Brian's Song
by Buzz Kulik
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DVD details
Actor: Bernie Casey, Billy Dee Williams, Jack Warden, James Caan, Shelley FabaresDirector: Buzz Kulik
Brand: CAAN,JAMES
Cinematographer: Joseph F. Biroc
Editor: Bud S. Isaacs
Producer: Paul Junger Witt
Producer: Tony Thomas
Writer: Al Silverman
Writer: Gale Sayers
Writer: William Blinn
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled); Georgian (Subtitled); Chinese (Subtitled); Thai (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Special Edition, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 73 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-08-08
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment
Product features:
- Officially Licensed
- Highest Quality Recording
DVD Reviews of Brian's Song
DVD Review: An Amazing Friendship...Emotional Touchstone Finally on DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
On the accompanying commentary track, Billy Dee Williams facetiously trivialized this movie as "a nice story about two guys who weren't gay." I can't believe it's been 34 years since I first saw it as a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week. I remember crying like a baby and talking about it with my classmates at school the day after. All these years later, this moving film still makes me tear up. At a mere 73 minutes, it tells the now-familiar story of Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, who both joined the Chicago Bears as running backs in 1965. While Sayers proved to be the superior player, Piccolo persevered with good humor and integrity as he helped Sayers recover from a potentially career-ending knee injury. The story is really about how they support and sustain each other, and when Piccolo develops lung cancer, it falls on Sayers to help him through as much as he can. Much of the film's power comes from William Blinn, who wrote a heartfelt, sometimes funny story about friendship and mutual respect without falling into cheap sentimentality, and credit obviously goes to veteran TV director Buzz Kulik, who guides this film expertly to unexpected emotional depths.
The two leads are stellar, and the chemistry between them near-perfect. On the verge of stardom as hothead Sonny Corleone in "The Godfather", James Caan portrays Piccolo as a genuinely likable, funny and determined guy who is convinced he will beat the odds. I doubt if he has played a role since with more emotional honesty, and in such a brief running time, he makes you care deeply about his character. With quiet strength and few words, Williams captures Sayers' initial reticence and increasing bond with Piccolo. In fact, he is responsible for two of the film's most heartbreaking scenes, both where Sayers needed to get out of his awkward comfort zone, first when he tells his teammates in the locker room that Piccolo is sick and then at the second awards banquet when he says with a lack of irony how he loves Piccolo. You are complete stone if you are not moved by these scenes. Jack Warden shows his dependably solid mix of macho gruffness and caring sensitivity as coach George Halas. The wives understandably take a back seat in the story with a post-Elvis era Shelley Fabares effective in her brief scenes as Joy Piccolo and Judy Pace even more in the background as Linda Sayers. Lending welcome realism, several Chicago Bears played themselves, including legendary linebacker Dick Butkus (before he became a TV actor), and the movie smartly includes archival footage of the real Piccolo and Sayers on the field. The beautiful, soaring music by Michel Legrand resonates still, especially the instantly familiar title theme. Keep in mind that "Brian's Song" was a TV-movie (still a concept in its infancy in 1971) made on the cheap with simple, reused sets and periodic fadeouts for the commercials that aired back then. I even recognized the Sayers house as Darrin and Samantha's house from "Bewitched". And truth be told, Caan and Williams looked more like track stars than football players. But the movie transcends those limitations in ways the producers could not have anticipated.
Watching the movie with the commentary by Caan and Williams yields an almost entirely different experience, comically irreverent as if two fraternity brothers reunited. While Williams gets more sentimental about the experience, Caan is flat-out funny as he talks about his fantasy to become a Chicago Bear, how much more athletic he was compared to Williams (which both agree was true), commenting on their physiques at the time, and even speculating some people like Blinn and actor David Huddleston were dead (in fact, they aren't according to imdb.com). Caan also reveals that the movie was made only six months after Piccolo's death and that he felt the weight of his portrayal early on when acting in front of the real Joy Piccolo. There is also a 12-minute by-the-numbers featurette, "Gale Sayers: First and Goal", with the real Sayers, who looks great thirty years later and true to character, doesn't let much emotion show when he talks about his friendship with Piccolo. I'm just so glad they have finally put this on DVD, as this movie was such a powerful touchstone for my generation.
Description of Brian's Song
A true story based on the unique relationship between the black Gayle Sayers and the late white athlete, Brian Piccolo.Genre: Feature Film-Drama
Rating: G
Release Date: 3-SEP-2002
Media Type: DVD
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