Brian's Song backdrop
Brian's Song logo
1971·Drama·1h 13m
7.0
Based on the real-life relationship between teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers and the bond established when Piccolo discovers that he is dying.
Directed by Buzz Kulik
friendship
sports
american football
terminal illness
cancer
reflective
anxious
factual
admiring

Cast

James Caan
James Caan
Brian Piccolo
Billy Dee Williams
Billy Dee Williams
Gale Sayers
Jack Warden
Jack Warden
Coach Halas
Bernie Casey
Bernie Casey
J.C. Caroline
Shelley Fabares
Shelley Fabares
Joy Piccolo
David Huddleston
David Huddleston
Ed McCaskey
Judy Pace
Judy Pace
Linda Sayers
Ron Feinberg
Ron Feinberg
Veteran Player #2
Ji-Tu Cumbuka
Ji-Tu Cumbuka
Roommate
Doreen Lang
Doreen Lang
Nurse #1
Stu Nahan
Stu Nahan
Speaker
Mario Machado
Mario Machado
Reporter #1

Crew

Buzz Kulik
Buzz Kulik
Director
Michel Legrand
Michel Legrand
Original Music Composer
Joseph F. Biroc
Joseph F. Biroc
Director of Photography
Paul Junger Witt
Paul Junger Witt
Producer
Steve Sabol
Steve Sabol
Thanks

Popular Reviews

31 reviews
Sir Steppa
Sir Steppa
Brian's Song
They ain’t have to scorch my team like that, come on, stick it in their ear! How he did live!
They ain’t have to scorch my team like that, come on, stick it in their ear! How he did live!
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Billy Bowers
Billy Bowers
Brian's Song
This one is for my dad. Glad he loved movies so I grew to love movies.
This one is for my dad. Glad he loved movies so I grew to love movies.
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Zane Thibodeaux
Zane Thibodeaux
Brian's Song
worth watching for the Gale Sayers in-game footage alone. truly an incredible athlete.
worth watching for the Gale Sayers in-game footage alone. truly an incredible athlete.
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David S
David S
Brian's Song
Man if this wasn't a TV movie and it was a little longer, this would be a top 3 football movie of all time. But to be honest, they make pretty good use of the time they have. You can still feel all the emotions you are meant to feel even with it being as underdeveloped of a plot as it is because of the runtime constraints. This film surprisingly came out only like a year after all of this transpired which seems way too soon to me. It is nice to see James Caan play a likeable character for once. I have only ever seen him as a scummy character in the Godfather or Elf. Lando Calrissian being Gale Sayers is also another nice surprise. I think they both do pretty good acting jobs as well. I would say there is nothing that is really largely wrong with this film. I do think the runtime is not enough to make this film great. I wish there was more football scenes and a little more buildup of tension during the actual seasons. But overall, a good movie and a lot better than most of the TV movies today.
Man if this wasn't a TV movie and it was a little longer, this would be a top 3 football movie of all time. But to be honest, they make pretty good use of the time they have. You can still feel all the emotions you are meant to feel even with it being as underdeveloped of a plot as it is because of the runtime constraints. This film surprisingly came out only like a year after all of this transpired which seems way too soon to me. It is nice to see James Caan play a likeable character for once. I have only ever seen him as a scummy character in the Godfather or Elf. Lando Calrissian being Gale Sayers is also another nice surprise. I think they both do pretty good acting jobs as well. I would say there is nothing that is really largely wrong with this film. I do think the runtime is not enough to make this film great. I wish there was more football scenes and a little more buildup of tension during the actual seasons. But overall, a good movie and a lot better than most of the TV movies today.
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Eli Host
Eli Host
Brian's Song
Didn’t understand more than three words the whole movie
Didn’t understand more than three words the whole movie
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