Brian's Song (2001) (TV)

User Rating:

6.6/10   

Director:

John Gray

Writers (WGA):

Gale Sayers (book) and
Al Silverman (book) ...

Release Date:

2 December 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

The Greatest Victories In Life Don't Always Happen On The Field.

Plot:

The story of professional football players Gale Sayes and Brian Piccolo, and how their friendship on and off the field was affected when Piccolo contracted a fatal disease.

Plot Keywords:

Football Player | American Football | Fatal Illness | Integration | Sports Team

Cast

Sean Maher	...	Brian Piccolo
Mekhi Phifer	...	Gale Sayers
Paula Cale	...	Joy Piccolo
Elise Neal	...	Linda Sayers
Aidan Devine	...	Abe Gibron
Dean McDermott	...	Ralph Kurek
Ben Gazzara	...	Coach Halas
Michael Boisvert	...	Jack Concannon
Jeff Ironi	...	Dick Butkus
Shane Daly	...	Bill Filbert
Bruce Gooch	...	Ed McCaskey
Craig Eldridge	...	Doctor Beattie
Michael Millar	...	Doctor Fox
Shawn Lawrence	...	Doctor O'Conner
Erika Cohen	...	Nurse

Runtime:

88 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Iceland:L | UK:PG | Finland:K-3 | Australia:M | Germany:6

Filming Locations:

Chicago, Illinois, USA

Company:

Columbia TriStar Television

Movie Connections:

Remake of Brian's Song (1971) (TV)

Comparing this to the original is like apples & oranges..

Because they're so different. James Caan and Billy Dee Williams WERE Pic & Gale. These two new guys, well, they just don't cut it. It'd be like re-casting "Star Trek" with total unknowns as the Enterprise bridge crew. Oh, wait. That already happened, and IT actually worked. This remake, however, didn't.

The main reason the original "Brian's Song" was so good was the way that Billy Dee Williams (Sayers) & James Caan (Pic) interacted, with Pic bouncing racist remarks off Gale left & right. This new, PC version waters the racism down almost to the point of non-existence.

Also, scenes that made the original so funny were completely omitted; for example, early in the film, the Piccolos & Sayers were at a pizza parlor, & Brian described a play gone wrong, ending with, "So, anyway, all the linemen go this way, and it's like I am lookin' at a team portrait of the Los Angeles Rams....Hey, Deacon! Merlin? How's the family, Rosie?" Then Gale pipes up, "It's like, I'm roomin' with a colored player again!" Again, I'm sure this scene was omitted due to its racial undertones, but it took away from the humor of the film.

I found this new version to be much darker, focussing more on Brian's illness and the consequences than on the relationship between he & Gale Sayers, which was the main thing that made the original so special. If you can find the original on VHS or DVD, get it. But, stay away from the remake.