The Main Event (1979 film)
Encyclopedia
The Main Event is a 1979
comedy
starring Barbra Streisand
and Ryan O'Neal
, written by Gail Parent
and directed by Howard Zieff
.
The film received negative reviews from critics, but was among the Top 10 highest grossing films of the year at the box office. It was also the impetus for Barbra Streisand's first foray into disco
, singing the Golden Globe-nominated theme song written by Paul Jabara
and Bruce Roberts
.
Eventually, Hillary wears Eddie down and she gets funding (mainly from friends, associates, and colleagues) for his first fights, all of which go awry, either through Hillary's lack of knowledge about boxing or Eddie's out-of-shape condition (and general fear of being hit). All the while, Hillary and Eddie continue sparring on their own, thanks to their different personalities. But, as time (and fights) go on, they develop an increasingly personal relationship, which ultimately leads them to have to decide what they really want.
Gross including inflation 2007: $251,106,625
was released on LP, cassette
, and eight-track. In October 1993, it was released on CD. The CD is now out of print. The soundtrack seems to play as basically an extended single of "The Main Event/Fight", containing an 11:39 version, an edited and slightly altered version at 4:54, released as the single that hit #3 on the Pop Charts, and a ballad version titled simply "The Main Event" as it omits the "Fight" parts. A bootleg of the recording sessions for the title song exists with Streisand commenting on the vocal challenges the song contains. A DJ-only promo 12" single was released for "The Main Event/Fight" as well as a 7" promo that featured a unique shorter 3:59 version backed with the single release.
{| width="0%"
|- valign="top"
| width="50%" |
{|class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Chart (1979)
!align="center"|Peak
position
!align="right"|Certification
|-
|align="left"|US Album Chart
|align="center"|20
|align="right"|Gold
|-
|align="left"|Canadian Album Chart
|align="center"|11
|align="right"|
|-
|}
1979 in film
The year 1979 in film involved some significant events.- Major events :* March 5 - Production begins on Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back.* May 25 - Alien, a landmark of the science fiction genre, is released....
comedy
Comedy
Comedy , as a popular meaning, is any humorous discourse or work generally intended to amuse by creating laughter, especially in television, film, and stand-up comedy. This must be carefully distinguished from its academic definition, namely the comic theatre, whose Western origins are found in...
starring Barbra Streisand
Barbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
and Ryan O'Neal
Ryan O'Neal
Charles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
, written by Gail Parent
Gail Parent
Gail Parent is an American television and screenwriter, television producer, and author.Parent's writing career began with a 1971 episode of The Mary Tyler Moore Show...
and directed by Howard Zieff
Howard Zieff
Howard Zieff , was an American director, television commercial director, and advertising photographer.-Biography:...
.
The film received negative reviews from critics, but was among the Top 10 highest grossing films of the year at the box office. It was also the impetus for Barbra Streisand's first foray into disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, singing the Golden Globe-nominated theme song written by Paul Jabara
Paul Jabara
Paul Jabara was an American actor, singer, and songwriter of Lebanese ancestry. He wrote Donna Summer's "Last Dance" from Thank God It's Friday and Barbra Streisand's song "The Main Event/Fight" from The Main Event...
and Bruce Roberts
Bruce Roberts (singer)
Bruce Roberts is a singer and songwriter. In 1995 he released the album Intimacy which featured musical and vocal contributions by many notable artists...
.
Plot
Hillary Kramer (Streisand), a successful perfume magnate awakes one morning to find that her accountant has robbed her blind and left for South America. Going through all of her remaining assets she finds a boxer, purchased as a tax write off. She decides to take Eddie "Kid Natural" Scanlon (Ryan O'Neal) who is much more at home giving driving lessons, into the ring and use him as her key to riches. Eddie thinks this will only get him killed and resists.Eventually, Hillary wears Eddie down and she gets funding (mainly from friends, associates, and colleagues) for his first fights, all of which go awry, either through Hillary's lack of knowledge about boxing or Eddie's out-of-shape condition (and general fear of being hit). All the while, Hillary and Eddie continue sparring on their own, thanks to their different personalities. But, as time (and fights) go on, they develop an increasingly personal relationship, which ultimately leads them to have to decide what they really want.
Main cast
- Barbra StreisandBarbra StreisandBarbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
... Hillary Kramer - Ryan O'NealRyan O'NealCharles Patrick Ryan O'Neal , better known as Ryan O'Neal, is an American actor best known for his appearances in the ABC nighttime soap opera Peyton Place and for his roles in such films as Paper Moon , Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon , A Bridge Too Far , and Love Story , for which he received...
... Eddie "Kid Natural" Scanlon - Paul SandPaul SandPaul Sand is an American comedic actor.-Background:Sand was born Paul Sanchez in Santa Monica, California, the son of Sonia Borodiansky, a writer, and Ernest Rivera Sanchez, an aerospace tool designer. His father was Mexican and his mother of Russian descent.-Career:At the age of 11, he started at...
... David - Whitman MayoWhitman MayoWhitman B. Mayo was an American actor best known for his character Grady Wilson on the 1970s television sitcom Sanford and Son....
... Percy - Patti D'ArbanvillePatti D'ArbanvillePatricia "Patti" D'Arbanville is an American actress and former model.-Early life:D'Arbanville, born May 25, 1951 in New York City, New York, is the daughter of Jean , an artist, and George D'Arbanville, a bartender, and attended PS 41 on Eleventh Street...
... Donna - Chu Chu Malave ... Luis
- Richard Lawson ... Hector Mantilla
- James GregoryJames Gregory (actor)James Gregory was an American character actor noted for his deep, gravelly voice and playing brash roles such as McCarthy-like Senator John Iselin in The Manchurian Candidate , the audacious General Ursus in Beneath the Planet of the Apes, and loudmouthed Inspector Luger in Barney Miller...
... Gough
Box office
Although critically panned, The Main Event was a box office smash. The film's budget was $8,000,000 and grossed $62,000,000 worldwide with rentals of $26,400,000 with a total gross of $88,500,000. Opening week results were $10,000,000.Gross including inflation 2007: $251,106,625
Soundtrack
In June of 1979, a soundtrackSoundtrack
A soundtrack can be recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, book, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; or the physical area of a film that contains the...
was released on LP, cassette
Compact Cassette
The Compact Cassette, often referred to as audio cassette, cassette tape, cassette, or simply tape, is a magnetic tape sound recording format. It was designed originally for dictation, but improvements in fidelity led the Compact Cassette to supplant the Stereo 8-track cartridge and reel-to-reel...
, and eight-track. In October 1993, it was released on CD. The CD is now out of print. The soundtrack seems to play as basically an extended single of "The Main Event/Fight", containing an 11:39 version, an edited and slightly altered version at 4:54, released as the single that hit #3 on the Pop Charts, and a ballad version titled simply "The Main Event" as it omits the "Fight" parts. A bootleg of the recording sessions for the title song exists with Streisand commenting on the vocal challenges the song contains. A DJ-only promo 12" single was released for "The Main Event/Fight" as well as a 7" promo that featured a unique shorter 3:59 version backed with the single release.
- The Main Event/Fight - Barbra Streisand
- Body Shop, The - Michalski & Ooversteen
- The Main Event/Fight (short version) - Barbra Streisand
- Copeland Meets The Coasters (Get A Job) - Michael Melvoin
- Big Girls Don't Cry - Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons
- It's Your Foot Again - Michael Melvoin
- Angry Eyes - Loggins & Messina
- I'd Clean A Fish For You - Michael Melvoin
- The Main Event (ballad) - Barbra Streisand
{| width="0%"
|- valign="top"
| width="50%" |
{|class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Chart (1979)
!align="center"|Peak
position
!align="right"|Certification
|-
|align="left"|US Album Chart
|align="center"|20
|align="right"|Gold
|-
|align="left"|Canadian Album Chart
|align="center"|11
|align="right"|
|-
|}