Entertainment Weekly
"[A] stringent, stirring real-life drama....Directed with smart, documentary-style briskness..." 10/15/2004 p.50-1USA Today
"One of the best football movies ever, NIGHTS in the end celebrates the game." 10/08/2004 p.1E New York Times
"FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS is uplifting and troubling, partly because it is more honest than most sports movies about the high cost and short life span of high school football glory." 10/08/2004 p.E8 USA Today
"The FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS team has invested a lot of energy in the authenticity of the on-field action that dominates the film." 10/08/2004 p.E1 Rolling Stone
"Thornton gets inside the coach's skin. It's a subtle, soulful performance..." 10/28/2004 p.108 Premiere
"The movie's football scenes are both realistic and exciting, with genuine moments of suspense 03/01/2005 p.106 Sight and Sound
"Imbued with the aching sadness of an end-of-summer's evening, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS has more in common with Peter Bogdanovich's THE LAST PICTURE SHOW...than other American football films..." 06/01/2005 p.53 Uncut
"[With] hard-tackling action, this is a solid effort from actor-turned-director Peter Berg." 10/01/2005 p.150 | 
