Brian’s Song (1971)
Director: Buzz Kulik
Stars: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden
Brian’s Song, the widely praised 1970 made-for-TV movie was about pro football great Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) and his Chicago Bears teammate/best friend Brian Piccolo (James Caan ) It's a tear-jerker of the first magnitude. Because of the caliber of its cast, it would have been a good sports movie in its own right, but the ending pivots it into something else.
Sayers and Piccolo were the first-ever interracial roommates in the NFL history, an arrangement that established a close relationship. Piccolo was at beast an average player. Sayers was a star. But then Piccolo developed cancer, and that’s when the tears will start flowing for the toughest of viewers. Stars of this magnitude didn't turn up on TV very often in 1971. Play a few bars of that theme song, and I will be mush.
Stars: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden
Brian’s Song, the widely praised 1970 made-for-TV movie was about pro football great Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) and his Chicago Bears teammate/best friend Brian Piccolo (James Caan ) It's a tear-jerker of the first magnitude. Because of the caliber of its cast, it would have been a good sports movie in its own right, but the ending pivots it into something else.
Sayers and Piccolo were the first-ever interracial roommates in the NFL history, an arrangement that established a close relationship. Piccolo was at beast an average player. Sayers was a star. But then Piccolo developed cancer, and that’s when the tears will start flowing for the toughest of viewers. Stars of this magnitude didn't turn up on TV very often in 1971. Play a few bars of that theme song, and I will be mush.
12 comments:
I cried when I first saw this movie.
I defy anyone to say they DIDN'T cry when they watched this movie!
Btw, I think this movie must have been rereleased theatrically at some point because I distinctly remember seeing it in a movie theater circa 1972/3.
--Deb
It is a 5 tissue movie, I do think I remember a theater release, perhaps in a new cut, (Jeff will know, I'm sure) I've seen it two or three times. Not forgotten so much as well deserving of this reminder.
Oh, I remember this one, Patti! And yes, it's definitely emotionally affecting.
Yeah, but they weren't "stars of this magnitude" at the time! THE GODFATHER was the year after BRIAN'S SONG which, it can be fairly argued, made Caan's career.
This was a movie everyone saw in one place or another. Perhaps the high ratings led to a theatrical release.
I think that might be right, but my memory is vague.
Not vague: it was a huge mistake making a remake (but then, they remade PSYCHO, so...) in 2001.
Now that movie I saw, and liked. Tear jerker for sure
I vaguely remember watching this back than, and crying. Terrific movie. Could only watch it once, it was so heart-rending.
I defy anyone to watch it without crying. Well, maybe my husband.
I've yet to see more than a few minutes. Caan was definitely doing KRAFT SUSPENSE THEATER episodes in the early/mid '60s...and often good ones.
Just last week, in reading a passage from a Ted Turner biography, I learned the Atlanta ABC station had a contract with one of the local pro teams when this was first broadcast, so pre-empted the ABC feed to run the game...and Turner;s Channel 17, WTCG (Turner Communications Group) in those years before turning it into WTBS, had already started clearing the pre-emptions for ABC in Atlanta...and ran the premiers of BRIAN'S SONG in pattern with ABC, to the highest ratings WTCG had ever gotten...the ABC affiliate's sports coverage got at best one fifth the audience.
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