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Paterno

Play trailer 2:04 Poster for Paterno TV-MA 2018 1h 45m Drama Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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69% Tomatometer 39 Reviews 48% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
Penn State football coach Joe Paterno becomes embroiled in a sexual abuse scandal.
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Paterno

Paterno

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Critics Consensus

Paterno, elevated by deft direction from Barry Levinson and a strong Al Pacino performance, presents a hard-hitting dramatization of a gut-wrenching real-life story.

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Critics Reviews

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Verne Gay Newsday 04/19/2018
3.5/4
Brilliant as ever, [Al] Pacino is the master trickster who manages to both demonize and humanize Paterno. Go to Full Review
Mike Hale New York Times 04/09/2018
Mr. Levinson lays this out with considerable skill and energy. Go to Full Review
Ben Travers IndieWire 04/09/2018
A-
It speaks to viewers with disparate reactions, but it also speaks to anyone who didn't dig into the scandal at the time by outlining what happens when we are too quick to defend the famous faces instead of those claiming to be victimized by them. Go to Full Review
Kenneth Seward Jr. IGN Movies 07/26/2023
6.7/10
The plot’s structuring is odd and nothing’s fleshed out enough for the audience to derive anything significant. It is a somewhat, evenhanded dramatization of true events though (sans the bits towards the end). Go to Full Review
Jeff York Creative Screenwriting 10/17/2019
It is a heavy series of events for any biographical film to dramatize, and HBO's film... does a crackerjack job of showing just how devastating it was. Go to Full Review
Matt Ward Cinematic Considerations 11/05/2018
Paterno attempts to say a lot of things about a lot of different subject matters... None of them are achieved particularly well. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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Shioka O 11/29/2022 Performance is excellent. See more 02/19/2022 I thought it was good overall as we get a look into this coaching legend and the people around him who loved him dearly on campus and off. It would have been nice to see more into the life of Paterno rather than just the end which was marred by the sex scandal and his innocent eyes that didn't see it from Sandusky See more Daniel N 02/08/2021 Another sleek performance by Al Pacino with a thrilling story that evolves nicely through all the film. See more 09/06/2020 Boring movie with a great actor. See more 07/11/2020 A fascinating, insightful look at a college football legendary coach's end, as he fell from grace amidst much controversy and horrific scandal. Al Pacino and humble and reserved with incredible ease. Barry Levinson's approach was earnest and fairly raw, if not all but feeling incomplete to the greater issues at hand. See more @mawilps 02/26/2020 This HBO movie about Joe Paterno was good but depressing as well. Al Pacino and the rest of the cast did an excellent job in bringing this scandal to life. It was shocking to learn what happened during this scandal and how long it had been going on. Joe Paterno should've reported Jerry Sandusky the moment he heard about his dark side. Paterno was a legendary football coach and he just ruined his legacy in a blink of an eye. See more Read all reviews
Paterno

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Movie Info

Synopsis Penn State football coach Joe Paterno becomes embroiled in a sexual abuse scandal.
Director
Barry Levinson
Screenwriter
Debora Cahn, David McKenna, John C. Richards
Production Co
The Levinson/Fontana Company, Edward R. Pressman Film Corp.
Rating
TV-MA
Genre
Drama, Biography
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 6, 2018
Runtime
1h 45m
Sound Mix
Dolby Digital
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