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The Champ Movie Poster
Plot, Details & Awards

The Champ

(1979)
121min.
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Plot & Details

Billy (Jon Voight) is on the road with his son T.J. (Ricky Schroder), fighting low-end boxing matches for drinking money before moving on to the next town for another match. When his ex-wife (and T.J.'s mother) Annie (Faye Dunaway) shows up, it's to tell him that she wants custody of the boy. She has remarried and has risen to social prominence in her community. She wants the same for T.J. Determined to keep his son with him, Billy decides to train properly in order to be a success instead of just a washed-up punching bag. This gorgeously photographed drama is a remake of the 1931 film, which won its star Wallace Beery an Oscar.
  • Genre(s): Drama
  • Run Time: 121min.
  • DVD Release Date: 07/09/2002
  • Director(s): Franco Zeffirelli
  • Starring: Jon Voight , Faye Dunaway , Rick Schroder , Jack Warden , Arthur Hill
  • Themes: All Washed Up,Redemption,Single Parents,Fathers and Sons,Boxers
  • Tone: Bittersweet,Earnest,Rousing,Sentimental,Tearjerking
  • Keywords: boxing,comeback,custody,ex-wife,has-been,on-the-road,son
  • Language: English

Awards

Academy Awards

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
1979 Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Best Original Score Dave Grusin Nominated

Golden Globes

Year Award CategoryCast & Crew Result
1979 Hollywood Foreign Press Association Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Drama Jon Voight Nominated
1979 Hollywood Foreign Press Association New Star of the Year - Male Rick Schroder Won
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