Product Description

A small town blanketed on the Midwest plains, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma has prospered despite dust bowls and oil busts that left many cities barren. Thriving on the town’s perseverance and pioneering spirit is the school’s marching band – The Pride of Broken Arrow.

Despite their humble beginnings, the Broken Arrow band has become one of the nation’s dominating forces in the competitive world of marching band. This candid documentary reveals how these young musicians and their teachers come to understand the power of tradition, the depth of their character and the undeniable force of destiny that will push them towards the pinnacle of their season - Grand Nationals in Indianapolis, Indiana.

The Pride of Broken Arrow is a refreshing and inspirational look into a quintessential American drama.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #77801 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-01-24
• Formats: Dolby, NTSC
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 74 minutes

Review
...The filmmakers took great care to capture the full range of emotions that makes up a band season: the staff's stress of creating a competitive show, the students' joy of knowing they gave a great performance, everyone's anticipation of waiting for the announcement of scores. Yes, the film has components you might expect in a band movie, such as performance clips and examples of stamina required when the directors ask the students to rehearse it one more time. The Pride of Broken Arrow DVD But the film goes deeper and is also filled with the unexpected. Most striking is the fact that the cameras had complete behind-the-scenes access. You go into the staff room during planning sessions and hear candid conversations among the directors both before and after competitions. The viewer gets an inside view of the process required to create a world-class marching band program. That candid access is part of what makes the film special, according to band director Scott Tomlinson. "They were at all of our private staff meetings, competitions and some of our homes. After a while, we forgot they were even filming," Tomlinson explains. "I think the finished film illustrates the difficult decisions that we have to make as a staff and that those moments can't be taught in music education classes." After viewing the DVD, you'll want to dig into the extra features including deleted scenes and a commentary featuring extra insight from the people making and featured in the film. It's a band fan's dream to know that filmmakers invested so much energy to deliver a professional "reality" program centered on the world of marching band. The end product is a timeless look at life lessons learned in marching band: you can't control another band's performance, but you can control your own. And ... competition drives us to new levels of excellence... --marching.com

Review
...We are introduced to the Broken Arrow High School Marching Band at the Bands of America Grand National Championships--the airlock door opens to reveal them right before they enter the field. The sense of pure wonderment in this scene is amazing. Who are these kids? What got them here? "The Pride of Broken Arrow" is an intriguing film that looks at the lives of the teachers, students, and parents involved with one of this nation's finest high school bands. In what seems like such a simple staff meeting, we learn that the directors and instructors are faced with a dilemma: to come up with one of the most exciting, challenging, and inventive shows to ever be performed. But is everyone on board? The film does not give us easy answer. From the local paper that thinks the band never has any "fun", to a kid who has a passion for playing the trumpet yet hates to march, being a part of "The Pride" seems to have more to do with pride than we think. This especially holds true when the kids learn that a fellow student has died, yet have to remain focused for a show. With unflinching honesty, this film takes you on a journey of ups and downs and all around. (How fitting is it that the theme of their field show is, The Ride of Your Life ?) It s heartfelt, it s unique, and it will challenge your notions of what high school marching band is all about. I highly, highly recommend this film to anyone who has ties to pageantry, for this film will truly inspire... --Alan Irons - worldofpageantry.com

Customer Reviews

Poor Documentary: Skip it...
Having actually marched with this truly remarkable band (under Ken Grass and Tom Stout), for several years in the early 80's, I read these other reviews with great excitement. However, upon viewing this DVD, I was honestly shocked at the poor editing and amateur cinematography. The film's focus is largely on the teaching staff, and has very little to do with the high school band members. To put it bluntly, it's actually quite boring. And I must telll you, not once do you get to view the entire half-time show, RIDE OF YOUR LIFE, which for any audience member will leave you dissatisfied. I feel the directors of this film completely and totally failed to convey the marching band experience. My advice is to skip this "flatline" recording, and order the latest DVD from your favorite Drum and Bugle Corp. It will probably cost you a few dollars less, and you'll more than get your dose of inspiration for the day.

Amazing and True
This is an amazing story of hope and passion. Everyone in this movie strives to overcome great obsticles just to share the passion that they have with others. Perfect for any music lover!

AMAZING!!!
If your a hardcore Marching Band fan, this is the dvd for you

There just aren't enough titles out there dealing with real bands with real people. The documentary really captures the spirit of marching band and makes the veiwer feel like they've experienced the Marching Band Season right alongside the Pride