IMDb > The Bear (1984)
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Overview

User Rating:
5.9/10   188 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
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Writer:
Michael Kane (written by)
Contact:
View company contact information for The Bear on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
28 September 1984 (USA) more
Genre:
Biography | Drama | Family | Sport more
Tagline:
WINNING. That was the difference between playing football and playing for "The Bear".
Plot:
Biopic about the great college football coach Paul "Bear" Bryant of the University of Alabama. | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
NewsDesk:
Remembering Jon-Erik Hexum
 (From AfterElton.com. 16 October 2009, 8:24 AM, PDT)
User Comments:
Decent Movie with several minor inaccuracies more (6 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Gary Busey ... Paul W. Bryant
Cynthia Leake ... Mary Harmon Bryant
Carmen Thomas ... Mae Martin Bryant
Cary Guffey ... Grandson Marc

Harry Dean Stanton ... Coach Thomas
Jon-Erik Hexum ... Pat Trammell

Steve Greenstein ... Joe Namath

Michael McGrady ... Gene Stallings
William Wesley Neighbors Jr. ... Billy Neighbors

Brett Rice ... Don Hutson
Buddy Farmer ... Herman Ball
Owen Orr ... Ermal Allen (as Owen E. Orr)
Charles Gabrielson ... Steve Meilinger
D'Urville Martin ... Billy
Ken Taylor ... Jimbo / Ball Player
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Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
110 min
Country:
USA
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Sound Mix:
Dolby
Certification:
USA:PG
Filming Locations:
Valencia, California, USA more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
Gene Stallings, who played for Bear Bryant at Texas A&M and went on to become head football coach at Alabama, was the technical advisor on the film. more
Soundtrack:
I'll Be Home Again more

FAQ

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User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
6 out of 8 people found the following comment useful.
Decent Movie with several minor inaccuracies, 12 October 2003
7/10
Author: patterson_jasonk from Birmingham, AL

This was a pretty decent movie. I give it 7/10. The #1 problem was that Busey just could not pull off the role of The Bear. The other thing that bothered was that the movie skipped around and never seemed to focus on or fully explain the major issues of Bear's career. The relationship between Bear and Pat Trammell was barely even mentioned. Just when you think that the movie is going to play out their relationship, it cuts to a game with Joe Namath (no disrespect to Joe) and never explains what happened to Pat. Another issue was with the integration thing. The move shows the first black student enrolling at Bama and then immediately cuts to the Bear recruiting his first black player. This made it seem as though a black player joined the crimson tide within a short period of time after the first black student entered the school. It actually took something like 8 years after the school was integrated before a black man played in an Alabama football game. Had it not been for the Bear bringing in USC and Sam "Bam" Cunningham to run all over Bama in T-town, then the team probably would not have been integrated for much more time. Sam Cunningham made the Bama faithful realize that "these guys aint so bad". There were a few other issues that danced around and seemed somewhat deceptive, but overall it was a pretty accurate movie and a really good watch for a football fan.

"Bear Bryant is the greatest collegiate football coach ever period"

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