The Champ (1979)
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40% of critics liked it
(20 reviews) -
83% of users liked it
(7,472 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… 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
- Directed By
- Franco Zeffirelli
- Written By
- Walter Newman
- Genres
- Sports & Fitness, Drama
PG,
- In Theaters
- Mar 20, 1979 Wide
- On DVD
- Jul 9, 2002
- Studio
- MGM Home Entertainment
Critic Reviews
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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.
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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.
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Geoff Andrew, Time Out
A pointless update of King Vidor's '30s weepie.
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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.
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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.
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Cast
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Jon Voight
as Billy Flynn
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Faye Dunaway
as Annie
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Rick Schroder
as T.J. Flynn
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Jack Warden
as Jackie
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Arthur Hill
as Mike
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Strother Martin
as Riley
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Joan Blondell
as Dolly Kenyon
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Mary Jo Catlett
as Josie
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Elisha Cook Jr.
as Georgie
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Bill Baldwin
as Race Track Announcer
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Jeff Blum
as Jeffie
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Randall "Tex" Cobb
as Bowers
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Larry Duran
as Bowers' Handler #2
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Dana Elcar
as Hoffmaster
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Gina Gallego
as Cuban Girl
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Stefan Gierasch
as Charlie Goodman
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Shirlee Kong
as Donna Mae
- Eddie Lopez
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Dorothy Strelsin
as Dolly's Guest
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Jeff Temkin
as Ring Announcer
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Joe Tornatore
as Hesh
- Ken Wahl
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Jodie Wilson
as Mrs. Riley
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Bob Gordon
as TV Reporter
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Allan Miller
as Whitey
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Sonny Shields
as Bowers' Handler #1
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William Fuller
as Steward
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Wally Rose
as Bowers' Manager
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Ernesto Morelli
as Bar Patron
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Kristoff St. John
as Sonny
- Wallace Beery
- Ricky Schroeder
