Since we've already got a thread on great baseball movies, what about other sports? What are some of the greatest sports movies of all time?
Of course, boxing is a very cinematic sport since it's such an intimate, personal, one-on-one face off. Boxing is a sport absolutely made for movies. Of course, many would consider Rocky to be the greatest boxing movie of all time. I agree that it's a great movie, although sometimes I think the boxing stuff kinda gets in the way of the character relationships that really make the movie great. (And honestly, none of the sequels should have been made, including the highly overrated Rocky Balboa.)
But for my money, I prefer Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe as struggling Depression-era boxer James Braddock. Crowe brings such a committed humanity to the character. He's a good man that deserves success, not just in the ring, but in all facets of life.
I think my all time favorite sports movies deal with less contemporary sports:
Heath Ledger turns in a fantastic lead performance in the medieval jousting movie A Knight's Tale. Many critics panned the film because of its quirky use of modern pop music. Personally, I think it gives the movie a unique style. It's not a literal depiction of the middle ages. It's a period piece that tries to translate their culture into 21st century terms.
While I haven't seen the David Carradine/Sylvester Stallone original, I really enjoyed the Jason Statham remake of Death Race. While A Knight's Tale was set in the past, Death Race depicts the blood sports of a near future where the U.S. economy has collapsed and privately run prisons generate revenue by holding bloody auto races with the inmates. It's not Statham's best work but he makes a solid rooting interest. But really, you'd cheer for anyone with the balls to stand up against Joan Allen as the corrupt prison warden. She's cold evil incarnate in a tasteful gray pantsuit.
Of course, boxing is a very cinematic sport since it's such an intimate, personal, one-on-one face off. Boxing is a sport absolutely made for movies. Of course, many would consider Rocky to be the greatest boxing movie of all time. I agree that it's a great movie, although sometimes I think the boxing stuff kinda gets in the way of the character relationships that really make the movie great. (And honestly, none of the sequels should have been made, including the highly overrated Rocky Balboa.)
But for my money, I prefer Cinderella Man with Russell Crowe as struggling Depression-era boxer James Braddock. Crowe brings such a committed humanity to the character. He's a good man that deserves success, not just in the ring, but in all facets of life.
I think my all time favorite sports movies deal with less contemporary sports:
Heath Ledger turns in a fantastic lead performance in the medieval jousting movie A Knight's Tale. Many critics panned the film because of its quirky use of modern pop music. Personally, I think it gives the movie a unique style. It's not a literal depiction of the middle ages. It's a period piece that tries to translate their culture into 21st century terms.
While I haven't seen the David Carradine/Sylvester Stallone original, I really enjoyed the Jason Statham remake of Death Race. While A Knight's Tale was set in the past, Death Race depicts the blood sports of a near future where the U.S. economy has collapsed and privately run prisons generate revenue by holding bloody auto races with the inmates. It's not Statham's best work but he makes a solid rooting interest. But really, you'd cheer for anyone with the balls to stand up against Joan Allen as the corrupt prison warden. She's cold evil incarnate in a tasteful gray pantsuit.
No!!! They may go bowling a lot, but that does NOT make The Big Lebowski a sports movie!
It's a modern noir detective story.
