The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)

User Rating:

6.4/10   

Director:

Robert Redford

Writers (WGA):

Steven Pressfield (novel)
Jeremy Leven (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 November 2000 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Sport

Tagline:

Some Things Can't Be Learned. They Must Be Remembered.

Plot:

A down-and-out golfer attempts to recover his game and his life with help from a mystical caddy.

Plot Keywords:

Golf | Game | Golfer | Caddy | Golf Course

Awards:

2 wins & 10 nominations

Cast

Will Smith	...	Bagger Vance
Matt Damon	...	Rannulph Junuh
Charlize Theron	...	Adele Invergordon
Bruce McGill	...	Walter Hagen
Joel Gretsch	...	Bobby Jones
J. Michael Moncrief	...	Hardy Greaves
Lane Smith	...	Grantland Rice
Peter Gerety	...	Neskaloosa
Michael O'Neill	...	O.B. Keeler
Thomas Jay Ryan	...	Spec Hammond
Trip Hamilton	...	Frank Greaves
Dermot Crowley	...	Dougal McDermott
Harve Presnell	...	John Invergordon
Danny Nelson	...	McManus
Bob Penny	...	Laidlaw

Also Known As:

La légende de Bagger Vance (Canada: French title) (France) [fr]
A Lenda de Bagger Vance (Portugal) [pt]
Bagger Vance - viheriön legenda (Finland) [fi]
Die Legende von Bagger Vance (Germany) [de]
La leggenda di Bagger Vance (Italy) [it]
La leyenda de Bagger Vance (Spain) [es]
Legenden om Bagger Vance (Sweden) [sv]
Lendas da Vida (Brazil) [pt]
Leyendas de vida (Argentina) [es]
O thrylos tou Bagger Vance (Greece) [el]
Un caddy exceptionnel (Canada: French title) (TV title) [fr]

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for some sexual content.

Runtime:

126 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital EX | SDDS | DTS-ES

Certification:

Iceland:L | Malaysia:U | USA:PG-13 (certificate #37600) | South Korea:12 | Netherlands:6 (re-rating) | Canada:PG | Italy:T | Argentina:Atp | Brazil:Livre | Chile:TE | Finland:K-7 | France:U | Germany:6 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIA | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/6 | Singapore:PG | Spain:T | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | UK:PG | Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Beaufort, South Carolina, USA

Company:

Allied Filmmakers

Trivia:

Matt Damon did not have any previous experience playing golf; he spent a month with golf pro Tim Moss in Hilton Head, South Carolina, to prepare for the role.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: When Bagger is instructing Junuh about "The Field", (Second Round, first day) he hands him a ball on a red tee. The tee is a plastic one. (Note the shape of the tee having a notch for fingers, rather than a single surface tee). At that era the tees were all wood. Plastic tees were not introduced to the game until the 1990's and did not become official for tournament play until late that decade.

Quotes:

Walter Hagen: The meaning of it all is that there is no meaning.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back (2001)

Soundtrack:

In Paradisium

Will Smith in Period Drama

A nice, tender film at the hand of writer/director Robert Redford. Matt Damon is the leading man in this film as a former golfer that brushes up on his talents of the past, whilst Will Smith plays a supporting guardian angel type of character which he carries off beautifully. It seems that at this stage in his career, he is better as a supporting actor (as in 'Made in America', 'Six Degrees of Separation' and 'Enemy of the State'), and needs to learn from his more experienced contemporaries like Matt Damon how to maintain audience interest throughout a film. Smith plays a convincing aged character by the name of 'Bagger Vance' who aids Damon in the process of regaining his confidence to win a golf tournament. It is almost a guest appearance in a self contained film which neither belongs to Matt Damon or Robert Redford. It is a film that stands by itself.