everything you have heard about this movie is true.

A brilliant film that helped define a genre

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

I remember reading mostly negative reviews for this film, and reading that it was regarded as the saddest movie ever. I just had to watch! Now, is it a bad movie? No. As a matter of fact, I actually love this movie. I normally don't do drama films, especially of this sort, but I love this film mostly because it's charming, heart wrenching, but the film is the saddest at the ending. I remember watching the ending and I immediately reached for the tissue box and was sobbing and sniffling like a poor guy. I enjoyed the movie, but I was in total sadness at the end. I normally can never cry, but this was an exception. I have watched the ending and not cried before, but either way, it's still a very sad, if not the saddest, finale to a movie.It seems however that the ending is the only scene that everyone remembers from this movie. It's iconic, yes, but what about the rest of the film? The rest of the film is all really good. It is very similar to the original 1931 film, which I have seen and did not find as upsetting (though it still is), however, we go deeper into certain story elements that we didn't get into the first time around. For one thing, we get to see more of Champ's life with his son T.J. (renamed from "Dink"). Also, T.J. doesn't have any friends or half-siblings like Dink did in the original, but it only adds to the sadness factor in this movie. At least in the original film, when Dink saw his father die, he still had his friend, half-sibling, and mother. Here, he had no one but his mother. It was as if his father was his only friend, and he's gone...Rick Schroeder puts on a superb performance in this movie. I've said before how much I hate kids, but at least Schroeder's character isn't too bratty. For the most part, he's pretty happy, and only cries when necessary. Even when he gets upset, I actually feel sorry for him (in other films with annoying kids, they seem to cry about stupid things, but that's another story), and I'm also impressed. One of the things that got Schroeder popular was the fact that he could cry convincingly, or just show any emotion convincingly. As said before, I can barely cry myself! John Voight is also great. He is quirky, fun, and just a very lovable character who does make mistakes, but at least he learns from them.Overall, The Champ (1979) really isn't as bad as most people say it is. I couldn't really find anything bad about it myself, but I'd give this movie a watch and see how far into it you can go without crying. I remember at the end of this movie, I rushed downstairs where my dad was, and I just hugged him, telling him "I'm so thankful that I still have you, Dad." (He was confused as to what was going on). But enough of that, go see The Champ today! It does not disappoint!

The Champ (1979)** (out of 4)Remake of the 1931 film that got star Wallace Beery his Oscar. This time it's Jon Voight playing the washed up boxer taking care of his young son (Ricky Schroder) who decides to try and make a comeback so that he can do something good for the kid. Along the way he gets involved with his ex-wife (Faye Dunaway) who left him and the kid years earlier and he also can't escape his destructive nature. The original version of this story was quite good and of course it contained the now famous ending, which is pretty much kept here. Look, there's no question that the final five-minutes here are incredibly powerful but they still can't make up for the previous 116-minutes that are pretty manipulative and flat. There are all sorts of problems with THE CHAMP and while it's certainly not a bad movie it just doesn't have what it takes to overcome all the flaws. One major flaw is the screenplay. You can give the producers credit for not delivering a scene-for-scene remake but the new stuff they added simply doesn't work. This includes all the time spent with the horses as well as the relationship between Voight and Dunaway that constantly builds up. I really didn't care for their early conflicts and I certainly didn't care for the directions their relationship goes through towards the end. It's almost as if the filmmakers threw in a bit of KRAMER VS. KRAMER (which was released the same year) to try and sell a romance side. Another thing that doesn't work is some of the casting. Voight is one of my favorite actors and he delivers a good performance here but I think he was miscast. I think he's simply too smart and this comes across so the destructive nature of this character just doesn't suit him. I also thought Dunaway was good in her part but it probably should have gone to someone else. Schroder, on the other hand, clearly steals the film with his touching performance and he's certainly a knockout at the end. We get some terrific character actors in supporting roles including Jack Warden, Strother Martin, Arthur Hiller and Elisha Cook. Joan Blondell, in one of her final films, has a small part as well. Again, the ending is what this movie is known for and it's a great one. It's just too bad the rest of the film didn't live up to it and the countless manipulation scenes early on just don't work and they certainly miss the emotional connection that they try for.

Just watched this film again after many, many, years and it still packs an emotional wallop! Maybe more so, now that I am older and view it in a different light. I always felt that Rick Schroeder did a great job in this film however the true acting chops were offered by Jon Voight. What an incredibly believable job. Not for a second was I taken out of the film. The rest of the cast are a who's who of character actors that have appeared in many other films. I found this to be better than the original, especially with the two leads. I don't remember what the film was up against in regard to the academy Awards, however I am surprised that Jon and Rick were not nominated. If you have not seen this film, do yourself a favour and watch it. You will be entertained and, most likely, emotionally drained. But you are definitely in for a treat!

If you're a bloke and you don't like the idea of anybody seeing you cry, watch this film on your own. Yes it is that sad.Really well made and brilliant performances all round, the kid TJ is one of the sweetest kids I've ever seen on screen, absolutely adorable with bags of talent. John Voight was brilliant as well as a down on his luck ex boxer who's just trying to make a good life for himself and his son. The story is one that I'm sure many can relate with, whether you're a single parent, have a great relationship with your father or can simply appreciate a film with strong acting. If you have a son that loves you as much as TJ loved 'the champ' your very lucky and should treat each day as your last. The only other film that had me welling up like this was the Imitation of Life also well worth a look , but have tissues to hand! This review is coming from a cynical bloke too! CBR