The Best Sports Movies (You Need To See Right Now)
There’s nothing quite like the pull of a great sports movie. It offers all the adrenaline and hype of a top sports game, but wrapped up in an over-arching narrative that emotionally invests viewers in the action. And the cinematography ensures that every shot is beautiful, and much better crafted than the standard footie on a Saturday night. Here’s our pick of five of the best sports movies.
The Hustler (1961)
The Hustler is notable for being a sports movie that’s not really about sports. It follows small-time pool player and hustler “Fast Eddie” Felson (Paul Newman) as he looks to beat a legendary pool player and win big money. While the pool in the film is spectacular – and it’s widely considered to have re-popularised the sport in the USA – the movie is more concerned with Fast Eddie’s character development as he learns what it means to live, and lose.
Moneyball (2011)
While a book about using statistical analysis in baseball sounds like pretty dry going, the film it inspired is much more interesting. We follow Oakland Athletics’ general manager, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) as he uses a limited pay roll to try and scout the best new talent to improve his struggling team. It’s a pretty fast and fun introduction to sabermetrics, as well as the popular game itself. And we all love a good underdog story.
Bend It Like Beckham (2002)
High-stakes football games: check. Intensely funny but with a heart: check. Young Keira Knightley: check. What more could you ask for? Bend It Like Beckham might look like a sports movie, or even a teenage rom-com to the untrained eye, but it carries far more serious messages in it. Ideas of race and family come through it, as well as showing how sports can be a positive force for self-esteem. Its underdog story became incredibly popular and proves that, even if your team are losing, they might be worth a bet all the same.
Chariots of Fire (1981)
https://youtu.be/PWle59ZHPIM
One of the most iconic films of the twentieth century was based on the true story of two British athletes, who were running to defy the odds in the 1924 Olympics. It balances religion and racing without being heavy-handed, looking at the motivations behind great athletes. Eric Liddell, a Scottish Christian, ran his races for the glory of God, while Harold Abrahams ran to challenge anti-Semitic prejudice. The film was heavily used in the London 2012 Olympic marketing, though it didn’t seem to help the British sprint team much.
Rocky (1976)
If you haven’t seen Rocky by now, you’ve missed out on one of the great cultural touchstones of cinema (as well as the reason there are so many boxing movies). Sylvester Stallone was responsible for the script as well as starring as the eponymous Rocky, who is determined to prove his worth on a big stage. If you’ve ever seen those famous clips of Stallone punching carcasses, or running up and down the Philadelphia Museum of Art’s stone steps, then it’s worth watching the whole movie – if only to understand how it managed to spawn so many damn sequels.
