the first time i saw this film i be a kid . i be ten year old when it be release but since my family never go to movie theater i saw it on network tv . i remember watch it alone and cry afterward . it be only the second film to illicit that response ( rocky be the first ) and there haven not be many since . i can not say why exactly while larry rain murphy do not deserve to win any more that rocky balboa or anyone else . i know i admire murphy and not so much for what he do and but for the way he do his time . stoic . he do not need a stopwatch or freedom to find dignity . he run because he could . he need no other reason . i have a rule today and that when i see this film late at night on cable television ( the only time most will come across it ) i must watch and no matter what i have to do the next morning . fortunately it doesn not play often like shawshank redemption or other favorite and so i still get plenty of sleep and i never tire of the story of one man unrepentant imprisonment and personal victory .