Le lion de papier

Enjoyable feel-good film for everybody-- whether you're a quarterback or an armchair quarterback. Based on the true account of George Plimpton at Detroit Lions training camp. Looks at the dream of a weekend athlete and the camaraderie of team sport. The nostalgia of the sixties comes through well. Alan Alda does a fine job as do all the pros, giving the necessary realism. Plimpton does a good job standing in for fans and giving all of us a taste of the big time. At first he tries for a meaningful experience;later he strives to earn respect as he realizes the challenges these men face in professional sports. All backyard athletes dream of the sensation of competing at the highest level. Plimpton and Alda show how it feels behind the scenes in this engaging and entertaining film.

A fairly good adaptation of George Plimpton's book. A young Alan Alda did pretty well playing Plimpton. But as another commenter pointed out, it was most interesting to see pro football in the days when the coaches were the bosses, the players did what they were told, and no thuggishness or criminality was tolerated. Football was tough, and masculine, and that was okay. No strutting, no trash talk. Ah, those were the days.

This is simply a fun movie. Alan Alda portrays Plimpton believably. I was left constantly thinking, "How would I survive a professional football training camp?" Definitely not as well as Plimpton did. I would have quit after the first day.

Another interesting thing about this film is to see all of the cameos from real people and players from 1968. Players from Alex Karras, Frank Gifford, and even the late Bill McPeak pop up in this movie.

Oh and lest we forget. Ms. Hutton is gorgeous!

If you are a fan of Pro football, this is a must. Before Alan Alda shot to fame in the TV series MASH, he was in Paper Lion. Many Football movies have been made, some good, some bad. Longest Yard and Brain's Song rank as two of the best, with Paper Lion a close third. One of the best scenes doesn't take place on the Football field. When Plimpton (Alda) explains his idea to Vince Lombardi, Lombardi laughs and replied " Have you thought about the AFL?" Giving him a dirty look, Alda leaves. This shows the bad blood that existed between the NFL and AFL at the time. One year after this movie was filmed, the merger of the AFL and NFL was announced.

My Dad directed this movie. I was 7 at the time. I remember all the location shoots in Central Park and Lauren Hutton chasing me around a garbage can. My dad and my dog are in the movie. My dad is the guy in the leather Jacket in the bar scene who tries to pick a fight with Alan Alda and my dog was the German Shepherd in the comedy scene with Alex Carras. A lot of memories in this movie. My Dad was an old school director and WWII vet. A tough Brooklyn New Yorker and hardcore football fan. I was a Detroit Lions fan after the movie. I remember the team gave me a Lions T-shirt that I wore for ten years! My dad only made 2-3 movies and then worked the rest of his career as a free lance TV director. Making this movie was a big deal to him and our family. The other movies he made, The Big Bounce and another with Zero mostel, were not as successful. I am glad so many folks enjoyed it.