Sports Movies: The First Half

 Sports Movies: The First Half

As genres go, sports movies are quite unique. Like war movies and westerns, sports movies can further be broken down into other genres. 

Sports movies can be comedies (The Fish That Saved Pittsburgh), dramas (Rocky), science fiction (Death Race 2000), rom-coms (Fever Pitch), and, of course documentaries (Hoop Dreams). 

Because of this, I had a ton of movies to choose from when a friend asked me to compile my list of favorite sports movies. (Challenge Accepted!)  I also had to decide how to divide things up. There are a bunch of sports films I love that I consider kind of “off the beaten path.” A few films that appear to be “marginally” sports movies, a couple of foreign films, etc. Then there are the sports movies that are more mainstream and would appear on many people’s lists.

So I decided to do two lists. 

This “First Half” is dedicated to those on the margins, and the “Second Half” will be dedicated to more mainstream sports films. 

I am not attempting to make a “Best Sports Movies of All-Time” list, although I think a lot of these would be worthy of inclusion on such a list. These are just my favorites. 

So it’s time to play ball, drop the puck, and kick things off!

#10: Heaven Can Wait (1978 )

Director: Warren Beatty/Buck Henry

football

9 Oscar Nominations

1 Oscar Win (Art Direction)

I’m going to try my best not to repeat this over and over, but…I really love this movie. The story was first told onscreen in 1941 as Here Comes Mr. Jordan. In that film, Joe Pendleton is a boxer. When the film was updated in 1978, Joe became a football player, but much of the charm remained intact. 

Warren Beatty leads an amazing cast that includes Julie Christie, James Mason, and the always wonderful Jack Warden. Charles Grodin and Dyan Cannon play conniving lovers, and Cannon is absolutely hysterical. One of her best roles. 

Heaven Can Wait was nominated for Best Picture in 1979, but lost to The Deer Hunter. No shame in that. Beatty was nominated for Best Actor and Best Director, Cannon for Best Supporting Actress and Warden for Best Supporting Actor. This is no slouch of a film by any means. 

I think my love of Julie Christie dates back to seeing this film when I was in high school. She is mesmerizingly beautiful and extremely talented. The story is terrific, the performances are exceptional, and it’s really funny. 

Is it a football movie? Well, yes. Not like the two football films that show up in the second half, but yes! And a must see if you’ve never seen it for some reason. 

#9: Rollerball (1975)

Director: Norman Jewison

rollerball

This is on the first half of the sports list since it’s a fictitious sport. This happens now and then (BASEketball), but it’s still pretty infrequent. I guess there are enough good sports storylines out there about “real” sports. 

And we need to get this out of the way now…I am in NO WAY endorsing the horrible reboot/remake of this film that was made in 2002!!! That was absolutely awful, and should never be seen under any circumstances! I was going to put that movie poster here,

Insert Movie Poster Here

but it doesn’t deserve to be included.

I remember reading the novel in 7th grade. I think it was one of those books written after the movie came out. It’s not exactly “post-apocalyptic” but it’s pretty close. 

Rollerball takes place in a corporate-controlled future where the sport represents pretty much everything. The late, great James Caan is rollerball superstar Jonathan E., and he is gaining a little too much power in the eyes of those who control things. 

The sport itself is a chaotic, ultra-violent, roller derby-esque sport that includes an extremely heavy ball, motorcycles, and lots and lots of spikes. 

I love when movies made in the 70s attempted the “future.” In many cases those futuristic times have already passed. And we don’t have Rollerball. We do, however, have what seems to be corporate-controlled leagues at times. 

As the poster reads; “In the not too distant future, wars will no longer exist. But there will be Rollerball…” This is a treat!

#8: Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story (2004)

Director: Rawson Thurber

dodgeball

Many sports movies are popular because of the “Underdog” factor. Think Rocky and all of its clones. This film goes so far as to put the word in its title!

Another “kind of” since dodgeball isn’t really a sport. Is it? As a teacher, we always referred to it as “organized bullying.” Just because we play it in phys-ed doesn’t really make it a sport. Or does it? I may be wrong!

In any event, this is a true underdog story. The title does not lie! And that’s what makes this so much fun. Vince Vaughn and his Island of Misfit Toys friends are the underdogs here. Ben Stiller is the bad guy with the bad guy name (White Goodman), and he is absolutely fantastic. It’s very easy to take sides in this matchup!

One of my favorite parts of this movie was when the different teams were announced and shown. Creative team names with excellent uniforms, and the announcing pair of Jason Bateman and Gary Cole may be the best part of this! The OCHO!

And RIP TORN!!!! “If you can dodge the wrench, you can dodge the ball.” Truer words may never have been spoken. 

#7: One Day in September (1999)

Director: Kevin Macdonald

olympics

Oscar Winner: Best Documentary Feature

Reading recently that this year marked the 50th anniversary of this tragic event brought back a lot of memories for me. Jim McKay is forever linked to these events since he was a sportscaster who turned newscaster in the blink of an eye. Much like Al Michaels did when the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake interrupted the World Series between the Giants and A’s.  

This gripping documentary details the kidnapping of Israeli athletes by the Palestinian terrorist group Black September during the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany. 

This film won an Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2000 and is well worth a viewing. 

Any of us who watched it unfold live back in 1972 will never forget it. We will also never forget Jim McKay telling us about the tragic end for the Israeli athletes, “They’re all gone…”

#6: Uncut Gems (2019)

Director: Benny & Josh Safdie

gambling

This may be kind of a stretch to some, but hear me out. Uncut Gems is about gambling, and more specifically sports gambling. If you’ve been paying any attention to any major sport in this country the past year or so, you know gambling is being totally embraced by ALL of our major sports leagues. And this on the heels of decades of being told that gambling and sports will never mix and never be tolerated. That didn’t take long. 

I have never liked Adam Sandler. I never liked him on SNL, and I never liked ANY of his stupid comedies. I decided to see this in spite of that, and I’m glad I did. Sandler is riveting in this very non-comedic role as jeweler Howard Ratner. Ratner is quite successful at his job, but he’s also a degenerate gambler.

Much of this is edge of your seat viewing as you agonize with Howard as his bets hit or miss. Kevin Garnett is excellent as….Kevin Garnett, but I mean that. He was very good in this film, and I’d like to see him try more acting in the future.

This is gut-wrenching cinema with a stunning ending that took me by surprise. 

Gambling is bad, kids. No doubt about that. 

#5: The Big Lebowski (1998)

Director: Joel & Ethan Coen

bowling

How can I create this list without including The Dude?! Many would argue that this is NOT a sports movie, especially since we NEVER see Lebowski roll one frame, but I disagree. There is certainly enough bowling in this movie to warrant a sports genre tag. Way more bowling in this than there is Christmas in Die Hard and you know we discuss that every year ad nauseum.

This is one of my all-time favorite films. I love the Coen brothers, I love Jeff Bridges, I love everything about this movie. It is quoted pretty much daily in one form or another around here. If you’ve never seen it, I’ll watch it with you. I will travel to your house and screen it with you!!! It’s that good!

“He thinks the carpet pissers did this?!”

#4: Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)

Director: Ashutosh Gowariker

cricket

Oscar Nominee for Best Foreign Language Film

This was a total surprise for me. The only reason I watched it was because it was Oscar nominated. Sometimes having those lists (and sticking to them) unearth gems, and that was the case with Lagaan. 

I won’t go into it too much since I wrote about this film in a recent blog (Around the World with Cinema Wellman - read it and more at cinemawellman.com) but I will tell you why I would have shied away from it: 

1) It’s about cricket - I don’t understand a thing about cricket 

2) It’s 3 hours and 44 minutes long, and that’s a haul! Especially if it’s about cricket!

I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed this film. I learned about cricket (it’s actually pretty awesome!) and the British were the bad guys, so that’s easy to get behind. 

#3: Offside (2006)

Director: Jafar Panahi

soccer

This film was also featured in the  Around the World with Cinema Wellman blog and podcast,  so I won’t rehash too much of that here. 

Offside is an Iranian movie about soccer. Actually it’s about fans trying to get into a soccer match. The trouble is that these fans are female, and females are not allowed to attend soccer matches in Iran. 

This is alternately funny/heartwarming and serious because of the subject matter. It’s fun to see these young women come up with schemes to gain entry to the match. They even dress up in costumes at one point and things get almost silly as they attempt to get a glimpse of the sport they love so much. But because of the fact that women are barred from the stadiums, it has some very serious undertones. 

This is definitely worth a watch and will leave you with an overall feeling of hope for improvement in the world when it comes to such inequality. 

#2: Free Solo (2018)

Director: Jimmy Chin

climbing

Oscar Winner: Best Documentary Feature

I am afraid of heights. I am really afraid of heights. I am petrified of heights. And yet I love this movie! Go figure. 

This Oscar winning documentary details climber Alex Honnold’s attempts to be the first person to ever free solo climb El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. 

If you’re not familiar with climbing terms, I’ll explain what “free solo” means. It means you climb without ropes. Or harnesses. Or any other protective equipment. It’s just you and the rock. 

That. Is. Terrifying. As is much of this film. 

Director Jimmy Chin used drones to aid in filming Alex’s ascent, so the cinematography is stunning. It’s also mind-blowing to hear Alex talk about what he loves to do. Any single misstep would result in his death, but he prepares so much and works so hard that he avoids those missteps. 

I saw this movie before seeing El Capitan in person. When I did see El Capitan in person I almost passed out. The size of it is just incomprehensible. It takes most people days to climb it! (Honnold once did it in 1:58!!!) And to think someone would climb it…WITHOUT ROPES is hard to wrap my head around. 

There were climbers the day I visited Yosemite, and it took a borrowed pair of high-powered binoculars to magnify them to the size of ants. 

Alex Honnold and this film detailing his accomplishments are amazing. Watch it from the comfort of your couch. Or sit on the floor. Even safer from there. 

#1: Dogtown and Z-boys (2001)

Director: Stacy Peralta

skateboarding

I’ve only been on a skateboard a handful of times in my life, but I’ve always been an ally to those who skateboard. 

This documentary is about the pioneering Zephyr skating team of the 1970s and is directed by skateboarding legend Stacy Peralta. Since it’s a documentary, it features the actual members of Zephyr detailing their experiences during the tumultuous times that were the 70s. 

Peralta later wrote Lords of Dogtown which is a dramatic version of this, in a way, starring Heath Ledger. I prefer this documentary over that fictional film because I usually prefer fact over fiction. 

Dogtown and Z-boys features tons of stunning skateboarding footage when Zephyr was skating anywhere and everywhere in Southern California, especially in empty swimming pools!

A must see for anyone who has ever been into skateboarding in any way. Even people like me who have only been on a board half a dozen times in 60 years. 

And the whistle has sounded

declaring the end of the first half!

Coming Tomorrow:

Sports Movies: Second Half

Featuring 12 more Oscar Nominations and 3 Oscar Wins!

And sports movies from the directors of:

The Dirty Dozen

Uncommon Valor

Groundhog Day

The Sting

Taxi Driver

Bullit

and Rain Man

Platforms

Here are the platforms on which you can screen these 10 great sports films!

Heaven Can Wait - Amazon Prime/Paramount +

Rollerball - Amazon Prime

Dodgeball - Amazon Prime/HBO Max

One Day in September - Tubi/Pluto

Uncut Gems - Amazon Prime/Peacock

The Big Lebowski - Amazon Prime/Tubi

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India - Netflix

Offside - Amazon Prime

Free Solo - Amazon Prime/Disney+

Dogtown and Z-boys - Amazon Prime

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