I just discovered this film on Netflix instant viewing and decided to give it a shot. I was introduced to the original film in high school when our gym teacher showed it in class, and I'm eternally grateful for that... the original version of Brian's Song is an amazing film and you should check it out if you get the opportunity. (It happens to be on instant viewing at the moment as well.) At first I didn't think I was going to like the film since it seemed so different from the original; it was hard to get used to the new actors as Pic and Sayers since I had James Caan and Billy D. Williams in my head as owning those roles for so long. I'm glad that I gave the movie a chance, though, because by the end I was absolutely loving it.There are a number of differences between this movie and the original, though I don't think that the remake suffers for them. The tone of this film is much more serious and toward the end is much more focused on Pic's illness, but I think that this serious tone helps to show that even someone who jokes around and takes life as lightly as Pic can be overwhelmed. It helps to add humanity to the film which it would have otherwise lacked, and the actors all do a wonderful job of bringing the characters and their pains to life.Some reviewers and commenters have said that this remake shouldn't have been made and that ABC should have just shown the original again to introduce it to younger audiences but I disagree. All too often, older movies just don't hold up well in the eyes of a younger generation. I know when I was young I'd much rather watch a new movie than some old film that came out when my parents were young; I think that this remake did a good job of honoring the 30th anniversary of the original while introducing the story to young people who might not have known about it otherwise. Once they've seen this film it might be easier to introduce them to the original as well.I scored this remake 8 out of 10 because I liked it but not as much as the original movie. The original would be a straight 10.

It takes a lot to make me cry - I'm one of those people who can sit through a sob story with barely more than a lump in her throat and then shrug it off a few seconds later. Not with this movie though, because even though I finished watching it about half an hour ago, the thought of it brings tears straight back to my eyes. This is such a brilliant film about courage I think, more than the friendship by itself, and how that courage sustained a friendship most people wouldn't have through such an ordeal that simply didn't seem like it would ever get better.Sean Maher, is, without a doubt, brilliant in this film. In the beginning of the film I thought "yay, hot guy to tide me over in case this film is crap" but as it progressed, I was steadily becoming more aware of him as a character - a wholly believable character and by the end of the film I was crying for him, for his friendship, and for life in general. He had me so convinced that I can't help but be amazed. Although I knew what was coming by the time the film reached it's climax, it still shocked me because I was so distraught.I recommend this film to EVERYBODY, no matter what your film choices are. You just can't help but be touched by this film, and it's characters. It's not hard to believe that these characters are based on real people, and that the situations they face are real too.

The writer stated that Atlanta did not have a football team in the NFL. Atlanta had the Falcons in 1965. They started to play in 1966. The statement about Houston was meant to be about the attitude of people in general.

Although this remake falls a little bit short of the original in several departments (that others have brought up, such as the casting and the watering down of the racially charged dialogue between Sayers and Piccolo), it stays fairly true to the core story, with some new parts about their families and a more extensive portrayal of Piccolo's illness. "Brian's Song" has often been described as a "Love Story" style tearjerker for guys, and the new version managed to pull this off with me, in the night scene where the two are talking alone on the field, and we hear just a few notes of the Michael Legrand theme from the original. This brings me to my main point. . .why not more of that music? That theme (called "the Hands of Time") is, in my opinion, one of the most poignant and emotionally touching bits of music I know. If one listens carefully, you can hear some examples of derivative composing in movies such as "Lilo & Stitch" where other composers try to cash in on the Brian's Song theme.