Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #76312 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-03-04
• Rating: R (Restricted)
• Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
• Formats: Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English, German
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 112 minutes

Amazon.com
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

Customer Reviews

Too Many Subplots, but still a Good Effort
If you're looking for a movie that will give you an overall feel on what behind the curtain NCAA college football is all about, this ain't the one. Unfortunately, there aren't too many out there. While I did find The Program somewhat entertaining, I thought that it tried to appeal to way too many *types* of viewers by convoluting any one clear and relevant plotline with a host of subplots.

At the beginning of this movie, you may be led to believe that the movie is going to be a sort of expose on the business that college athletics has become. We start out by seeing the college's well-planned attempt at trying to recruit a blue chip running-back (Omar Epps). James Cann is great as the 3-dimensional cool-headed coach, who understands that college football is big money (I like contrasting this to the mean sum'va'bitch coach that Jon Voight plays in Varsity Blues). This underscores the idea that education is a secondary concern to many university officials.

There are some great moments in the movie about NCAA corruption. Star linebackers take alumni bribes in the movie. Issues of steroid addiction and grade fixing are touched upon, but never examined to full capacity. Don't get me wrong, normally, I like my sports movies with plenty of sports, but I don't think that the proper set up was there for this to be called a solid 100% sports flick.

While the movie toys with the idea of being a sort of expose, it never quite gets off the ground. I think this is largely due to the fact that the makers of the film tried to rig it to appeal to too many different audiences.

For example, for the non-sports fans, there are 2 romantic subplots. One involving the moping pariah star QB, Joe Cain, and his passion for the girl who doesn't date jocks (touching...yawn). And yet, another involving Epp's and Halle's characters. For the sports diehards, there is the oh so very cliche big game with the classic slow motion play that always works. For the sentimental crowd there is another subplot involving Joe Kain's tobacco-roadish alcoholic father who never goes to see him play. There is, yet another subplot about Kain's rehab from eposodic alcoholism.

Like I said, normally I like my sports movies with plenty sports, but this movie frames itself up to deal with the "behind the scenes" issues and just doesn't come through. Yes, NCAA football is a dirty business. Shoot to kill! Who gives a damn whether Omar Epps and Joe Kane find true romance?

By the way, the guy who played Lattimer deserved an Oscar for best supporting actor!

the program-for adrenaline
this is the ultimate movie to watch before a big game to get pumped and all-out psychotic. although laying down on the street isn't a good example for the kids, they should have kept the scene in because it adds on to the lifestyle of an athlete-trying to show who's got the cast-iron pair.

DVD, Please!
Beyond being the best football movie ever made, it is one of my favorite movies: period! I saw it in the theatre with the now deleted scene then in it. It was amazing: a total rush! I have seen this movie more times than Star Wars, and I still get a tingle down my spine. If you think football is better than baseball and apple pie put together, this is a movie for you. However, if you are like me and have joined the spoiled, DVD-Surround Sound family, demand DVD, with the deleted scene! Do not settle for VHS!