Classic Night at the Movies: Brian’s Song (1971)

Classic Night at the Movies presents Brian’s Song (1971) on Wednesday, June 29th, 7 pm at El Raton. FREE! Door Prizes! Donations will be given to Colfax County Relay For Life (American Cancer Society). Sponsored by KRTN, El Raton Movie Theatre and Raton Natural Gas.

Brian’s Song is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the details of the life of Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan), a Wake Forest University football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro, told through his friendship with Chicago Bears running back teammate and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams), who helps him through the difficult struggle. The production was such a success on ABC that it was later shown in theaters by Columbia Pictures.

Critics have called the movie one of the finest tele-films ever made.

A 2005 readers poll taken by Entertainment Weekly ranked ‘Brian’s Song’ 7th in its list of the top “guy-cry” films ever made.