The Program

"Champion. Hero. Legend. Cheat."

2015 1h 43m EN

😐

6.4

MID

★6.4TMDB · 560

Drama

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances. With this conviction, he starts hunting for evidence that will expose Armstrong.

“Champion. Hero. Legend. Cheat.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Ben Foster
Lance Armstrong
Chris O'Dowd
David Walsh
Guillaume Canet
Dr. Ferrari
Jesse Plemons
Floyd Landis
Lee Pace
Bill Stapleton
Denis Ménochet
Johan Bruyneel
Edward Hogg
Frankie Andreu
Dustin Hoffman
Bob Hamman

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Stephen Frears
Writers: John Hodge
Languages: English
Countries: France, United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 11 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: France, United Kingdom.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Stephen Frears, shot by Danny Cohen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Alex Heffes. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Valerio Bonelli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ben Foster and Chris O'Dowd and Guillaume Canet carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Champion. Hero. Legend. Cheat.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt3083008 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Stephen Frears directs. Danny Cohen behind the camera. Alex Heffes scores. Valerio Bonelli cuts. Produced in France, United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 11 years ago.
2International production across 2 countries: France, United Kingdom.
3Directed by Stephen Frears, shot by Danny Cohen. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Original score by Alex Heffes. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
5Editor Valerio Bonelli shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
6Ben Foster and Chris O'Dowd and Guillaume Canet carry the top of the cast.
7Marketing tagline: "Champion. Hero. Legend. Cheat.".
8IMDB entry: tt3083008 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Danny Cohen
Original score: Alex Heffes
Editing: Valerio Bonelli
Production design: Alan MacDonald
Costume design: Jane Petrie
Makeup / hair: Felicity Bowring
Stunt coordinator: Gareth Milne
Runtime: 103 min · 1h 43m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Box office: $3,286,448
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG-13
IMDB: The Program (2015)

Also by

Stephen Frears

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Community reviews

What people are saying

Reno2016-05-14
★ 6.5/10
What would you choose to do if you get a second chance in your life. I think it came at the right time. The recent report says there are lots of athletes around the world from the different sports failed their doping tests. But this story sets around the 15 years ago, which was based on the real sportsperson's life story. Lance Armstrong, a cyclist from the Texas and his record breaking back to back wins at the 'The Tour de France'. The film narrates a tale that what he chose to do with the second chance of his life. A very interesting biopic, but kind of confusing over what kind of revelation the film is. I mean whether inspiring to fight back the disease, especially what he contributed to the poor and orphan cancer patients, or cheating the game to become a fame. So what I think is it has the both positives and negatives. I liked the balanced screenplay, that is very smart for a controversial person like this. It's like a modern 'Robinhood' tale. But here, he's not stealing from the rich, instead he cheats the game. Those tricks were unbelievable. That's not the right thing to do, but that's what he's good at. Ben Foster was amazing, I'd seen him doing lots of supporting roles, but for this he's the posterboy. This film is a great example that the lies cannot go on forever, sooner or later the justice will be done. People hate him and so this film. There are others who like him as well, but I'm neutral and people like me has to go through a hard time to rate it. 6½/10

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