Great Movie: ''Brian's Song''

The key moment in the movie, ''Brian's Song'' comes in the closing moments. It is the death scene, the final exchange between its two lead characters, Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo. Piccolo, as we know, is dying of his cancer. Sayers, leaning over his bed, is saying goodbye to him without uttering the words. They are holding hands, as two teammates, and, most importantly, two friends will do. Suddenly, Piccolo is gripped by pain. His face contorts and his grip on his friend's hand locks into a plea to hold him for support. Gale Sayers grips him tighter, giving him the support that a friend gives when needed the most. This one moment conveys the backbone of their friendship. Brian Piccolo soon dies after....... ''Brian's Song'' is on the list of every filmgoer who wants to cry for a movie. It was a TV Movie Of The Week in November, 1971, on ABC. From its first airing, it has attained a love by the public, one of those movies one must see over and over again. It tells the story of a friendship between two football players from the Chicago Bears, Gale Sayers and Brian Piccolo. One was a great football player, perhaps, the best open field running back in NFL history. The other, a hard-working, but, mediocre player, who had he lived, would not have gone down in NFL history in anything other than his supreme good character. Truth be told by their many mutual friends, they were close friends, but, not the best of friends that the film depicts. Hollywood, being Hollywood, embellished the closeness of their friendship for dramatic purposes. The film is by no means factually accurate at points of the story. But, it doesn't matter. A film is designed to entertain and hopefully, teach and inspire. This movie succeeds greatly in this aspect. We know from the beginning of the film that Piccolo will die, the narration over the opening credits tells us it will end in tragedy. If anything, though, knowing this adds to the poignancy in the story. We know, even in the movie's funny scenes, that there is a dark cloud hovering over, waiting to drop down. And, when the story does take that sad turn, the filmmakers have us firmly in their grasp. We are willing accomplices in the arc of the tragedy story......... They meet in training camp in the year 1965. Sayers, a star at the University of Kansas, was the Bears Number 1 draft pick that year, one of the most sought-after college prospects in the nation. Gale Sayers had star written all over him. He was a painfully shy man, one of those guys that just mumbled more than talked. His talking was done on the football through his playing. He was fast, very fast, with the ability to break a tackle and run into the open field. And here, when he did break loose, his beauty came to full fruition. He had the misfortune of playing at the same time as Jim Brown, who garnered all the media and fan attention. Sayers, because of his shyness, would always be in the shadow of the great Brown. Perhaps, if he had blown his own horn a little he might have been the legend Brown, and, later on, Walter Payton, would become. But, that wasn't in his nature to brag. He did his job on the field, made friends on the team, and, quietly lived his life....... In that same first training camp was also another running back named Brian Piccolo. Piccolo went to Wake Forest, where, through hard work, he led the nation in rushing and scoring in his senior year. Nobody would confuse the talent of Piccolo's and Sayers'. Sayers was a gifted athlete. Piccolo succeeded because he wasn't given the gifts others had been given by God. Through his tenacity, he made a name for himself in college. Still, when the NFL draft happened, no team selected him. He was a free agent trying to make the team. In personality and demeanor, Piccolo was an all-star. He was funny, friendly, everyone's pal. Meeting Sayers that first day in training camp, he sized his rival [remember, they were both going for the same running back spot on the team] up and decided to have a little fun at Gale's expense. Sayers had yet to meet the legendary coach of the Bears, George Halas, so Piccolo told Sayers to always talk in the left ear of Halas, since that was his good ear. This was nonsense, of course, but Sayers did as suggested, and there is an amusing scene at the beginning of the movie where Gale is hopping around the room trying to talk into Halas' ''good ear''. Soon, Sayers realizes he has been duped by the prankster Piccolo. A few scenes later, Gale gets his revenge when he slides mashed potatoes on Piccolo's chair while he is singing. Naturally, Brian sits down on the potatoes. They look at each other. They are now even........ Gale Sayers makes the team easily, for he is the star running back the Bears have been waiting for. Brian Piccolo, barely survives the cut. What he does to make the team is work like a dog beyond his lack of pure natural talent. This appeals to Old Man Halas. They keep Brian around but do not hold up much hope for him. He will play backup and play on the return team. However, his importance will soon come because the Bears have a radical notion for the times. This was the mid-Sixties, with the white-hot Civil Rights movement going strong and tempers and emotions running high. The Bears want to get with the times and have the first black-white roommate arrangement in the NFL. This pairing, stunning in today's world, is revolutionary for its time. Both Piccolo and Sayers think nothing of the arrangement --- the fact they are roomies is proof Piccolo made the team--- but, they are warned of how explosive this will be in the outside world. They will receive hate mail from both sides of the aisle. And, they do. Both sides gets their licks in. In time, it will be accepted, but, the first year is rough for them. They treat the racism with dignity. Also, with humor. There is a loud laugh in the movie when Piccolo is asked by a reporter about the roommate controversy. Piccolo replies, with his great humor, '' There isn't much problem as long as he doesn't use the bathroom.'' The reporters laugh........ With being roommates comes the natural bonding between the men. They meet each others wives and the four all become close friends. It is hard to tell whom brings more to the friendship. The movie tilts towards Piccolo with bringing Sayers out of his shell and helping him with his rehab when Sayers breaks his leg during a game. The important thing is they are bonding, forming a friendship that is beyond football. There are confidences shared and good times taken. In time, they will also share the backfield together during a short span of the season. Then, illness comes into the story..... Brian Piccolo was born with the cancer gene in him. That is what the doctors all say. He has a tumor taken out of him, and, later part of his left lung and breast. Clearly, the cancer has spread all over his body, attacking all of his organs. Finally, on June 16, 1970, Brian Piccolo will die of his cancer at the appallingly young age of 27. The movie tells us over the closing credits that he had three daughters and many friends. The final words on the narration are, ''When his friends think of him its not about how he died, but how he lived. How he did live!!'' And, the haunting swell of the sad music [you have the theme playing in your head right now, I know] comes up. With these final moments, most of the movie's viewers will have tears in their eyes. If you do not, then, you missed the whole point of the movie and its message...... James Caan and Billy Dee Williams play their roles very well. Neither of them can ever be considered a great actor, but, they are two, solid journeymen performers, who, through hard work and diligence, bring the real-life exploits of these two friends to the screen successfully...... Hard work and diligence. Brian Piccolo would be proud........ The legacy of this movie is that, for pure entertainment, it rings the bell. There are laughs and smiles, but, there are also the deep emotional wells of sorrow. This movie earns them, through the solid storytelling and the fine acting. Death, in any story, always presents a built-in sympathy for its characters. Many movies exploit this tactic and it becomes shoddy and self-serving for the filmmakers. It is easy to shoot a dog in the movie and get a rise out of the audience. But, a well-made movie earns the right to get that rise. The backstory of the dog before the shooting is the key part. If you know about the trials and tribulations of the dog and have real affection for it, then, its shooting becomes more personal. And, that is what ''Brian's Song'' does, it earns it merits through the very real story surrounding the tragedy. You care for these men and their friendship. Even though there is that sorrow cloud above them, somehow, on repeated viewings of the movie, you want that cloud to go away and the men continue their friendship for years to come. It doesn't happen, of course, but the feeling of wanting good for these men never leaves....... There is that final image of them holding hands on the deathbed. Two friends saying goodbye. Two men coming from different worlds and backgrounds. Two men with different personalities and views of life. And, two men doing what all of humanity should do. Caring for each other and accepting each other for whom they are. Unity of the human spirit........ Not a bad message......