-1956   Marcia on The Brady Bunch

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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