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The Program (2015)

Drama | 104 minutes
2,95 270 votes

Genre: Drama / Biography

Duration: 104 minuten

Country: United Kingdom / France

Directed by: Stephen Frears

Stars: Ben Foster, Chris O'Dowd and Lee Pace

IMDb score: 6,5 (20.403)

Releasedate: 16 September 2015

The Program plot

"Champion. Hero. Legend. Cheat."

The film follows the rise of cyclist Lance Armstrong through the 1990s and 00s, battling cancer, as he and his American teammates dominate and change the typical European cycling sport. Sports journalist David Walsh becomes convinced that Armstrong is fueling his performance with banned substances. With this conviction, he begins to look for evidence.

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Full Cast & Crew

Actors and actresses

Lance Armstrong

David Walsh

Floyd Landis

Bill Stapleton

Johan Bruyneel

Frankie Andreu

Betsy Andreu

Emma O'Reilly

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avatar van Flat Eric

Flat Eric

  • 6443 messages
  • 1026 votes

Looks like a documentary.

Despite the fact that it wasn't that long ago that the deception came out, it was still interesting to see how things went back then.

Truly shocking and shocking! If everyone used doping back then, Armstrong was simply the best of all doping riders.

As Armstrong, I did not find Ben Foster very convincing and successful. The real Armstrong has a more charismatic appearance.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Roger Thornhill

Roger Thornhill

  • 6011 messages
  • 2445 votes

"The bar is open!" I can think of quite a few (minor) weaknesses of this film, for example that I would have liked to see a little more shots of Armstrong during the stages (including during time trials), that the ending is very abrupt, and that I get to see clearly what exactly Armstrong's motivation is to plead guilty so publicly and why at that particular moment (is the ground getting too hot for him? Does Landis' confession put him in the loop? Does he get tired of lying?) , but I have rarely seen a film in which the central role kept me so glued to the tube. Fantastic portrayal of Ben Foster, who I actually know mostly as a loose cannon in films like 3.10 to Yuma and Hell or high water, but who uses his intensity here to create a physical resemblance simulating the real Armstrong who is hardly there when you see him with his usual thin blond hair and flax beard. Brilliant role that never becomes one-dimensional, and in his commitment to LiveStrong he is just as believable in my opinion as when he rebukes Simeoni as a little boy. Also very loyal: Lee Pace as Armstrong's aggressive right-hand man Bill Stapleton, and the other supporting roles are also well filled, but otherwise this is completely Foster's film.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original

avatar van Lavrot

Lavrot

  • 900 messages
  • 0 votes

That first image of a cyclist on a lonely winding road immediately made me think of Donnie Darko, and ... of "this could be a nice movie." But when I saw the images of actors on racing bikes with matching clothes, all credibility was shattered. Besides the bike it wasn't much better. Every athlete was portrayed as a caricature. No, the depth had to remain a tangible dive into real water.

How come we don't find out about how the Texas liar grew up? About his mother, about his father, about his stepfather, about his first steps in the triathlon, about his real name. Because it may be clear that he had/has a twisted personality, but that's not how a person is born, is he.

Yes, what we get to see wasn't a syllable more than the USADA report says, and that's not enough for a compelling film. The reason he eventually had to confess everything was that US Postal is a state-owned company, which had been defrauded by him. This justified the FBI taking up the case and questioning him and his teammates under oath; perjury would mean jail time.

dutch flagTranslated from Dutch · View original