That Championship Season (1982)

It started as a friendly meeting between 4 old buddies with their basketball coach and ended up in revealing the truth about their relationship. The meeting forces the five men to reveal ... See full summary »

Director:

Jason Miller

Writer:

Jason Miller (play)

Stars:

Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach, Robert Mitchum

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Bruce Dern	...	George Sitkowski
Stacy Keach	...	James Daley
Robert Mitchum	...	Coach Delaney
Martin Sheen	...	Tom Daley
Paul Sorvino	...	Phil Romano
Arthur Franz	...	Macken
Michael Bernosky	...	Jacks
Joseph Kelly	...	Malley
James M. Langan	...	Cooney
Tony Santaniello	...	Marelli
William G. McAndrew	...	Harrison
Barry Weiner	...	Sharman
Edward Cunningham	...	Newspaper Editor
Robert E. Schlesinger	...	Nelson
George Lowry	...	Zookeeper

Storyline

It started as a friendly meeting between 4 old buddies with their basketball coach and ended up in revealing the truth about their relationship. The meeting forces the five men to reveal their true identity, to be honest with each other for the first time in their lives. When the night comes to an end they decide to go back to the old glorious days and reunite into the team which won that championship season, back in 1957...

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Plot Keywords:

coach | basketball | secret | mayor | father figure | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

R

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

14 January 1983 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bajnokcsapat

Filming Locations:

Taylor, Pennsylvania, USA

Company Credits

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The success of this film helped to "legitimize" the reputation of Cannon Films, which up to this point had produced mostly low-grade action films, cheaply produced "T&A" pictures and softcore sex films.

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Goofs

When Mayor Sitkowski is riding the exercise bicycle in his office in Scranton, the sun is shining outside, but the apparently live baseball game he is watching from Yankee Stadium is being played at night. Scranton isn't far enough west of the Bronx for this to happen.

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Connections

Referenced in Saturday Night Live: Bruce Dern/Leon Redbone (1983)

User Reviews

The very definition of the term "little gem"!

I won't carry on forever but I should say that this film is something of a well-kept secret it seems. One thing about "little gems" like this one is that if you hype them too much they become something else. If you see this movie with expectations too high then you might be disappointed, if on the other hand you watch it expecting to see one of the best low key character dramas you've probably seen in a while then you'll feel rewarded. Ultimately this is a film driven by SIX great performances (that's one for every member of the ensemble and another by the director/writer Jason Miller). What is there to say, they were all flawless and not once did the writing sink into cliché or formula. For once it was just great to watch a movie where, personally, every time I thought I knew what would happen, my expectations were defied. I'm not talking about any, now all too popular; so-called clever twists but just subtle turns in unexpected directions. In other words this is truthful cinema at its best, unexpected in the way life often really is.

To say that 'That Championship Season' is simply an allegory for faith in God is far too reductionist when discussing a film that has this much to say. Of course the film could be read this way but I feel religious or political undertones are the in-essentials of this story. What is essential is the recognition of a little of ourselves in these characters that have been drawn so well, bitterness, regret, self-pity, greed, lust, bigotry but also love, sacrifice, forgiveness are all here in all characters and in more or less equal measure and depending on your point of view they have nothing to do with religion. In short no one in this movie seems constructed, they simply live and breath the way we all try to, the lesson if any is simply to admit to some or all of those qualities in ourselves and to try and live a little better.