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IMDbPro

The Program

  • 2015
  • R
  • 1h 39m
IMDb RATING
6.5/10
18K
YOUR RATING
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
12 Videos
68 Photos
BiographyDramaSport

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.

  • Director
    • Stephen Frears
  • Writers
    • John Hodge
    • David Walsh
  • Stars
    • Ben Foster
    • Chris O'Dowd
    • Guillaume Canet
  • See production, box office & company info
  • IMDb RATING
    6.5/10
    18K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Stephen Frears
    • Writers
      • John Hodge
      • David Walsh
    • Stars
      • Ben Foster
      • Chris O'Dowd
      • Guillaume Canet
    • 62User reviews
    • 178Critic reviews
    • 53Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
  • Videos12

    International Theatrical Trailer
    Trailer 2:11
    Watch International Theatrical Trailer
    International Trailer
    Trailer 1:32
    Watch International Trailer
    THE PROGRAM US Trailer
    Trailer 2:19
    Watch THE PROGRAM US Trailer
    The Program
    Clip 1:06
    Watch The Program
    The Program
    Clip 1:30
    Watch The Program
    The Program
    Clip 1:18
    Watch The Program
    The Program: Lance And David Interview
    Clip 1:17
    Watch The Program: Lance And David Interview
    The Program: On The Bus
    Clip 0:56
    Watch The Program: On The Bus
    The Program: Sold Bikes
    Clip 1:15
    Watch The Program: Sold Bikes
    The Program: Mirror
    Clip 1:05
    Watch The Program: Mirror
    The Program: The Story Featurette (German Subtitled)
    Featurette 3:14
    Watch The Program: The Story Featurette (German Subtitled)
    The Program
    Interview 1:19
    Watch 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 Armstrong
    Chris O'Dowd
    Chris O'Dowd
    • David Walsh
    Guillaume Canet
    Guillaume Canet
    • Dr. Ferrari
    Jesse Plemons
    Jesse Plemons
    • Floyd Landis
    Lee Pace
    Lee Pace
    • Bill Stapleton
    Denis Ménochet
    Denis Ménochet
    • Johan Bruyneel
    Edward Hogg
    Edward Hogg
    • Frankie Andreu
    Dustin Hoffman
    Dustin Hoffman
    • Bob Hamman
    Elaine Cassidy
    Elaine Cassidy
    • Betsy Andreu
    Laura Donnelly
    Laura Donnelly
    • Emma O'Reilly
    Peter Wight
    Peter Wight
    • Sunday Times Editor
    Nathan Wiley
    Nathan Wiley
    • Charles Pelkey
    Chris Larkin
    Chris Larkin
    • John Wilcockson
    Mark Little
    Mark Little
    • Rupert Guinness
    Michael G. Wilson
    Michael G. Wilson
    • Lance's Doctor
    Sid Phoenix
    Sid Phoenix
    • Tony
    Josh O'Connor
    Josh O'Connor
    • Rich
    Sam Hoare
    Sam Hoare
    • Stephen Swart
    • Director
      • Stephen Frears
    • Writers
      • John Hodge
      • David Walsh
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    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 reviews62

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    4/10
    to be seen on Lifetime
    Quickie Review:

    Obsessed with winning the Tour de France, Lance Armstrong (Ben Foster) uses performance enhancing substances to gain the edge. Meanwhile, sports journalist David Walsh (Chris O'Dowd) convinced of the doping conspiracy starts to gather evidence to expose Armstrong. The Program, is an underwhelming retelling of the one of the biggest drug scandals in sports history. Admittedly the actor's performances are good, and the movie overall is shot well. However, the script and the story telling are to the quality of what you might expect from an average TV documentary re-enactment.

    Full Review:

    Considering the high profile nature of the scandal, I was surprised that The Program wasn't marketed more. I never saw the trailers in the cinemas and when I brought up that I was going to watch this movie in the weekend I was immediately asked by everyone "What's that?" After watching the film it's clear to me that even the studio lacked confidence in the final product.

    Few as they may be, there are certainly some redeeming things about The Program. The lead actor Ben Foster gave a solid performance, at a certain point I didn't see him anymore and only saw Lance. Which probably is the biggest compliment I'll give to this movie. I also enjoyed seeing the whole doping operation, it was meticulous and systematic. I really got the sense of the lengths that Lance and his team went to achieve their goals. Although it is definitely disgraceful, I must admit I was rather impressed by how for so long they got away with it all. So I commend the filmmakers for pulling off that aspect of the story. As for the rest of the story, there's more to be desired.

    You couldn't ask for better true story material for a sports drama. There was huge potential here, but all of it is lost because of the paint by the numbers approach to the film. Rather than concentrating on a singular character and see them transform over the course of the movie, The Program opts to also give significant spotlight to David Walsh and Floyd Landis (Jesse Plemons). This causes the movie to lose focus with each change. The structure of movie made it blatantly obvious that the director and the editor prioritised showing a checklist of major events in Lance's life rather than telling a coherent story. An example of this false priorities was the introduction of Lance's wife. The whole segment of them meeting lasts for about 45 seconds, we get a quick look at a wedding, and that's it, we never see her again for the rest of the movie. That small segment was just there to show Lance got married at one point. It felt completely unnecessary, instead I would love to have seen how this whole operation affected his relationships and friendships.

    The Program, is a movie that no-one knows about and unfortunately will be a forgettable experience for the ones who do watch it. I think if I had caught this as a re-enacted documentary on TV, I'd be really impressed. However when it comes to biographically movies in cinemas it just doesn't hold up to the standard set by recent movies such as The Social Network or Selma for example.
    helpful•30
    13
    • vistheindian
    • Nov 23, 2015

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    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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