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MOVIES / ON DVD / THE CHAMP
The Champ

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The Champ (1979)

42%
N/A
66%
N/A
N/A
N/A
42 %
Reviews Counted: 19 Fresh: 8  Rotten:11 Average Rating: 5.1/10
Runtime: 2 hrs 2 mins
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 with his idolizing son, T.J. (Ricky Schroder). Billy has drinking and gambling problems, but... [More]
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. [Less]

Genre: Dramas

Starring: Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Arthur Hill, Jack Warden, Rick Schroder

Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Producer: Dyson Lovell
Screenwriter: Walter Newman
Story: Frances Marion
Composer: Dave Grusin

DVD Info

Release:

Jul 9, 2002

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Region 1
  • Snap Case
  • Anamorphic Widescreen - 1.85
  • Single Side - Dual Layer

Additional Release Material:

  • Audio Commentary - 1. Jon Voight - Star, Ricky Schroder - Star
  • Featurette - 1. Behind the Scenes

Text/Galleries:

  • Film Highlights - 1. Cast

Buy It On DVD

Reviews

 
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No review available.

| Comment
12/01/07 05:20 PM
Cole Smithey
ColeSmithey.com
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Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
08/24/07 03:15 AM
Christian Science Monitor
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A three-alarm, three-hanky movie of the highest order, perfect for your kids who don't get to see many truly sad films.

Full Review | Comment
04/01/07 06:52 PM
Michael Booth
Denver Post
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
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The original film took 85 minutes, this one 121; the extra length has not improved the story.

Full Review | Comment
04/01/07 06:51 PM
TV Guide's Movie Guide
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The tear-jerking is so determined and persistent that your ducts feel as if they'd been worked over with a catheter.

Full Review | Comment
04/01/07 06:49 PM
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
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No review available.

| Comment
03/29/06 02:25 PM
Lori Hoffman
Atlantic City Weekly
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A pointless update of King Vidor's '30s weepie.

Full Review | Comment
02/09/06 03:16 AM
Geoff Andrew
Time Out
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No review available.

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07/07/05 12:33 AM
Emanuel Levy
EmanuelLevy.Com
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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.

Full Review | Comment
05/09/05 03:15 AM
Vincent Canby
New York Times
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Pale remake of Wally Berry classic.

| Comment
01/04/05 01:15 PM
Steve Crum
Kansas City Kansan
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Voight is fine as boxer on a comeback, but Ricky Schroeder steals the film. I dare you not to cry!

| Comment
11/11/04 12:32 PM
Michael A. Smith
Nolan's Pop Culture Review
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No review available.

| Comment
08/27/04 11:54 AM
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal
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No review available.

| Comment
07/23/04 05:56 PM
John Esther
Pasadena Weekly
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review | Comment
06/13/04 08:16 AM
Jimmy O
Film Snobs
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No review available.

| Comment
03/27/04 10:28 AM
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat
Spirituality and Practice
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I admit it. I cried.

| Comment
02/13/04 12:38 PM
Victoria Alexander
FilmsInReview.com
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No review available.

| Comment
10/02/03 03:48 AM
James O'Ehley
Sci-Fi Movie Page
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Seek out the 1931 King Vidor version.

| Comment
08/21/03 08:49 AM
Ken Hanke
Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
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Even more of a tear-jerker than the 1931 version of the same story, there is not a dry eye on the screen.

Full Review | Comment
05/24/03 08:11 AM
Channel 4 Film
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Great performance from Jon Voight and Rick Schroeder

| Comment
02/19/03 12:17 AM
Kevin Fiddler
Henderson Home News (Henderson, NV)
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