The Lists: Top 10 sports movies
With 'Moneyball' and 'Warrior' in theaters, we survey the genre
Tim Robbins (left) and Kevin Costner face off in "Bull Durham"
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Two recent releases, “Moneyball” and “Warrior,” have reminded audiences (the former a bit more than the latter, I’m afraid) of the nutritious, old-fashioned pleasures of the sports movie, that versatile and yet frequently formula-populated genre which filters the live physical thrills of, say, a ball game or a boxing match through the less spontaneous entertainment medium of a subjective camera.
A good sports movie braids the physical tension of athletic competition with the aesthetic and emotional tension of cinema, to such a point that the two languages fuse: I know not a single thing about mixed martial arts, for example, yet the finale of “Warrior” had me utterly invested in the outcome of the climactic duel. You needn’t care for a sport to care for a sports movie (which was good news in 2008 for those of us who think wrestling is the stupidest non-sport imaginable).
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Of course, this recent one-two of autumn sports-themed releases is hardly reviving a long-dormant genre: only two years ago, the unlikely combination of Sandra Bullock and American football made “The Blind Side” the sleeper hit of the season, while even more recently, David O. Russell’s double Oscar winner “The Fighter” extended a line of American boxing movies so long as to merit a wholly separate list one of these days. This summer, Formula 1 documentary “Senna” broke box-office records in the UK, emphasizing the carry-over audience of fans that a successful sports film can draw from the source, as it were.
Many of the aforementioned films follow classical Hollywood-informed arcs of triumph against the odds, of course, but it was when I sat down to compile a list of my own top sports movies that I realized how many great examples of the form trade as much in failure as in success; it’s a genre so broad and densely populated as not to be a genre at all.
Before getting to the list, though, I owe an apology to the ladies for the neglect of female-focused sports movies: the diverse likes of “Girlfight,” “National Velvet” and “Water Lilies” were all on the shortlist, yet after my intuitive ranking, none cracked the Top 10. I toyed with swapping in Drew Barrymore’s delightful and underrated “Whip It!” at the last minute, but that seemed tokenistic; consider this an honorable mention for valued reserve players.
Check out my list at our new gallery, and feel free to share your favorites in the comments section below.
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Login or create a HitFix account Login SignupMatthew Starr
September 27, 2011 at 12:11PM EST Reply to CommentI have not seen the majority of these but as long as Raging Bull is #1 I have no qualms.
Guy Lodge
September 27, 2011 at 12:24PM EST Reply to CommentBecause whittling this list down to just ten films really killed me, here are the other films that made my initial shortlist of 25:
Blades of Glory
Body and Soul
Bring It On
The Fighter
Girlfight
Gregory's Girl
Hoop Dreams
National Velvet
Point Break
A River Runs Through It
Rocky
Senna
Somebody Up There Likes Me
Sugar
Water Lilies
Whip It!
And that's still vastly incomplete.
Jonnybon A River Runs Through It is a sports movie??
September 27, 2011 at 12:37PM ESTGuy Lodge I'm pretty catholic in what I define as sport. I've already had complaints on Twitter about pool not counting. Shrug.
September 27, 2011 at 12:46PM ESTChase Kahn No "The Cutting Edge"?
September 27, 2011 at 3:40PM ESTthekingbulletin When will you be seeing "Moneyball," Guy? I don't remember reading your thoughts anywhere, so I'm assuming you haven't seen it yet.
September 27, 2011 at 3:44PM ESTGuy Lodge I haven't. I'll be seeing it whenever its UK distributor deigns to hold press screenings ahead of its late-November release -- unless it's the surprise film at the LFF.
September 27, 2011 at 6:45PM ESTLaura Stewart I am so pleased you included Bring it On.
September 27, 2011 at 7:35PM ESTrosengje Ah, the Bring It On and Whip It! inclusions make me very happy.
September 27, 2011 at 10:10PM ESTred_wine
September 27, 2011 at 12:46PM EST Reply to CommentI would add Clint Eastwood's devastating Million Dollar Baby. Its the jewel in his crown, a film of such unflinching humanity that it can only leave the audience on its knees once its over. It features his best direction too.
Other great films that feature boxing (isn't it the best movie sport?) are Chaplin's City Lights and Visconti's Rocco And His Brothers.
Matthew Starr I didn't like any aspect of Million Dollar Baby. Clint's best are Mystic River and Unforgiven.
September 27, 2011 at 2:33PM ESTJJ1
September 27, 2011 at 12:57PM EST Reply to CommentI'll go the sappy route. But I've always LOVED 'A League of Their Own'.
may
September 27, 2011 at 1:39PM EST Reply to CommentThe Damned United? Michael Sheen and Timothy Spall were great together.
Skippy
September 27, 2011 at 1:52PM EST Reply to CommentI've been watching (or re-watching) a lot of sports films lately to prep for possibly teaching a course on sports movies next year. Obviously there are lots of good ones that didn't fit on your list, but I have to tell you that so far the best, most emotionally devastating one I've seen so far is "Friday Night Lights." The fact that it's based on true life events makes it even more impressive. If you haven't seen it, give it a try.
ZacharyTF As great as the movie is, the TV series is better. Of course comparing one with 60 something hours versus one with 2 hours isn't quite fair.
September 27, 2011 at 2:31PM ESTAlice
September 27, 2011 at 2:05PM EST Reply to CommentGreat list Guy! Loved the broad swathe of films you've chosen here. Sometimes these lists tend to give a bit more focus to American sports from the more recent past but reading your thoughts on these movies (many of which I haven't seen) was interesting. Loved the Lagaan shout-out. I'm one of those people who find cricket boring and so would welcome the injection of intermittent bursts of song and dance into the sport as a huge improvement.
Have to second JJ1's mention of A League of Their Own and Offside for that wonderful last shot celebrating amongst the traffic.
PvtHudson
September 27, 2011 at 2:13PM EST Reply to CommentYeah, I'm pretty sure Rudy is one of the greatest sports movies of all time, kinda shocked there's been zero mention of it.
Kristopher Tapley I'm with ya.
September 27, 2011 at 3:58PM ESTTony R
September 27, 2011 at 4:14PM EST Reply to CommentList is a little too arty/foreign for my liking, but at least you got a few of em right (Wrestler, Durham, Raging Bull).
AndrewM679
September 27, 2011 at 4:50PM EST Reply to CommentRaging Bull is my favorite sport, and Scorsese movie, also. I'd say Hoop Dreams would be pretty high on my list.
filmnoirguy
September 27, 2011 at 5:02PM EST Reply to CommentHow about Gary Cooper as Lou Gehrig in Pride of the Yankees (1942)?
m1
September 27, 2011 at 6:54PM EST Reply to CommentMillion Dollar Baby? The Fighter? Black Swan?
Guy Lodge The Fighter, which regular readers know I adore, was in my shortlist. As for Black Swan, as broad as my definition of sport is, I don't think ballet counts -- beyond the backstage, there's no competitive element.
September 27, 2011 at 6:57PM ESTm1
September 27, 2011 at 8:59PM EST Reply to CommentI would also like to suggest Win Win for the list.
JLPatt
September 27, 2011 at 10:00PM EST Reply to Comment"Rocky" can't be left out. That's just not right. Would also add "Breaking Away" and "Chariots of Fire," and for recent films "The Fighter" and "Moneyball" are tops.
Matt C.
September 27, 2011 at 11:07PM EST Reply to CommentYeah, so... this is a list of "great" sports films made by someone who really has no idea what a great sports film is.
I concur with others that this is just a list of a show-off, trying to show his film cred off to us "unwashed" masses.
I'm all for stepping outside the bounds to find great film, but this list is ridiculous.
Breaking Away didn't make this list? Really?
Rocky didn't make this list? Wow.
Where the hell is Caddyshack???
Or how about Eight Men Out, a film that gets the history AND the sports right (for the most part)?
Where is Hoop Dreams, which should be No. 1 on any list of "best sports films ever"?
When We Were Kings? No, some four-hour snooze-fest about cricket is better than WWWK? Hmmm.
And not to mention leaving off Field of Dreams, which puts into narrative and pictures WHY sports is so important in our lives.
This list is pretentious nonsense.
Ibad And how many films of his list have you yourself seen, he-who-is-so-educated-on-sports-films? I've seen most of the films on his list, they aren't unheard of, and it's a hell of a solid list. Not all great sports films have to be 100% beef hotdog AMURICAN to be good.
September 28, 2011 at 1:04AM ESTKristopher Tapley Go wash, Matt.
September 28, 2011 at 1:05AM ESTJesse Crall Matt, dissent on a site dedicated to a subjective art form is both warranted and expected. But to call someone who has seen and written brilliantly about a remarkable number of films a "show-off" is rash and silly. I mean, I thought Caddyshack was juvenile and dated. I'm not necessarily right, you're not necessarily wrong, and while I would disagree with a list including it, I wouldn't insult the author if his reasons were well stated and his exposure to movies substantial. Do what i did: start your own blog with your own opinions. Do not insult the intelligent opinions of others.
September 28, 2011 at 1:20AM ESTMatt King Matt C. said: "I concur with others that this is just a list of a show-off, trying to show his film cred off to us "unwashed" masses."
September 28, 2011 at 7:00AM ESTI'm just confused as to who these "others" are. What previous comment alluded to Guy being a "show-off"? The only one would maybe be Tony's, who said that it is a little too arty and foreign for his tastes, which, while somewhat ignorant, isn't necessarily accusing Guy of being pretentious, than just having completely different taste. I don't quite understand this comment.
Kristopher Tapley If you check out the gallery, there is a comments section there, too, where the "unwashed masses" are clearly terrified of something new.
September 28, 2011 at 11:42AM ESTJesse Crall
September 28, 2011 at 1:10AM EST Reply to CommentSHOCKED that (I believe) no one's mentioned Field of Dreams. Although I may be biased as a baseball fan with a tough relationship with my father.
Love the Fat City inclusion, though. Saw it at The Aero about three years ago and that final scene in the coffee shop knocked me on my ass.
SamuelM
September 28, 2011 at 1:25AM EST Reply to CommentSlightly off-topic but, while I'm happy enough about the Hitfix move - I'm sure Kris knows what's best for the site - I have always disliked the way Hitfix does lists like this. The multipage image gallery is cumbersome and annoying.
Back on topic:
Interesting list, I was particularly intrigued by Lagaan. I haven't actually seen it, but I'd heard good things before this list, I'm even more inclined to check it out now.
Kristopher Tapley It was my call to go that route. I kind of like it. But I'll give it a go for a while and see how it takes.
September 28, 2011 at 2:29AM ESTFernando
September 28, 2011 at 4:01PM EST Reply to CommentHow about "Remember the titans" it was pretty good for a Disney movie. great casting and a somewhat good direction and script.