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The Program

  • 20152015
  • RR
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
18K
YOUR RATING
  • Cast & crew
  • User reviews
  • Trivia
  • IMDbPro
Ben Foster in The Program (2015)
An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.
Play trailer2:11
7 Videos
68 Photos
  • Biography
  • Drama
  • Sport

An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting ... Read allAn Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.

IMDb RATING
6.5/10
18K
YOUR RATING
  • Director
    • Stephen Frears
  • Writers
    • John Hodge(screenplay)
    • David Walsh(book "Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong")
  • Stars
    • Ben Foster
    • Chris O'Dowd
    • Guillaume Canet
Top credits
  • Director
    • Stephen Frears
  • Writers
    • John Hodge(screenplay)
    • David Walsh(book "Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong")
  • Stars
    • Ben Foster
    • Chris O'Dowd
    • Guillaume Canet
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 60User reviews
    • 177Critic reviews
    • 53Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos7

    International Theatrical Trailer
    Trailer 2:11
    International Theatrical Trailer
    International Trailer
    Trailer 1:32
    International Trailer
    THE PROGRAM US Trailer
    Trailer 2:19
    THE PROGRAM US Trailer
    The Program
    Clip 1:06
    The Program
    The Program
    Clip 1:30
    The Program
    The Program
    Clip 1:18
    The Program
    The Program
    Interview 1:19
    The Program

    Photos68

    Jesse Plemons in The Program (2015)
    Chris O'Dowd in The Program (2015)
    Ben Foster, Guillaume Canet, and Denis Ménochet in The Program (2015)
    Ben Foster in The Program (2015)
    Chris O'Dowd in The Program (2015)
    Dustin Hoffman and Chris O'Dowd in The Program (2015)
    Ben Foster, Lee Pace, and Chris O'Dowd in The Program (2015)
    Ben Foster in The Program (2015)
    Ben Foster in The Program (2015)
    Lee Pace in The Program (2015)
    Ben Foster in The Program (2015)
    Ben Foster and Guillaume Canet in The Program (2015)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ben Foster
    Ben Foster
    • Lance Armstrongas Lance Armstrong
    Chris O'Dowd
    Chris O'Dowd
    • David Walshas David Walsh
    Guillaume Canet
    Guillaume Canet
    • Dr. Ferrarias Dr. Ferrari
    Jesse Plemons
    Jesse Plemons
    • Floyd Landisas Floyd Landis
    Lee Pace
    Lee Pace
    • Bill Stapletonas Bill Stapleton
    Denis Ménochet
    Denis Ménochet
    • Johan Bruyneelas Johan Bruyneel
    Edward Hogg
    Edward Hogg
    • Frankie Andreuas Frankie Andreu
    Dustin Hoffman
    Dustin Hoffman
    • Bob Hammanas Bob Hamman
    Elaine Cassidy
    Elaine Cassidy
    • Betsy Andreuas Betsy Andreu
    Laura Donnelly
    Laura Donnelly
    • Emma O'Reillyas Emma O'Reilly
    Peter Wight
    Peter Wight
    • Sunday Times Editoras Sunday Times Editor
    Nathan Wiley
    Nathan Wiley
    • Charles Pelkeyas Charles Pelkey
    Chris Larkin
    Chris Larkin
    • John Wilcocksonas John Wilcockson
    Mark Little
    Mark Little
    • Rupert Guinnessas Rupert Guinness
    Michael G. Wilson
    Michael G. Wilson
    • Lance's Doctoras Lance's Doctor
    Sid Phoenix
    Sid Phoenix
    • Tonyas Tony
    Josh O'Connor
    Josh O'Connor
    • Richas Rich
    Sam Hoare
    Sam Hoare
    • Stephen Swartas Stephen Swart
    • Director
      • Stephen Frears
    • Writers
      • John Hodge(screenplay)
      • David Walsh(book "Seven Deadly Sins: My Pursuit of Lance Armstrong")
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
    • All cast & crew

    More like this

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    The Armstrong Lie
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    Lance
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    Borg vs. McEnroe
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    6.4
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    Flutter
    5.8
    Flutter
    Detroit
    7.3
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    Here
    5.8
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    North of South, West of East
    7.4
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    The Programme
    Mississippi Grind
    6.4
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    Truth
    6.8
    Truth

    Storyline

    Edit
    An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.
    • tour de france
    • journalist
    • bicycle
    • coach
    • doctor
    • 53 more
    • Plot summary
    • Add synopsis
    • Taglines
      • Winning was in his blood
    • Genres
      • Biography
      • Drama
      • Sport
    • Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)
      • Rated R for language
    • Parents guide

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      In an interview with The Guardian, Ben Foster admitted to taking performance-enhancing drugs under medical supervision to prepare for the role.
    • Goofs
      A number of The Sunday Times newspaper front pages on display around the office were published after the time the scenes are set. Most notably, the front cover depicting English Rugby player Johnny Wilkinson winning the 2003 World cup in a scene set in 2001.
    • Quotes

      [repeated line]

      Lance Armstrong: I have never tested positive for performance enhancing drugs.

    • Connections
      Featured in The Graham Norton Show: Colin Farrell/Rachel Weisz/Dawn French/Chris O'Dowd/Rod Stewart (2015)
    • Soundtracks
      Blitzkrieg Bop
      Written by Joey Ramone, Dee Dee Ramone (as Dede Ramone), Johnny Ramone, Tommy Ramone

      Performed by Ramones

      Courtesy of Warner Music UK Ltd

    User reviews60

    Review
    Top review
    7/10
    A solid sports drama flick.............but it's better to watch the documentaries
    We pretty much know the story of the biggest con in sports history.

    A 7-time Tour De France winner after recovering from quite severe level of testicular cancer, to be then stripped of everything he had ever achieved in the sport of cycling due to the use of performance- enhancing drugs.

    With all that being said, what could this movie do to give us something different to be excited about?

    We have director Stephen Frears (Philomena, Dirty Pretty Things, The Queen) exploring the biggest rise and fall probably by anyone in the history of the world.

    I'm afraid that despite the solid pace to it, good performances and pleasing visuals, this only really skimmed the surface of the entire story.

    Ben Foster plays Armstrong and it is quite un-nerving how much his likeness is uncanny to the man himself. He was a strong lead and definitely made this film watchable and interesting. Chris O'Dowd as hounding sports journalist David Walsh was solid. But I felt he was massively under-used. I think the makers of the film could have better by going down the route 'Rush' did by having two big characters facing-off throughout the feature. All the performances were fine and noticeable in terms of down- grading the film. The only stand-out worth mentioning was Jesse Plemon's portrayal of Armstrong's main team- mate Floyd Landis. He had moments that got me engaged and made it interesting viewing. One casting choice that I was confused about, was the addition of Dustin Hoffman as we see very little of him. Someone that big in the film industry should not be part of a film if he is going to be in there for very short amounts.

    The race scenes look well made. Cinematography is a big high point in the film, especially in the opening scene. And finally, the soundtrack fits in the well with the story despite not being quite a captivating one for re-listening.

    However, I cannot ignore the safe route this film went. It always went over the important issues quite casually and quickly went on the next one. It seems Frears wanted to throw too much into film and forgot to focus on keeping one angle to the story. I really felt we should have seen more of the journalist pursuing the star type of film which would have made it a great and enjoyable watch.

    Connecting to the film was hard as well. It reminded me of The Wolf Of Wall Street as we are trying to connect with a guy we know has bone really bad things. But unlike the Martin Scorsese flick, the style of film-making is nothing remarkable, just passable.

    It is still a well-acted drama flick. For those people that don't know a lot about the story, they will get the most enjoyment out of it. But if you want to a good film about Lance Armstrong and how he became the man he is today, watch the two film documentaries 'The Armstrong Lie' and 'Stop At Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story'. They both go into much more detail on how big of an idiot Armstrong is.
    helpful•16
    3
    • gricey_sandgrounder
    • Feb 24, 2016

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • March 18, 2016 (United States)
    • Countries of origin
      • United Kingdom
      • United States
      • France
    • Official sites
      • Official site
      • Official site (Japan)
    • Language
      • English
    • Also known as
      • Untitled Lance Armstrong Biopic
    • Filming locations
      • Austin, Texas, USA
    • Production companies
      • Anton
      • Momentum Pictures
      • StudioCanal
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

    Edit
    • Gross US & Canada
      • $13,074
    • Opening weekend US & Canada
      • $5,763
      • Mar 20, 2016
    • Gross worldwide
      • $3,335,613
    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      1 hour 39 minutes
    • Color
      • Color
      • Black and White
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.35 : 1

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