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The Champ (1979)
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Reviews Counted:20
Fresh:8
Rotten:12
Average Rating:5.1/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: This solid tearjerker fits into the pantheon of 1970s cinema as sort of a ROCKY meets KRAMER VS. KRAMER. John Voight plays Billy, an ex-champ boxer who now works at the Hialeah racetrack in Florida... This solid tearjerker fits into the pantheon of 1970s cinema as sort of a ROCKY meets KRAMER VS. KRAMER. John Voight plays Billy, an ex-champ boxer who now works at the Hialeah racetrack in Florida with his idolizing son, T.J. (Ricky Schroder). Billy has drinking and gambling problems, but still manages to be a loving single father until the boy's long lost mother (Faye Dunaway) shows up wanting her son back, and the emotional showdown begins. It all leads up to a thrilling comeback fight, and lots of tears for all concerned. This was director Franco Zeffirelli's first feature filmed in America, and he put his Florida locations to inspired use. The supporting cast is filled with lots of familiar faces, including Elija Cook, Jack Warden and Joan Blondell. Still, this is basically a three-character piece, and they are each amazing: Voight is fearlessly raw and vulnerable as Billy; Schroder--only nine at the time--projects incredible emotion and charm, and Dunaway brings a great blend of glamour and insecurity to her role as the deadbeat mother who, just like Billy, wants a second chance at redemption. [More]
Starring: Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Arthur Hill, Jack Warden
Starring: Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Arthur Hill, Jack Warden, Rick Schroder, Strother Martin, Joan Blondell, Mary Jo Catlett, Elisha Cook
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Producer: Dyson Lovell
Screenwriter: Walter Newman
Story: Frances Marion
Composer: Dave Grusin
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Reviews for The Champ
A three-alarm, three-hanky movie of the highest order, perfect for your kids who don't get to see many truly sad films.
The original film took 85 minutes, this one 121; the extra length has not improved the story.
The tear-jerking is so determined and persistent that your ducts feel as if they'd been worked over with a catheter.
The most offputting thing about such canny, tear-stained movies as The Champ is not their naïveté but their unholy sophistication. These movies don't mean to deal with the world as it really is, but as it should be.
Voight is fine as boxer on a comeback, but Ricky Schroeder steals the film. I dare you not to cry!
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 15% 15% | The Ugly Truth |
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 36% 36% | G.I. Joe: The Rise of … |
| 52% 52% | The Taking of Pelham 1… |
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 45% 45% | Shorts |
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