That Championship Season *** (1982, Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach, Robert Mitchum, Martin Sheen, Paul Sorvino) – Classic Movie Review 11,648

Writer-director Jason Miller’s 1982 drama That Championship Season stars a grand line-up in Bruce Dern, Stacy Keach, Robert Mitchum, Martin Sheen and Paul Sorvino.

It is an impressive and touching, though theatrical and flat film of Jason Miller’s powerful stage play (a Pulitzer-prize winner in 1972) which transferred to London from Broadway.

The cast guarantees respect in this tale of four ageing men and their coach (Robert Mitchum) who convene each year to celebrate a glorious basketball win of their high school youth. It is now 25 years since the 1957 Fillmore High School basketball team won the Pennsylvania state championship.

It is that typical American play subject – the American dream turned sour – as the men’s lives are given over to various betrayals, corruptions and temptations.

The theme, like the stories and the characters, is too pat and schematic, but you still want to know about the lives of these characters with these actors playing them.

Paul Sorvino is the only cast member who appeared in the play.

Bruce Dern as George Sitkowski, mayor of Scranton, won the Silver Bear for Best Actor at the 33rd Berlin International Film Festival.

The cast are Robert Mitchum as Coach Daniel B Delaney, Martin Sheen as Tom Daley, Stacy Keach as James Daley, Bruce Dern as George Sitkowski, Paul Sorvino as Phil Romano, Arthur Franz as Macken, Joseph Kelly, Michael Bernosky, Barry Weiner and George Lowry.

Miller’s play opened off-Broadway in 1972 and after 144 performances moved to Broadway for 844 more performances before closing on 21 April 1974.

Scenes were shot where Miller grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, in the summer of 1982.

The stars and director were paid $250,000 each plus a percentage of the profits, but the film was not a hit and it lost money. The film helped the reputation of Cannon Films, who financed it, but not their bank balance. It seems to have taken only $40,000 at the box office.

In 1999, Sorvino directed an adaptation of the play for Showtime and played the coach.

Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,648

Link to Derek Winnert’s home page for more reviews: http://derekwinnert.com