I won't include comedies like Caddyshack (1980), Kingpin (1996) and Talladega Nights (2006), as much as I love those movies -- and I do -- they're not the kind of earnest sports movies I had in mind when coming up with this list.
I am also not going to include movies like Raging Bull (1980), The Wrestler (2008), The Hurricane (1999) and The Hustler (1961) (or its sequel The Color of Money (1986)) because for me they're more dramatic character studies than pure "sports films."
Ironically even though I am a huge football and basketball fan there have been very few, if any, movies about those sports which I have really loved.
I know there a lot of diehard Hoosiers (1986) fans out there, but for me that movie was just alright and I am big Gene Hackman fan. And while I am not particularly nuts about baseball -- it does tend to spawn some of the best sports movies.
Perhaps it's the old fashioned quality of the game, the sort of legendary feel of it. But for me more traditional sports like baseball and boxing almost always make for more moving, even spiritual sports films.Rocky (1976)
One of my all-time favorite films. I really like most of its sequels as well (IV is campy fun but not very good and V is unwatchable -- but I quite like all the others). It's a simple story amazingly well-told and acted and you really feel so invested in that final fight because of the time and care put into crafting the Rocky character and the people around him.
Sylvester Stallone's career may have been overwhelmed by vanity and indulgence (his recent output has seemed like an increasingly desperate attempt to reclaim former glory) but he really tapped into something magical here.
Field of Dreams (1989)
Speaking of magical...this movie (as hokey as it is) still manages to move me. The performances are uniformly excellent -- remember when Kevin Costner was a bonafide movie star? So many indelible, great movie "moments" here. From "if you build it they will come" to James Earl Jones' incredible monologue about how timeless baseball is to Burt Lancaster's emergence into the modern world to just Ray Liotta's compelling gravitas -- this movie really warms your heart.
Bull Durham (1988)
In a way this movie is everything Field of Dreams is not, and it ironically stars Costner also, in what is probably his greatest role. Cynical, sexy and smart this movie is a showcase for its three leads (including the gorgeous Susan Sarandon and a hilarious Tim Robbins). This small-scale story really gets at how the players are and what makes them tick (sex) and how tough the game can be on the people that love it. A classic that has sadly gone forgotten over the years.
The Natural (1984)
I am a massive Robert Redford fan, and this is probably his most rousing mainstream movie star performance. The soaring score, the unabashedly sincere script and elements of fantasy make for a very attractive mix is this beautifully photographed baseball epic. Another movie that taps into the mythology and glory of baseball heroics. And it's got a magic bat!
Slap Shot (1977)
If you like your sports movies with more of an edge I highly recommend this politically incorrect romp through the minor league hockey world starring Paul Newman. He considered his role as the foul-mouthed over-the-hill team captain Reggie Dunlop his favorite and it's not hard to see why -- Newman has never been more hilarious and the raucous, crude spirit of this movie is infectious.
That's all for now folks. Enjoy the Super Bowl and go Seahawks!
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