Friday Night Lights

My Best Buy copy of Friday Night Lights came bundled with the best DVD extra I've ever seen: the classic H.G. Bissinger book that chronicled a heartbreaking high school football season in Odessa, Texas and found bracing life in Peter Berg's adaptation last fall. But such a generous marketing masterstroke (still just $15!) is only one extra in this package that examines the translation from life to page, from page to screen, the collaboration between cousins Bissinger and Berg, and the moments of dramatic license perfectly in tune with the spirit of the book.

"Friday Night Lights" stirred up a lot of controversy because of the lines Bissinger drew, from the racism and economic despair that defined Odessa to its Permian Panthers football program (in 1988, arguably the most successful sports program in the United States). Berg drew some flak for taming Bissinger's darker findings -- the extent of sexual favors the players received, their above the law status, how Permian promoted football to the detriment of academics, and especially the racial conflicts -- but Bissinger, in his lengthy, animated, and often self-aggrandizing chat with Berg on the commentary track, points to Berg's matter-of-fact touch with a drop of the "N word," a black coach from a rival school saying "It's just different."

Such moments typify Berg's artful condensation of greater sociological findings about Odessa, its people, and the importance of every snap into compact dramatic moments verified by the DVD extras. "The Story of the 1988 Permian Panthers" catches up with the players the film focuses on, particularly Boobie Miles, Permian's superstar running back whose whole life changed with a single snap of his knee. Not even Derek Luke's devastating breakdown in a car can match the real Miles losing himself in his recollected glories and trying to grin through a disappointment he re-lives every single day.

Berg and Bissinger's commentary digs deepest though, analyzing the film's creative synthesis practically scene by scene, with Bissinger roundly praising Berg's visualization of Odessa life while pointing out differences from "the real book." Bissinger eventually tells Berg flat-out that the movie is "almost as good as the book." Arrogant? Sure. But also completely true and just about the highest compliment you can give Friday Night Lights. This is a great film done right on DVD. -- Joey Tayler