The Champ (1979)

40% of critics liked it
(20 reviews)
84% of users liked it
(7,330 ratings)

Billy (Jon Voight) is on the road with his son T.J. (Ricky Schroder), fighting low-end boxing matches for drinking money before moving on to the next town for another match. When his ex-wife (and T.J.'s mother) Annie (Faye Dunaway) shows up, it's to tell him that she wants custody of the boy. She… More Billy (Jon Voight) is on the road with his son T.J. (Ricky Schroder), fighting low-end boxing matches for drinking money before moving on to the next town for another match. When his ex-wife (and T.J.'s mother) Annie (Faye Dunaway) shows up, it's to tell him that she wants custody of the boy. She has remarried and has risen to social prominence in her community. She wants the same for T.J. Determined to keep his son with him, Billy decides to train properly in order to be a success instead of just a washed-up punching bag. This gorgeously photographed drama is a remake of the 1931 film, which won its star Wallace Beery an Oscar. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG, 2 hr. 3 min.
Directed By: Franco Zeffirelli
Written By: Walter Newman
Genres: Sports & Fitness, Drama

In Theaters: Mar 20, 1979 Wide
On DVD: Jul 9, 2002
Studio: MGM Home Entertainment

Critic Reviews

Michael Booth, Denver Post
A three-alarm, three-hanky movie of the highest order, perfect for your kids who don't get to see many truly sad films.
Dave Kehr, Chicago Reader
The tear-jerking is so determined and persistent that your ducts feel as if they'd been worked over with a catheter.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
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.
Emanuel Levy, EmanuelLevy.Com
Zeffirelli's inferior remake to King Vidor's 1932 classic, starring Jon Voight in the Oscar-winning role that Wallace Beery had originated, is a manipulative tear-jerking melodrama.
, TV Guide's Movie Guide
The original film took 85 minutes, this one 121; the extra length has not improved the story.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
A pointless update of King Vidor's '30s weepie.
Steve Crum, Kansas City Kansan
Pale remake of Wally Berry classic.
Michael A. Smith, Nolan's Pop Culture Review
Voight is fine as boxer on a comeback, but Ricky Schroeder steals the film. I dare you not to cry!
Victoria Alexander, FilmsInReview.com
I admit it. I cried.
Ken Hanke, Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
Seek out the 1931 King Vidor version.

Read all 10 critic reviews

Critic ratings and reviews powered by RottenTomatoes.com

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Featured Audience Ratings

jay n

Effective tearjerker is peopled with fine talent, some like Joan Blondell underused, but will stop at nothing to wring those tears from the audience.
Leigh R

Good movie.
Leo L

A great movie! Rick Schroder coming of age in this one. Good story plot.

Cast

            Jon Voight as Billy Flynn

            Faye Dunaway as Annie

            Rick Schroder as T.J. Flynn

            Jack Warden as Jackie

            Arthur Hill as Mike

            Strother Martin as Riley

            Joan Blondell as Dolly Kenyon

            Mary Jo Catlett as Josie

            Elisha Cook Jr. as Georgie

            Bill Baldwin as Race Track Announcer

            Jeff Blum as Jeffie

            Randall "Tex" Cobb as Bowers

            Larry Duran as Bowers' Handler #2

            Dana Elcar as Hoffmaster

            Gina Gallego as Cuban Girl

            Stefan Gierasch as Charlie Goodman

            Shirlee Kong as Donna Mae

            Eddie Lopez
            
            Dorothy Strelsin as Dolly's Guest

            Jeff Temkin as Ring Announcer

            Joe Tornatore as Hesh

            Ken Wahl
            
            Jodie Wilson as Mrs. Riley

            Bob Gordon as TV Reporter

            Allan Miller as Whitey

            Sonny Shields as Bowers' Handler #1

            William Fuller as Steward

            Wally Rose as Bowers' Manager

            Ernesto Morelli as Bar Patron

            Kristoff St. John as Sonny

            Wallace Beery
            
            Ricky Schroeder
            
See full cast