The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)

A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game and his life with help from a mystical caddy.

Director:

Robert Redford

Writers:

Steven Pressfield (novel), Jeremy Leven (screenplay)

Stars:

Will Smith, Matt Damon, Charlize Theron

2 wins & 10 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Will Smith	...	Bagger Vance
Matt Damon	...	Rannulph Junuh
Charlize Theron	...	Adele Invergordon
Bruce McGill	...	Walter Hagen
Joel Gretsch	...	Bobby Jones
J. Michael Moncrief	...	Hardy Greaves
Peter Gerety	...	Neskaloosa
Lane Smith	...	Grantland Rice
Michael O'Neill	...	O.B. Keeler
Thomas Jay Ryan	...	Spec Hammond
Trip Hamilton	...	Frank Greaves
Dermot Crowley	...	Dougal McDermott
Harve Presnell	...	John Invergordon
Danny Nelson	...	McManus
Bob Penny	...	Laidlaw

Storyline

A disillusioned war veteran, Captain Rannulph Junah, reluctantly agrees to play a game of golf. He finds the game futile until his caddy, Bagger Vance, teaches him the secret of the authentic golf stroke which turns out also to be the secret to mastering any challenge and finding meaning in life.

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Plot Keywords:

golf | caddy | golfer | game | golf course | 

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Taglines:

Some Things Can't Be Learned. They Must Be Remembered.

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Genres:

Drama | Fantasy | Sport

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 November 2000 (USA)

Also Known As:

La légende de Bagger Vance

Filming Locations:

Beaufort, South Carolina, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£149,149 (UK) (2 March 2001)

Gross:

ESP 249,852,469 (Spain) (29 June 2001)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, DreamWorks SKG, Epsilon Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

126 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX SDDS DTS-ES

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Matt Damon did not have any previous experience playing golf; he spent a month with golf pro Tim Moss in Hilton Head, South Carolina, to prepare for the role.

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Goofs

The closing disclaimer states that all persons depicted in the movie are fictional, even though Bobby Jones and Walter Hagen, who were real people, are major characters in the story.

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Quotes

Rannulph Junnah: This is getting embarrassing.
Bagger Vance: Oh no sir, this has been embarrassing for quite some time.

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Connections

Referenced in The Simpsons: Brawl in the Family (2002)

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Soundtracks

"How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Farm After They've Seen Paree?"

User Reviews

This film worked for me.

I guess I'm really into the "winning through adversity" films. I really enjoyed films such as "The Natural" and "The Legend of Bagger Vance." I think the two were about equal. They both show the hero overcoming adversity through a sport's golden age which is what makes this movie great. If you showed a golf or baseball movie today it would not be as believable because they no longer play for the love of the game but for the money. This was set in a time when the game was more dignified. I never though much of Will Smith, thinking of him mostly as a comedy type actor but I think his greatness hit its peak when he started doing these drama type productions. Smith is sensational in his roll. If Redford had a mental picture of Bagger Vance before this movie started, I think he actually saw how Will Smith performed in this film. Matt Damon was good also.

Overall, a great "feel good" film. 9/10