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Movies / On DVD / The Legend of Bagger Vance
The Legend of Bagger Vance

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The Legend of Bagger Vance (1999)

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Reviews Counted:32

Fresh:12

Rotten:20

Average Rating:4.7/10

Consensus: Despite the talent involved in The Legend of Bagger Vance, performances are hindered by an inadequate screenplay full of flat characters and bad dialogue. Also, not much happens, and some critics are offended by how the film glosses over issues of racism.

Rated: PG-13 [See Full Rating] some sexual content

Runtime: 2 hrs 7 mins

Genre: Dramas

Theatrical Release:Nov 3, 2000 Wide

Box Office: $30,366,277

Synopsis: THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE, based on the book of the same title by Steve Pressfield, uses golf as the basis for this spiritual tale of friendship, self-discovery, and faith. His incredible prowess... THE LEGEND OF BAGGER VANCE, based on the book of the same title by Steve Pressfield, uses golf as the basis for this spiritual tale of friendship, self-discovery, and faith. His incredible prowess at the game of golf makes young Rannulph Junuh (Matt Damon) the pride of Savannah, Georgia in 1916. When Junuh enlists and is sent overseas to fight in World War I, the reality of war proves too much for him. Rather than return to Savannah a broken man, he simply disappears, much to the dismay of his girlfriend, feisty socialite Adele Invergordon (Charlize Theron). When Junuh finally does return to Savannah in 1931, he is coerced into representing his hometown in a golf tournament against legends Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen. But Junuh has lost his swing, and only begins to find it again with the help of Bagger Vance (Will Smith), a mysterious drifter who appears out of the night and offers his services as a caddy. Ultimately, Vance is a spiritual force, teaching Junuh not only about the game, but also about life in this beautifully filmed work directed by Robert Redford (ORDINARY PEOPLE, THE HORSE WHISPERER). Jack Lemmon narrates and makes a brief appearance in the film. [More]

Starring: Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Dermot Crowley

Starring: Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron, Dermot Crowley, Joel Gretsch, Jack Lemmon, Bruce McGill, Karen Moncrieff, Danny Nelson, Michael O'Neill, Harve Presnell, Carrie Preston, Thomas Jay Ryan, Lane Smith

Director: Robert Redford

Director: Robert Redford
Screenwriter: Richard LaGravenese, Jeremy Leven
Producer: Jake Eberts, Robert Redford, Michael Nozik
Composer: Rachel Portman
Studio: DreamWorks Distribution LLC

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Release:

Apr 3, 2001

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Reviews for The Legend of Bagger Vance

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N/R

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Full Review Source: New York Observer | comment Comment
04/27/07
Andrew Sarris
Andrew Sarris
New York Observer
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Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
03/22/02
Globe and Mail
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Another lusciously produced, emotionally clammy Redford enterprise -- forced, phony mythmaking filled with tinged sunsets and full moons.

Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
05/21/01
Peter Rainer
Peter Rainer
New York Magazine
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Full Review Source: Rolling Stone | comment Comment
05/08/01
Peter Travers
Peter Travers
Rolling Stone
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Full Review Source: Good Morning America | comment Comment
04/23/01
Joel Siegel
Joel Siegel
Good Morning America
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N/R

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Full Review Source: Ebert & Roeper | comment Comment
01/01/00
Ebert & Roeper
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Supernatural is not much better than subhuman: Hollywood is still, in the year 2000, disinclined to let black actors play human beings.

Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
A.O. Scott
A.O. Scott
New York Times
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More mushy than mystical.

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
01/01/00
Amy Taubin
Amy Taubin
Village Voice
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The competition sequences on the golf links, with the splendid camera work of Michael Ballhaus, and exactly the right amount of digital tweaking, are the real revelations of this film.

Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Bob Graham
Bob Graham
San Francisco Chronicle
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For all the wood-paneled Southern opulence, manicured fairways, and glowingly golden sunsets on display, there's nary a whiff of anything that will stick to your ribs.

Full Review Source: Mr. Showbiz | comment Comment
01/01/00
Cody Clark
Cody Clark
Mr. Showbiz
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The real contest for audiences is weathering the tonal shifts and forgiving the screenplay’s shallow depths and weak undercurrents.

Full Review Source: Hollywood Reporter | comment Comment
01/01/00
David Hunter
David Hunter
Hollywood Reporter
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[Redford] turns a solitary, often romanticized sport into a shimmering life metaphor.

Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
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It should be noted that the movie works uncommonly well for what it is; what's aggravating is the lost opportunity.

Full Review Source: Houston Chronicle | comment Comment
01/01/00
Eric Harrison
Eric Harrison
Houston Chronicle
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Why ... would someone of Redford's proven abilities waste his time on something this frivolous, this negligible -- this out of touch?

comment Comment
01/01/00
Glenn Lovell
Glenn Lovell
San Jose Mercury News
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The men and women inhabiting this motion pictures are types, ciphers, and mouthpieces for slogans, not individuals we can believe in and care for.

Full Review Source: ReelViews | comment Comment
01/01/00
James Berardinelli
James Berardinelli
ReelViews
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It's a feel-nothing movie, too calculated and cautious to locate anything that might resemble a genuine or spontaneous life moment.

Full Review Source: Newsday | comment Comment
01/01/00
Jan Stuart
Jan Stuart
Newsday
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It offers pleasures of a kind that fewer and fewer films even seem to remember, much less aspire to.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Jay Carr
Jay Carr
Boston Globe
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So meticulous in its craftsmanship and so earnest in its storytelling that it feels both physically and spiritually airbrushed.

Full Review Source: Los Angeles Times | comment Comment
01/01/00
Kenneth Turan
Kenneth Turan
Los Angeles Times
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Relies on a ritualized filmmaking style that leaches [Redford's] story of excitement.

comment Comment
01/01/00
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Lisa Schwarzbaum
Entertainment Weekly
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It's so utterly vague and mystical -- or, to be unkind about it, so slow the movie itself seems to be suffering from a hardening of the arteries.

Full Review Source: New York Post | comment Comment
01/01/00
Lou Lumenick
Lou Lumenick
New York Post
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Latest News for The Legend of Bagger Vance

April 04, 2007: Will Smith is the New King of Hollywood
A few years back the heaviest Hollywood hitters (actor-wise) were Tom Cruise, Tom Hanks, and Mel Gibson. Nowadays it's guys called Ben Stiller and Johnny Depp -- both of whom... More...

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