Shifting away from the sci-fi and supernatural for a bit (don't worry, I'll get back to all the talk of Doctor Who, zombies and superheroes soon), this week I wanted to compose a list of what I feel are some of the best examples of sports in cinema.
Deciding the criteria for creating a top ten list of such magnitude was difficult – were laughs more important than gut-wrenching moments? Did the sport have to be the focus, or merely the backdrop for something much larger? In the end, I decided that they all weighed equally since movies about sports are meant to both entertain and tell great stories. Also, just because I liked another film more, for whatever reason, doesn't mean that it deserved to be higher on the list.
So, after coming up with a list of nearly 30 sports movies that I have seen (sadly, my attempts to finally watch "The Natural" so I could add it to the list were in vain – thanks a lot, NetFlix), it took me a while to narrow things down to the top ten and then even longer to rank those that remained into The Top 10 Greatest Sports Movies.
10) Slap Shot – Hockey will always trail football, baseball and basketball in areas like ratings and revenue (and with the possibility of an upcoming lockout on the horizon – yes, again! – the NHL is in for some dark days), but the sport's unique blend of speed, skill and violence has always attracted fans all over the world.
In 1977, Paul Newman starred in a raunchy, humorous tale of a minor league hockey team that was struggling to put people in the seats. Led by Newman's character (a less-than-honorable chap, I might add), the team embraced a violent, goonish style of play that attracted more fans and made the team infamous in the league they played.
As sports movies go, it's probably the most adult-themed film of the bunch – with nudity, sex, cursing and blood on the screen and ice – but it has become a classic sports film.
9) The Replacements – In 2000, Keanu Reeves starred with Gene Hackman in a sports comedy about a team full of guys who weren't good enough to play in the pros for one reason or another, yet got a chance to wear pads and helmets one last time when the "real" pro players were on strike.
A surprise hit, the movie had heart and lots of good laughs while providing some legitimately fun-to-watch football action as Reeves led his team of misfits while dealing with personal demons. Hackman, meanwhile, stepped right in as the team's coach – a man who also had a history that had him out of coaching until the strike – and filled the role effortlessly.
8) Major League – The original movie (not either of those borderline awful sequels) starred Tom Berenger, Charlie Sheen, Wesley Snipes and a host of other great actors back in 1989 and is an absolutely classic.
The acting was great as the story of the fictionalized Cleveland Indians struggled to win after a new owner got rid of their talented players with the hopes of intentionally losing so she could move the team to Florida. The players they got were a band of misfits that had to learn to play as a team while exceeding the expectations of everyone around them. But, for me, what REALLY makes this movie so good is the job that real-life announcer Bob Ueker did as the "call it like he sees it"-announcer for the entire film. His delivery and comedic timing were perfect and without him, this film would have been just another "Necessary Roughness" (which, frankly, was an attempt to make a football version of "Major League" and, also frankly, not as good). 7) Rudy – No film truly put the struggle of the quintessential "little guy" on the screen with such heart-felt brilliance as Rudy did back in 1993.
A tale of a walk-on football player for the University of Notre Dame back in the early 1970s, audiences fell in love with Sean Astin as he perfectly captured the likeable underdog on his quest to fulfill a lifelong dream to play for the Fighting Irish.
In a historical sense, the film does a great job taking viewers back to the 1970s. In a sports sense, those who've never seen what goes on before and after the scoreboard is shut down for an athlete got a small peek of the kind of sacrifices and life balances a young person goes through while trying to get a college degree while playing a sport.
Oh, and the other extra-cool thing about this film? It's a true story.
The film was named the #54 Most Inspiring Film in the American Film Institute's "AFI 100 Years" Series and the #4 Best Sports Movie in a poll of ESPN viewers.
6) Remember the Titans – As far as sports movies are concerned, very few have taken the topic of racism and civil rights and used the game as a vehicle to show how ugliness can be fixed by working together for a common goal or dream as well as this movie.
Hitting theaters in 2000, it stars Denzel Washington and a host of talented young actors (at the time) and is set in 1971 in Alexandria, Virginia. It's the true story of a team of high school football players who must overcome prejudice and ignorance on their own team after recently becoming desegregated while also helping to change the mindset of their friends, families and the entire town – all while trying to win a state championship.
The music and action and acting are all amazing, as is the story you get to see on the screen.
5) Bull Durham – There is something about the gritty, awkwardness of minor league baseball that has always appealed to me. It's a strange mixture of young talent working hard to make it to the big time and old veterans who are trying to show the world that they haven't lost a step and deserve to go back to the show (or make it for the first time).
One of the first baseball movies I can think of that female viewers would have enjoyed just as much as the guys, it tells the story of Crash Davis (played by Kevin Costner) and Ebby "Nuke" LaLoosh as the former (a crafty, 12-year veteran catcher slowly working his way into the history books for minor league home runs) tries to teach the latter (a young pitcher with "a million dollar arm and a five cent brain). Thrown into the mix is a love-triangle courtesy of Susan Sarandon as she and Crash both do what they can (in their own ways) to help Nuke achieve his potential and make it to the big leagues.
One last thing – the dialogue used in this film is simply amazing. I could write a whole post about the good one-liners and rants and various other things said during this film.
In that movie, the players were women and he was the coach… and it was still, arguably, one of the greatest sports movies ever made.
Telling the story of the Georgia Peaches of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League formed back in 1943 while the United States was still in World War II, the tale follows sisters Dottie and Kit – both talented baseball players – as the film's primary focus.
Dottie is married, but her husband is in the war. Meanwhile, as she and her teammates (roles played brilliantly by an incredible cast including Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell) start to win and the league starts to generate fame, Hanks's character, Jimmy Dugan, starts to come out of his alcoholic stupor and actually coach – making the team even better.
For me, it's the second-best baseball movie, ever (with Bull Durham a VERY close 3rd) and one of the greatest roles ever played by Tom Hanks (which, frankly, is saying something). 3) Hoosiers – Maybe the reason Gene Hackman was so convincing as a coach in "The Replacements" because he already portrayed a coach in a role that is one of the most memorable in Hollywood history. Named the 4th-Great Sports Film by the AFI, Hoosiers tells the story (while the films says "Inspired by a True Story" at the beginning, there is some debate as to how accurate the film is) of a high school basketball team in the state of Indiana where, to put it mildly, basketball is more important than family and second only to God on the priorities of the town (not saying that there is anything wrong with that, but in case you haven't seen it – that's the sort of devotion the town had to the high school basketball team's success and failures). Norman Dale (Hackman's character) takes over the program at the beginning of the film and immediately is met with resistance from every side as his way of doing things is different (the circumstances for why he lost his last job also add to the tension). Things come to a head with a town meeting with his job on the line and the team overcomes early struggles to succeed in 1952.
2) Rocky – Sylvester Stallone was pretty much a nobody until he was able to star in the screen play he wrote about a boxer making the most of his once-in-a-lifetime chance to take on the world champion.
The story, itself, probably redefined what it meant to be an underdog. The film's score was an instant classic and the Rocky theme is still, to this day, as recognizable as nearly any other movie theme (it was not put on the Top 10 Best Theme Songs list because it doesn't qualify as a sci-fi film). It spawned numerous sequels and launched the career of Mr. Stallone as an action star even to this day. Need more evidence that this film is epic? The city of Philadelphia (the movie's setting) constructed a statue of the fictional character near the steps that he ran up as he prepared for his fight against Apollo Creed. Oh, and the film won 3 Oscar's in 1976, including Best Picture, Best Director and Best Film Editing.
1) The Sandlot – For me, it's the greatest baseball movie ever and, as far as the list is concerned it has everything:
· A good story – kids growing up in the 1950s and their incredible friendship and adventure over summer vacation thanks to the community baseball field and a baseball signed by Babe Ruth
· Humor – The interactions and silliness by that group of child actors provides good, clean fun that anyone can laugh at
· Great dialogue – "You're killing me, Smalls!" (enough said)
· Suspense – Who would have thought something as simple as getting a ball out of a backyard would be so difficult?
· Heart – a young boy, new in town, gets taken under the wing of a nice kid and helps him become part of a group of boys in his neighborhood
It truly has the greatest balance of sports and non-sports elements of all the films and takes you back to a more innocent time while letting us watch kids be kids.
So… what are your thoughts?
