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That Championship Season (1982 film)
Encyclopedia
That Championship Season is Jason Miller's
1982 film version of his 1973 Pulitzer Prize
winning Broadway play of the same name
. It stars Robert Mitchum
, Martin Sheen
, Bruce Dern
, Stacy Keach
and Paul Sorvino
and was filmed on location in Scranton, Pennsylvania
where it is set.
In 1999, Sorvino directed a remake
for Showtime in which he played Mitchum's role as the coach. This version co-starred Vincent D'Onofrio
, Gary Sinise
, Tony Shalhoub
and Terry Kinney
.
As teenage team members they could read each other's moves on the court without fail. As middle-aged men, each facing his own different mid-life crisis. With a former coach that still addresses problems as if his boys are having a bad game, the friends' longtime loyalty to one another begins to unravel.
George Sitkowski is mayor of Scranton and engaged in a fierce campaign for re-election. James Daley is an overwrought and underpaid school principal while his brother, Tom, has become a drifter with a serious drinking problem. Phil Romano is the wealthiest among them. He often bends the law and even betrays a friend to indulge his own needs, but George badly needs his support.
The intended celebratory nature of this reunion is quickly dissipated. Various contentions arise among the four old teammates, who quickly turn on one another. The coach's bigotry—then and now—and his selfish disregard for fair play are brought again to the surface. The absence of the team's star player, who hates the coach, serves to further spotlight the futility and hollowness of this gathering.
For years Miller attempted to bring the play to the big screen before succeeding in 1982. As writer and director, he insisted on filming the exteriors in Scranton, Pennsylvania
, where the story takes place. Miller was raised and educated there and his intent was to showcase the city and its people.
The first quarter of the film does just that as the characters and situations unfold. Locations used included Nay Aug Park (featuring a political rally using the townspeople as extras), the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad headquarters, the Martz Trailways terminal, Lackawanna Avenue, the city council chambers and more.
The score
by composer Bill Conti
(Rocky
, The Right Stuff, For Your Eyes Only
) was supplanted by the West Scranton High School
Band. No soundtrack was ever released.
William Friedkin
was originally going to direct the movie (he had worked with Jason Miller
before on The Exorcist
). Before he dropped out, Friedkin offered the part of Coach Delaney to William Holden
. Holden was interested but died before he could accept the part.
won the Silver Bear for Best Actor
at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival
.
Jason Miller (playwright)
Jason Miller was an American actor and playwright. He received the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play That Championship Season, and was widely recognized for his role as Father Damien Karras in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist...
1982 film version of his 1973 Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
winning Broadway play of the same name
That Championship Season
That Championship Season is a 1972 play by Jason Miller. It was the recipient of the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.-Plot synopsis:Characters* The Coach* George Sitkowski* Phil Romano* James Daley* Tom Daley...
. It stars Robert Mitchum
Robert Mitchum
Robert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
, Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
, Bruce Dern
Bruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
, Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
and Paul Sorvino
Paul Sorvino
Paul Anthony Sorvino is an American actor. He often portrays authority figures on both sides of the law, and is possibly best known for his roles as Paulie Cicero, a portrayal of Paul Vario in the film Goodfellas and Sgt. Phil Cerreta on the police procedural and legal drama television series Law...
and was filmed on location in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
where it is set.
In 1999, Sorvino directed a remake
That Championship Season (TV film)
That Championship Season is a 1999 television film about a four members of a championship high school basketball team, along with their coach, that reunite 20 years later. The film is based on Jason Miller's Pulitzer Prize winning play of the same name...
for Showtime in which he played Mitchum's role as the coach. This version co-starred Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent D'Onofrio
Vincent Phillip D'Onofrio is an American actor, director, film producer, writer, and singer. Often referred to as an actor's actor, his work as a character actor has earned him the nickname of "Human Chameleon"...
, Gary Sinise
Gary Sinise
Gary Alan Sinise is an American actor, film director and musician. During his career, Sinise has won various awards including an Emmy and a Golden Globe Award and was nominated for an Academy Award. In 1992, Sinise directed, and played the role of George Milton in the successful film adaptation of...
, Tony Shalhoub
Tony Shalhoub
Anthony Marcus "Tony" Shalhoub is an American actor of Lebanese descent. His television work includes the roles of Antonio Scarpacci on Wings and sleuth Adrian Monk on the TV series Monk. He has won three Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe for his work in Monk...
and Terry Kinney
Terry Kinney
Terry Kinney is an American actor and theatre director, and is a founding member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, with Gary Sinise and Jeff Perry.-Early life:...
.
Plot
It has been 25 years since the 1957 Fillmore High School (fictional) basketball team won the Pennsylvania state championship. The coach and four of the victors regularly gather to relive the glory of their shining moment.As teenage team members they could read each other's moves on the court without fail. As middle-aged men, each facing his own different mid-life crisis. With a former coach that still addresses problems as if his boys are having a bad game, the friends' longtime loyalty to one another begins to unravel.
George Sitkowski is mayor of Scranton and engaged in a fierce campaign for re-election. James Daley is an overwrought and underpaid school principal while his brother, Tom, has become a drifter with a serious drinking problem. Phil Romano is the wealthiest among them. He often bends the law and even betrays a friend to indulge his own needs, but George badly needs his support.
The intended celebratory nature of this reunion is quickly dissipated. Various contentions arise among the four old teammates, who quickly turn on one another. The coach's bigotry—then and now—and his selfish disregard for fair play are brought again to the surface. The absence of the team's star player, who hates the coach, serves to further spotlight the futility and hollowness of this gathering.
Cast
- Robert MitchumRobert MitchumRobert Charles Durman Mitchum was an American film actor, author, composer and singer and is #23 on the American Film Institute's list of the greatest male American screen legends of all time...
as Coach Delaney - Martin SheenMartin SheenRamón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
as Tom Daley - Stacy KeachStacy KeachStacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
as James Daley - Bruce DernBruce DernBruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
as George Sitkowski - Paul SorvinoPaul SorvinoPaul Anthony Sorvino is an American actor. He often portrays authority figures on both sides of the law, and is possibly best known for his roles as Paulie Cicero, a portrayal of Paul Vario in the film Goodfellas and Sgt. Phil Cerreta on the police procedural and legal drama television series Law...
as Phil Romano
Production
Jason Miller's play opened off-Broadway in 1972. After critical acclaim and 144 performances, it moved to a Broadway theater for a run of 844 more performances before closing on April 21, 1974.For years Miller attempted to bring the play to the big screen before succeeding in 1982. As writer and director, he insisted on filming the exteriors in Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton, Pennsylvania
Scranton is a city in the northeastern part of Pennsylvania, United States. It is the county seat of Lackawanna County and the largest principal city in the Scranton/Wilkes-Barre metropolitan area. Scranton had a population of 76,089 in 2010, according to the U.S...
, where the story takes place. Miller was raised and educated there and his intent was to showcase the city and its people.
The first quarter of the film does just that as the characters and situations unfold. Locations used included Nay Aug Park (featuring a political rally using the townspeople as extras), the Delaware, Lackawanna & Western Railroad headquarters, the Martz Trailways terminal, Lackawanna Avenue, the city council chambers and more.
The score
Film score
A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film, forming part of the film's soundtrack, which also usually includes dialogue and sound effects...
by composer Bill Conti
Bill Conti
William "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...
(Rocky
Rocky
Rocky is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and both written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It tells the rags to riches American Dream story of Rocky Balboa, an uneducated but kind-hearted debt collector for a loan shark in the city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
, The Right Stuff, For Your Eyes Only
For Your Eyes Only (film)
For Your Eyes Only is the twelfth spy film in the James Bond series and the fifth to star Roger Moore as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. It marked the directorial debut of John Glen, who had worked as editor and second unit director in three other Bond films. The screenplay by Richard Maibaum...
) was supplanted by the West Scranton High School
West Scranton High School
West Scranton High School, is a community-based school in the "West Side" neighborhood of Scranton, Pennsylvania opened to the public in 1935, first as a junior high facility and later as a high school. One of the oldest schools in the area, it has about 32 clubs and 17 sports. It hosts grades 9...
Band. No soundtrack was ever released.
William Friedkin
William Friedkin
William Friedkin is an American film director, producer and screenwriter best known for directing The French Connection in 1971 and The Exorcist in 1973; for the former, he won the Academy Award for Best Director...
was originally going to direct the movie (he had worked with Jason Miller
Jason Miller (playwright)
Jason Miller was an American actor and playwright. He received the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play That Championship Season, and was widely recognized for his role as Father Damien Karras in the 1973 horror film The Exorcist...
before on The Exorcist
The Exorcist (film)
The Exorcist is a 1973 American horror film directed by William Friedkin, adapted from the 1971 novel of the same name by William Peter Blatty and based on the exorcism case of Robbie Mannheim, dealing with the demonic possession of a young girl and her mother’s desperate attempts to win back her...
). Before he dropped out, Friedkin offered the part of Coach Delaney to William Holden
William Holden
William Holden was an American actor. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor in 1954 and the Emmy Award for Best Actor in 1974...
. Holden was interested but died before he could accept the part.
Awards
Bruce DernBruce Dern
Bruce MacLeish Dern is an American film actor. He also appeared as a guest star in numerous television shows. He frequently takes roles as a character actor, often playing unstable and villainous characters...
won the Silver Bear for Best Actor
Silver Bear for Best Actor
The Silver Bear for Best Actor is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for achievement in performance by an actor.- Awards :- External links :*...
at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival
33rd Berlin International Film Festival
The 33rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 18 to March 3, 1983.-Jury:* Jeanne Moreau * Alex Bänninger* Franco Brusati* Elem Klimov* Ursula Ludwig* Kurt Maetzig* Joseph L...
.