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Poster for The Champ

The Champ

1979 · 121 min

A heartfelt, slow-building tearjerker that earns its emotional punches through a tender father-son bond and a bittersweet finale.

Directed by
Franco Zeffirelli
Genres
Drama
Starring
Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder
Tagline
The more you love... the harder you fight.
Overview
Billy used to be a great boxer, but he's settled into a hardscrabble life that revolves around drinking, training horses, and the one bright spot in his existence — his young son, T.J. Although Billy has had custody of T.J. since his wife, Annie, left the family years ago, her return prompts a new struggle for the former fighter. Determined to hold on to his son, Billy gets back into the ring to try and recapture his past success.

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Rent or buy in the UK
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store
More options Data from JustWatch
Directed by
Franco Zeffirelli
Genres
Drama
Starring
Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder
In your watch list

How it feels

Written by AI. It can be wrong.

Tone
  • melancholicstrength 3 of 3
  • earneststrength 3 of 3
  • warmstrength 2 of 3
  • darkstrength 1 of 3
Pacing
measured, 2 of 4, from slow-burn to relentless
Attention
engaged, 3 of 4, from background-friendly to demanding
Themes
  • parenthood
  • family
  • grief
  • redemption
  • survival
Places
  • small town
  • home
Era
contemporary
Audience
teen
Form
None
Content intensity
  • Gore none
  • Language mild
  • Violence mild
  • Sex mild
All scales, 0 to 10
Scales, 0 to 10
ScaleValue0 to 10
Action4
Horror0
Humour3
Realism8
Romance3
Tension5
Darkness6
Complexity4
Emotional weight9

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Where to watch in the UK

Rent or buy
  • Apple TV Store
  • Amazon Video
  • Sky Store
  • YouTube

Streaming data from JustWatch.All options on TMDB

Details

Genres
drama
Directed by
Franco Zeffirelli
Written by
Walter Newman
Starring
Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder, Jack Warden, Arthur Hill, Strother Martin, Joan Blondell, Mary Jo Catlett
Music
Dave Grusin
Cinematography
Fred J. Koenekamp
Runtime
121 min
Country
United States of America
Languages
English

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