F-0197

Title:

The Program

Category:

S

Produced:

1993

Country:

USA

Released:

Film: Sep 1993 (USA)
DVD: Mar 2003 (2-DVD)
VHS: Jan 1995

Director:

David S. Ward

Writer:

David S. Ward; Aaron Latham

Actors:

James Caan (Sam Winters); Halle Berry (Autumn Haley); Omar Epps (Darnell Jefferson); Craig Sheffer (Joe Kane); Kristy Swanson (Camille Shafer); Abraham Benrubi (Bud-Lite Kaminski); Duane Davis (Alvin Mack); Jon Pennell (Bobby Collins - as Jon Maynard Pennell); Joey Lauren Adams (Louanne - as Joey Adams); J.C. Quinn (Joe's Father); Andrew Bryniarski (Steve Lattimer); J. Leon Pridgen II (Ray Griffen); Michael Flippo (Coach Humes - as Mike Flippo); Jeff Portell (Reporter #1); Ernest Dixon (Coach Clayton)

Description:

Several players from different backgrounds try to cope with the pressures of playing football at a major university. Each deals with the pressure differently, some turn to drinking, others to drugs, and some to studying. (Kevin)

This is the movie blamed for encouraging college kids (and others) to lie down on the painted divider between lanes of highway traffic. (Incredibly, the studio pulled the film in its opening weeks and deleted the allegedly offending scene.) James Caan plays a football coach under tremendous pressure from his university's sports program to come up with a winning team. The story focuses on the fallout of that pressure on the lives of several players and the program itself. It's all rather flat and TV-movie-like, and because there is an emphasis on issues instead of characters, the actors work doubly hard to bring dimension to their stock roles. On the plus side, the cast is largely composed of young actors who have come a long way since the film's release. (Tom Keogh, Amazon.com)

Follow the lives of a group of young athletes who come together from different worlds to pursue a dream in THE PROGRAM, an inside look at the gritty, action-packed world of Top 10 college football. Full of excitement and hard-hitting action, it's the ultimate story of what they must do to fight the pressure, face the pain, and survive intercollegiate football. Talent unites them, competition divides them, and their demanding coach (James Caan, THE GODFATHER, MICKEY BLUE EYES, ERASER) stands by them, even when they fall. Also starring Halle Berry (2001 Best Actress, MONSTER'S BALL, SWORDFISH, X-MEN), Craig Sheffer (A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT), and Kristy Swanson (DUDE, WHERE'S MY CAR?) -- you'll catch the excitement of football season year-round when you grab this big-screen winner today! (Amazon.com)

Language:

English, German

TT:

112 min (film, VHS) / 227 min (2-DVD)

J.S. Bach's Music:

Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 in F major, BWV 1047, arranged by Louis Knatchbull
Courtesy of Breton/APM Music

Format:

Film: Color, Dolby
DVD: (Color, NTSC, Region 1)
VHS: (Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, NTSC)

Company:

Film: The Samuel Goldwyn Company; Touchstone Pictures
DVD: Walt Disney Video
VHS: Walt Disney Video

Comments:

Watch selections:

Buy movie at:

DVD: Amazon.com [2-DVD]
VHS: Amazon.com

Source/Links: IMDB
Contributor: Aryeh Oron (November 2007)