I went to see Invictus yesterday. It wasn't bad. Matt Damon was about a foot too small but I dug his accent and his ball greediness, so typical of a flanker desperate to get all the glory while prop forwards do all the work. Anyhoo, it wasn't a classic. If I remember rightly the South Africans were the favourites to win that world cup and really how can you make a sports movie about the favourites? Still it gave me an excuse to have a think about my top sports flicks of all time and here for your edification is my list:
#14 Slap Shot - one of the few sports movies written by a woman (Nancy Dowd). The Hanson (Carlson) brothers are the standout.
#13 Rudy - My recollections of this film are hazy but I seem to remember this dialogue: "Oh Mr Frodo, sir, let me carry it for you. Please (sobbing) please Mr Frodo, please."
#12 Dodge Ball - that Rip Torn cracks me up. Here he is again hitting Norman Mailer with a hammer.
#11 Pride of the Yankees - Lou Gehrig gives his "luckiest man" speech at Yankee stadium, grown men weep.
#10 Gladiator - Boy was I surprised, I thought Commodus was going to win in the arena only to be strangled later in his bath by the wrestler Narcissus.
#9 Rocky - I'm not a big fan of boxing movies, hence no Raging Bull, but in Rocky I really like the stuff in the pet shop, the unorthodox training, the yelling of the word "Adrian" and the fact that (spoiler alert) he loses.
#8 Escape to Victory - I'm only including this because Pele is in it.
#7 Hoosiers - the movie that somehow makes basketball seem interesting.
#6 Bang the Drum Slowly - De Niro, baseball, death. And jokes. (Nah only kidding, no jokes).
#5 Field of Dreams - That penultimate scene - grown men weep again.
#4 Chariots of Fire - duh duh duh duh duhh duhhhh, duh duh duh duh duhhhh etc.
#3 The Natural - Someone read the book and decided to remove all the cynicism and cast uber WASP Robert Redford in the scrappy Roy Hobbs role. Still, "knock the cover off the ball, Roy" and "pick me out a winner, Bobby" get me every single time.
#2 Breaking Away - bicycling in a big circle 500 times. No really. Oh and yeah its one of the best films of all time.
#1 Bull Durham - Maybe now Costner and Sarandon will get together just like in the movies.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
Pick Me Out A Winner Bobby - The Best Sports Movies Ever
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122 comments:
I don't think I like any sports film apart from Blades Of Glory.
One that I like that isn't on here is Tin Cup. Everything from the chemistry between Cheech and Costner; Costner and Rene Russo to the down and out character. From the relationship subtext between the caddy and the golfer to the quotable dialog. And the ending is one of my favorites because he doesn't win the big event. He loses.
uber WASP is a great term for Redford. It's the whole why of him, isn't it?
As a non-sports person, I can't believe how many of the films on this list I've seen and liked. Apparently, I like sports only in movies. I can remember one night in childhood when for some reason everyone else was out late and watching Pride of the Yankees on television. The rest of the family came home and I felt like I'd been through a whole lifetime without them.
I liked Jerry Maguire too. Also Hoop Dreams, though that's a documentary.
I can't think of any great movies made about the Olympics, which are soon upon us, except reputedly, Leni Riefenstahl's.
Clearly Slapshot should be number one, otherwise it's a good list.
There are a couple of sports movies about women athletes that are worth seeing. The Cutting Edge is mostly a silly romantic comedy but Moira Kelly is very good and Personal Best was written and directed by Robert owne, so it's... okay, that one's no good.
By the way, Christian Hanson, the son of one of the Hanson brothers in the movie is a rookie this year with the Maple Leafs.
And there are hockey teams in Florida.
I'm mildly surprised to see Gladiator on the list. I remember rolling my eyes at a line of dialogue and finding the weird computer graphics of the Colosseum off-putting.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
It's good to see someone who doesn't really have a link to Bloomington, Ind. or Indiana University think so highly of Breaking Away. I always figured that movie was only a favorite among those of us who were in the know, so to speak.
Friday Night Lights is a terrific sports movie, one of the best. A great movie all round, actually. Based on a Pulitzer-winning book.
Hoosiers (Best Shot this side of the pond) is only deadly. "Give me the ball, coach, I'll make it." Possibly the only movie he ever made in which Harry Dean Stanton makes it to the final credits.
As for Invictus - man, the All-Blacks were runaway favourites for that World Cup, they were knocking in 60 or 70 points per game all the way to the final, Jonah Lomu running riot ... and then stiffed against the Boks. A man I know who knows says the All-Blacks were food-poisoned the night before ... but maybe he's a Kiwi.
Not a great movie, no.
This Sporting Life, with Richard Burton playing rugby league, is a pretty good sports movie too.
Cheers, Dec
Have to agree about HOOSIERS. Great movie. Dullest. 'Sport'. Ever. How about LAAGAN? A wonderful Bollywood that despite its best efforts leaves me clueless as to why Cricket matches take 3 days.
Paul
Havent seen it. Will Ferrell's a bit hit and miss though isnt he?
Brian
Yeah I quite enjoyed Tin Cup but I felt it didnt quite have the magic of Bull Durham.
Seana
There arent many good Olympics films however I do like Chariots of Fire and Cool Runnings has some laughs in it.
I know you dont who Derek Jeter is but I thought it was good that he of all people finally beat Gehrig's record for most games by a NYY.
John
I remember Personal Best. Yeah it wasnt bad. I was surprised about how good Paul Newman was in Slap Shot. He skated well for a non Canadian.
Peter
I mostly liked Gladiator although I wished they had flooded the arena and filmed the mock sea battles Commodus enjoyed in real life.
Rob
Yeah it really captures a time and place doesnt it? Its also nice to see a film where the parents arent monsters that the kid has to rebel against.
Dec
Ok, I'll give you the All Blacks as the bookie's favourites. Lomu back then was terrifying when he got going. But SA at home in the World Cup? I always thought they were going to win. And in the history of the rugby rankings they've seldom been out of the top 3 in the world.
I liked Sporting Life. The grim money grubbing and drinking stuff off the pitch was good.
Dan
I just cant watch the game at all, except when its the Harlem Globetrotters or something. Still Hoosiers is good.
Test cricket can last FIVE days. I've seen bits of Laagan on TV but I feel that it would be more interesting with Bollywood style dancing.
The last two minutes of a basketball game (or an NFL football game) are a thrill an hour.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
THis year's Major League Soccer schedule was announced this week. Get ready, Peter, the Red Patch Boys will be invading Philadelphia July 17th.
Makes me wonder if there will ever be a good soccer movie out of the USA.
I mostly liked Gladiator although I wished they had flooded the arena and filmed the mock sea battles Commodus enjoyed in real life.
Thanks goodness Christianity brought to an end vulgar pagan spectacle. Oh, wait. It didn't.
John, I wonder if fans of the Philadelphia team (which will play in Chester once its stadium is finished) will harass opposing fans.
I saw an MLS game in Giants Stadium, but as part of a doubleheader with an exhibition match between River Plate and Glasgow Rangers. I'm not sure what the crowd would have been like for a regular MLS match.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
So far no one's mentioned the curling movie, Men With Brooms. Yesterday there was an announcement that it's being turned into a TV series.
Peter, this year the New York Red Bulls will start playing in their own stadium and the atmosphere should be an awful lot better than Giants stadium.
There's never been a good lacrosse movie, either.
Peter
Funnily enough I've seen Boca Juniors and Rangers play but not each other. I do remember Ireland crushing Italy in the 1994 World Cup at Giants Stadium though. I was hoarse from singing Molly Malone for an hour and a half (which is more of a rugby anthem anyway).
John
I dont recall any great soccer movies. There have been many of course but no good ones. I liked the novel Away Days and I've heard the novel might be good but I'm skeptical. Soccer is a very tedious game to watch unless you have a stake in the game and then its far too tense to watch. I actually find baseball too tense to actually enjoy. When the Yankees are playing the Red Sox for example, I spend much of the time NOT watching.
Chortle, i forgot about kostener.
Tin cup is worse that the natural.
awful film. my mate said only people with piles could sit through it it. Don't get it, it but it's pretty cheesy in a middlebrow way.
Golf must be the the most rubbish of all sports. eh? it's like putting your hands up and saying: I can't get a better shag. So I married her.
Or not. The Mighty Ducks is quite good. arf.
Incidentally my better half reminded me that the rugby movie I really enjoyed was the documentary Murder Ball.
Top Rugby movies:
1. Murder Ball
2. This Sporting Life
3. Invictus
4. Up and Under
Also put your shirt on darling
Paul
Have you ever been to the driving range though? Its really fun just to smack a basket of balls off into nowhere. Especially good at the ones where they let you drink.
Alas, her ghost wheels her barrow at South Africa 2010.
I wandered through the heart of Boca Juniors country in Buenos Aires. Saw a big building, one wall of which was painted all in Boca colors. Clubhouse, perhaps?
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Maybe the best baseball movie ever made came out last year...Sugar, About a Dominican prospect trying to make it in the minor leagues. By the folks who made Half-Nelson. Actually, when I was watching it at the Toronto film festival, I was thinking of Dead I Well May Be, with Michael's baseball-loving benefactor. Also, for a long time Toronto had a hotline to those Dominican prospects and it's interesting to see what these guys went through.
Another great baseball film: Eight Men Out. John Sayles, one of the few Pittsburgh Pirates fans I know. Actually, maybe the only one outside of Pittsbursh.
There were actually quite a few quality made-for-cable baseball flicks in the 80s - Long Gone, Talent for the Game, Cooperstown, Pastime - which never made it to the theatres but which are very much worth watching.
Declan, I've said it elsewhere, but if you enjoyed the feature film version of Friday Night Lights - as great as it is, the TV series is better. Check it out if you get the chance. Unfortunately, both are pretty neglected.
Hockey is such a great game but it loses much when not watched live. Peter Berg was talking about this on a podcast a while back. Even a great film like Slapshot doesn't quite capture it. I think that's why it's dying a slow death on television - that and too much expansion in the U.S., of course.
Did you see the director's cut of Gladiator, Adrian? It's quite a bit better - I really wish they'd released the longer version in the theatres. Explains why Quintus doesn't help out Commodus at the end, shows grisly stuff like lions eating slaves in the arena.
I'm not a huge soccer fan, but a good documentary I saw some years back is The Game of Their Lives - not the Gerard Butler one, but the one about the North Korean team that beat Italy in 1966. These guys just disappeared back north of the 38th parallel for 40 years.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Du92VFNxWI&NR=1
Buzz Bissinger, author of the book "Friday Night Lights," former reporter at my newspaper, and a guest speaker at the Pen and Pencil Club last week!
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
I hsven't seen it, but some people swear by Downhill Racer with Redford and Gene Hackman. Is it an Olympic movie?
When I took a screenwriting course once we had to pitch movie ideas and mine was about the '76 Olympics in Montreal. I was 16 that summer and spent a lot of time hanging out at the main stadium (I got inside to see a soccer game between Korea and Poland) and the Forum trying to catch a glimpse of Nadia Comenici.
Anyway, my movie idea was about the two guys who were supposed to meet in the 1500 (the metric mile), John Walker from New Zealand and Filbert Bayi from Tanzania. They were both in Montreal, but then the African nations boycotted the games and left. My idea was to have them race at dawn, alone. What a dramatic moment, eh?
The prof told me no one would be interested in a track movie unless it had lesbians.
Hard to argue with him! And I'd like to see that film!
One of the best films about running is Michael Mann's first effort, about a speedy fella doing life in Folsom. It's up on Youtube, fantastic intro, some of the best use of the Stones I've ever heard:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrZuVgdjH34&feature=channel
It was shown on television in the states, but actually got a theatrical release in Europe. Worth watching the whole way through.
Speaking of the Olympics, or their motto, how about a Mark McGwire biopic called "Higher, Stronger, Faster"?
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
You know, McGwire really makes the case for allowing steroids. Seemed to work pretty well.
And some people are now saying what happened to Lyla Alzado had a lot more to do with the number of concussions he suffered.
Wow, Matt, The Jericho Mile, I had no idea it was Michael Mann. I remember seeing it on TV when it first aired. It was around the same time that Breaking Away came out. Cool movie, thanks for thlink.
John, I remember being appalled at how readily American newspapers swallowed Alzado's contention that steroids had caused his illness (brain cancer, I think). Of course, these were sports reporters, not reporters, but even by that standard, their willingness to believe unfounded contentions for the sake of a cheap morality play was disgusting.
I remember changing planes at the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport at one point during the national Alzado sobfest. A brave sports columnist for one of the Twin Cities papers pointed out that the entire nation was taking Alzado's word and for no good reason.
Quite naturally, it would suit the NFL to have steroids rather than concussions responsible. The first would let it exert greater control over players. The second would open it up to all kinds of medical liability.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
I'm not the biggest Malcolm Gladwell fan, but he did have a point when he said coal miners have it better than NFL players.
Love that haka. Wouldn't love it so much if I was the opposing team though.
Of course I know who Derek Jeter is. Sort of.
I forgot about Chariots of Fire for the Olympic list. But I wish John's movie had been made. Doesn't Chariots of Fire prove those naysayers wrong?
Here is an article by Stephen Brunt (a sports reporter, yes, but a very good one) about steroid use.
And Seana, maybe my pitch was too soon after Chariots of Fire and the event itself. Myaybe I'll try it again someday when 1976 seems as long ago as those guys running on the beach.
Matt
I think I wanted to like 8 Men Out more than I actually did like it. On all those medium shots in the field I kept thinking to myself "hmmm, they must be filming this in an empty stadium". I like Sayles and the cast, but I just didnt really buy it as a film. Was it John Cusack as Shoeless Joe Jackson? He was very good.
I will check out the Michael Mann.
John
That sounds like a great movie. Why dont you make that as a short and enter in competitions? I'll bet you could a grant from the Quebec govt and the Canadian Film Foundation. Thats how District 9 got started (with SA govt money).
John, that was a terrific piece. But then, the Globe and Mail is a serious newspaper with more than local, parochial interests.
I salute the panelists for getting Dick Pound to shut up.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Peter
McGwire completely blew his chances of ever getting into the hall of fame or getting back credibility. Taking the steroids was a mistake, pleading the fifth in front of congress was an even bigger mistake, but then hiring Ari Fleischer and listening to his advice about how to "come clean" has been the biggest mistake of all.
Seana
Actually I thought they went over the line with that haka. It was too silly. But of course not as utterly ridiculous as this.
Peter
Yes I agree, except for one thing - the standard of debating at the Oxford Union is not high. Maybe in the 30's or something but not for decades.
Adrian, I thought the reporter did a fine job highlighting weak performances by Poihnd and Costas (two idols of American sports reporters, by the way.)
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Yeah, it was pathetic to see how badly the big ganch discredited himself -- and gave sportwriters another chance to prove their moral seriousness by keeping him out of the Hall of Fame.
Of course, I never believed at the time that McGwire and Sosa were the saviors of baseball either, and I'd bet a lot of the backlash against McGwire comes from people sucked in by the hype in the first place.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Yes, I remember that, well, ice haka. I guess all haka looks a bit over the top to me, so the more over the top the better.
John, I hate to break it to you, but as something like your contemporary, I have to say that 1976 is almost as far back as the boys running on the sand was when COF was made. I agree with Adrian on how to get the funding for it. You're going to need a catchy tune, though.
Nice list. I like that SLAP SHOT is on it. So good.
Does RAGING BULL count as a sports movie?
This Sporting Life! Now THAT is good.
Have always loved Chariots, even though my mother, whose brothers were runners, hated the actors' lack of technique. And Breaking Away....aaaah. Lovely.
I have only ever seen the beginning of THis Sporting Life - must look it up. The grunginess of Rocky compared with the later films is rather delightful.
Dare we include a short film, that silly thing about Barnsford United, from Ripping Yarns, in the soccer category?
"If you can dodge a wrench, you can dodge a ball."
Great line, Brian. I had to look up whether it was in fact from Dodgeball, as I suspected, or some great baseball movie that I had seen and forgotten the memorable lines of.
Speaking of forgetting, I should say that it isn't quite as far back to the setting of John's new movie project as it was in 1981 to the context of Chariots of Fire. I was thinking CoF was closer to WWII, but as the historically minded will know, it was set around the 1924 Olympics.
Speaking of forgetting, I should say that it isn't quite as far back to the setting of John's new movie project as it was in 1981 to the context of Chariots of Fire. I was thinking CoF was closer to WWII, but as the historically minded will know, it was set around the 1924 Olympics.
Yes, but now that you mention it, Seana, with people's shortened attention spans and love of nostalgia, maybe the timing is right.
At first I don't think I could sopend time on a screenplay, but there might be a novel or novella in it, if the 'other' story was good enough. Maybe I'll just rip-off Breaking Awy and make it about a kid trying to become a miler himself, waiting for the big race at the Olympics.
But yes, the movie would need a catchy tune, and there's already been a Montreal movie with the best 70's songs.
Still, something to think about.
I'd never even heard of that Montreal movie, so if you can get away with ripping off Breaking Away, you can certainly get away with ripping off C.R.A.Z.Y.
Actually, with Vancouver and all, the time might be just about right to pitch a movie about the ancient historical past of the Games, circa 1976.
I'll have to check out these best 1970s songs.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Peter
Its going to be a long year in St Louis for McGwire.
BTW I agree that its strange that the baseball HOF is selected by newspaper reporters. In fact the baseball HOF is very odd to begin with.
Gen
I thought the guy doing Liddell did a pretty good imitation of Liddell's bizarre running form.
John
No I think you're losing your focus. Keep the kids out of it. Make it like Rocky on your two protagonists. And yeah I like your music idea.
Malachy
I know its heresy but I've never been able to watch Raging Bull twice. Once was definitely enough.
Paul
Richard Harris - great actor.
Brian
But Norman Mailer couldnt dodge the hammer poor chap.
Bill James (the baseball writer/thinker, not the crime novelist) offers tantalizing comments here and there about the Hall of Fame's odd and sometimes slanted selection procedures. Read his entry on George Kelly in the "first baseman' section of the Historical Baseball Abstract for a fine example.
I bet James' book about the Hall of Fame is pretty good.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
I've only seen one Will Farrel film- Blades Of Glory. Enjoyed it very much.
One of my exes got sozzled with Harris and said he was a good lad.
Evem Mickey Rourke could fight Mailer.
I saw two Will Ferrell movies in a sort of closed, experimental setting. My brother had brought my two young nephews for a visit, and we rented "Elf" and "Anchorman," two movies the whole family could enjoy.
"Anchorman," which Ferrell cowrote, was unwatchable, an incoherent mess. "Elf," which he did not co-write, was a real movie. This gave me some insight into where Will Ferrell's talents lie.
Mailer once threatened to fight a friend of mine afer they had an encounter in a men's room. (No, not an encounter of the Michel Foucault kind.)
Mailer barges into the tiny men's room, whose door slams into my friend, who objects.
"You wanna fight?" Mailer says.
"No, I wanna take a piss," my friend replied.
"Good answer," Mailer says. "Let me buy you a beer."
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Thanks for that, Adrian, I'll tell her!! we did not know.
Not a bad list at all. Nice you've got Dodgeball in there. "It is necessary for me to drink my own urine. No. But it's sterile and I like the taste.
How bout my top five:
5. Mean Machine
4. Rocky III
3. White Men Can't Jump
2. Remember the Titans
1. Friday Night Lights
Adrian
Yeah, good list man. But I'm surprised Beerfest didn't make the list. jk
Torn is definitely a maniac, which probably contributes to his being a good actor. I'm starting to think to be a decent actor/writer/artist, you need to be a little crazy.
Pro basketball is a bore to watch. Too much one-on-one play, too many players with chips on their shoulders, etc. etc. But NCAA basketball is a different story, especially during March Madness.
Your list is good, but IMHO, these should be removed:
Rudy (hardly remember it)
Escape to Victory (didn’t see it)
Field of Kevin’s Dreams (can’t stand Kevin Costner)
Chariots of Fire (liked it at first but pretty forgettable over the long-term, except for that music)
Kevin “Bull Durham” Costner (can’t stand Kevin)
And these should be added:
Blades of Glory
BASEketball
A League of Their Own
Kingpin
The Big Lebowski
On the Waterfront
Requiem for a Heavyweight
The Great White Hope
Fat City
The Hustler
Peewee’s Big Adventure
But that adds up to more than 15…
Oh, I like Holden's list. Fat City AND kingpin. Well done!
Glad no one put The Wrestler!
For some reason I forgot about A League of Their Own.
There's that one quick shot of a black woman throwing a ball back into the field, a nice touch if far too small.
There's never been a really good movie about the Negro League or the integration of baseball. There's The Jackie Robinson Story that he was in himself with Ruby Dee and The Bingo Long Travelling All-Stars and there was an HBO movie, The Trial of Jackie Robinson that takes place while he was in the army.
I'm kind of surprised there's never been a movie about Jesse Owens at the Berlin Olympics - and one of the other guys on the podium with him was Matt Robinson, Jackie's older brother.
There's also never been a movie about the Joe Louise-Max Schmelling fights.
And I admit, I laughed a lot more at BASEketball than I like to admit.
John, I'm not sure I see Hollywood or anyone making a good Jackie Robinson movie. I think it was The Boys of Summer where Robinson is talking with Roger Kahn about racial and sexual stereotyping, particularly the stereotype that black men lust after white women. In fact, Robinson says, back when he was in college, "I never had much trouble getting white women, let me tell you" or something along those lines. Think any studio or distributor is going to put that before the public?
A good movie about the Berlin Olympics would need to highlight also the Jews that the Nazi-loving Avery Brundage kicked off the U.S. 400-meter relay team. In fact, Jesse Owens replaced one of them. Not sure Hollywood would show that, either.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Liam
I can get aboard white men cant jump and Rocky III.
I know everyone raves about FNL, but its not my thing.
Brian
Torn's work on Larry Sanders is the best thing I've ever seen on a situation comedy.
Artie: All right, I'll take care of it and later on tonight I'm going go come by your house and shove a red hot poker up your ass.
Larry: Great, you know my address dont you?
Artie: Yeah and your poker size.
Holden
You'd replace Bull Durham with A League of Their Own? Seriously? A League of Their Own. This is the movie with Madonna and Rosie O'Donnell right? I heard Cheney made Al Qaeda suspects watch A League of Their Own at CIA "black sites" in Poland. Much more effective than water boarding apparently.
Kingpin and The Big Lebowski however are two ENORMOUS oversights. TBL might be my favourite Coen Brothers film and Kingpin is a goddamn classic.
Artie: My television stops at channel thirteen like it's supposed to.
And Peter, I composed a wonderful response to the story of Stoller-Glickman and the '36 Olympics (thanks for bringing that up) and how the movie would probably get turned into the Stoller-Owens rivalry, but I messed up posting it.
Paul
And I'm glad no one picked Major League or Fever Pitch.
John
Its strange indeed that the only movie we really have about the 1936 Olympics is that Leni Riefenstahl one.
Louis Schmeling would have been a terrific movie, except that Schmeling wasnt really the bad guy he was portrayed to be. Not that that would have stopped Hollywood. Did you ever see Cinderella Man? What a fucking travesty of truth that was.
Peter
I didnt know that about Jess Owens, although I'm not too surprised. Didnt the British team give Hitler the Nazi salute under the instructions of the British Olympic Committee?
Although English anti-semitism has always, like its American cousin, been caught up with class rather than than race I feel.
Antony Julius's new book might become the defining text on the subject.
No, I've never seen Cinderalla Man but I have a few friends who worked on it here in Toronto.
So, there's a story in how Schmelling was made to be the bad guy and also how he rose to become an executive at Coca Cola and Louis suffered from continued racism at home.
Okay, maybe not a Hollywood movie.
John
What about the "tragic" Ben Johnson story? To this day he says his tea was spiked or something.
The tragedy of the Ben Johnson story was after he'd been stripped of his medal and word was out that the winners wee being tested, Carl Lewis dropped the baton in the relay and was never tested. So he gets to keep his medal.
Yes, Ben wasn't as good a cheater, that's true.
Now Donovon Bailey and the 4X100 team in Atlanta would make a great movie.
Sorry, I'd put just about any movie above a Kevin Costner movie. He makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. The only movie I like him in is No Way Out but that was before he started chewing up the scenery. The absolute WORST is Kevin’s World A.K.A. Water World, but Dances with Kevin is a close second.
And, you’re right, a League of Their Own isn’t a great movie but it’s funny and interesting, even if it does have Madonna and Rosie in it.
John
Careful Lewis doesnt sue you. He DENIES ever taking steroids. Ha, ha, ha. Also he's definitely NOT gay.
Holden
Ah but clearly you havent seen The Postman. One of the unintentionally funniest films ever made.
He STILL denies it? Wow.
I used to work for a producer who worked with Roger Corman and he told me that when Waterworld was pitched to him as Mad Max on water Corman said, "That will cost way more than a million dollars," and passed.
So, I guess Holden's favourite Kevin Costner movie is The Big Chill.
Yep, gotta give the editors’ of The Big Chill kudos for their foresight in cutting out all of Kevin's parts except for the opening credits when he was being dressed for his funeral.
I can’t even freakin’ imagine watching The Postman. The trailers look SO RIDICULOUS – just shot after shot of Kevin’s sidelong glances and introspective contemplation.
Adrian, according to this, it’s the French who really disgraced themselves in 1936.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Can't say I've ever watched many sports movies because in general I don't care for them. One that I did enjoy was "Love of the Game" but then again maybe it's not a sports movie. I liked it that about half of the movie was the thoughts running through an older pitcher's mind as he threw a perfect game against the Yankees. Maybe I liked it because I like to see the Yankees lose.
Just athletically, or is that more of a geo-political comment, John?
Never mind--you don't have to answer that.
Fetch, you're probably right. Stoller-Owens rivalry, Jewish-black tensions before the two team up, and good triumphs. Feh!
Peter
Hmmm very interesting piece indeed. I'm pretty sure I heard that the British team gave a Nazi salute, although possibly not at the opening ceremony then.
John
Complexity seems to be the bane of sporting films, although Chariots of Fire mostly seemed to give a nuanced look at the issues, with a little compressing of the chronology to heighten the drama.
John J
I havent seen the Costner but I did see David Cone's perfect game in July 1999. It was against the late lamented Expos I think so it must have been an interleague game. The DH baffled them I suppose.
John
Good post on Corman a while back. Ron Howard forgot everything he knew.
Yep, Cone's perfect game was against the Expos, though I'm sure John McF. and I wish you would bloody well stick to the point and talk about something else.
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
The Mighty Ducks! On TV everytime I've been to France and all the better for the dubbing.
Too many BASEball flicks.
There was a Louis-Schmeling movie just the other day on ARD (The First German public channel). According to the teletext, it seems they went for the rivals-who-respect-themselves-and-are-secretly-friends theme.
Anyone have any thoughts on the hockey movie Youngblood with Patrick Swayze and Rob Lowe.
Wasn't there a hockey movie that came on CTV in the 80's called rookies (or something like that).
Also re: The Negro Leagues, There was a movie in the 90's, maybe an HBO production but don't hold me to that called Soul of the Game. It had delroy Lindo as Satchel Paige and Mykelti Williamson as Josh Gibson.
If memory serves it took place around the time that Jackie Robinson (played by Blair Underwood) was getting called up and some of the animosity that they felt towards him because they felt they were the stronger players.
Edward Hermann played Branch Rickey. I remember liking it a lot but haven't seen it since it first came out.
The Mighty Ducks! On TV everytime I've been to France and all the better for the dubbing.
Is it called "Les Canards Puissants" in French?
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Detectives Beyond Borders
"Because Murder Is More Fun Away From Home"
http://www.detectivesbeyondborders.blogspot.com/
Bend It like Beckham is surely than Bull Durham. Does it mean it's the best sports movie EVVAh?
Yes, Bend it Like Beckham was so good I even watched a couple of episodes of ER to see her again (I forget her name).
Is it called "Les Canards Puissants" in French?
Paperi Potenti in italiano.
Marco
Didnt like Bend It Like Beckham even when Keira Knightly was walking around without her kit on. They all just annoyed me.
Bend it Like Beckham had a funny line when she said to the coach, 'they're all picking on me, calling me names, you wouldn't understand,' and he said, "I'm Irish."
I forgot Keira Knightly was in it, the other woman had all my attention.
John
He really was Irish too but I was so annoyed with the movie I was convinced he was faking an Irish accent.
By sheer bad luck I ended up watching her next film Bride and Prejudice on a plane. It was horrible. I'm sure Pride and Prejudice and Zombies will be horrible too despite Natalie Portman's presence.
I liked Bend it Like Beckham too, but I didn't really think it would play to the true soccer fan.
I went to Bride and Prejudice and yes, it was pretty bad. But the zombies one could actually be great. Even if it was bad.
I'm pretty much all sports flicked-out, but if they ever make a film about the recent Super Bowl, it must include this quote:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17xQwB7YMY0&feature=youtu.be
Matt, you may be sports filmed out but the Olympics are almost upon us, so there's no better time to look at a sports and literature trivia quiz posted by Narrative Magazine. Probably too easy for most of you, but there might be one question that will stump you.
Did you say there would one question that would stump us or one question we might be able to answer, Seana?
Matt, Seana
I'm stumped by #5 but other answers are:
1. End Zone - Don Dellilo (I think)
2. Robert Frost - Stopping By Woods
3. Death in the Afternoon
4. Deliverance
5. ?
6. the writer is George Plimpton, not sure what the book is called.
Well, I figured it would be easy for some and not so easy for others. I would only have gotten two and four right and guessed Hemingway for three but without a title. Should have guessed Plimpton, though. Five remains a mystery, but I'm really curious about it.
I think nothing left to say anything more.
On a side note, the fourth season of Friday Night Lights wrapped up yesterday and by God it was a magnificent year. Without hyperbole it's up there with the Wire in quality and now, in tone.
Matt, I feel like you might be living in an alternate universe to me and this is the only link. I haven't been able to find Friday Night Lights all year. I missed a lot of the third year too, though, so maybe I'll Netflix or hulu both these seasons.
Glad you think it's holding up, though.
Most definitely.
I think the new season starts on NBC in April.
Serious about the Wire comparisons - and they added like 4 or 5 actors from the Wire as well.
Great. I'll keep my eyes peeled more closly in April. That's quite interesting about the Wire cast migrating over.
You must have played rugby. You certainly have we Flankers pegged. We have always thought of ourselves as hard-hitting backs (a kind of oxymoron). I am a Yank and played Flanker for Kansas Jayhawks and then KC Rugby Club back in my day.
It was fun telling my friends and family that Matt Damon played my position, only not quite as well.
Always appreciated, but did not envy props
I didn't mean to be anonymous, just clicked the wrong button - not as smart as a prop or a back.
Jack
Yup I was a loose head prop for twenty five years. I played #6 for 1 glorious year and got more of the ball than in the previous decade. Still I missed the drama of the front five in the scrum. There's a special camraderie between the two props and the hooker. The worst position in my opinion is second row. Horrible.
zProp...suspected as much
I played a half season at second row when I was older and slowing down and one of seconds went down with a leg injury. Hated it. Last one out of the scrum, worse even than tight head or hooker to my thinking. And I was too macho to wear head-gear and was quickly schooled in how many nerve endings one has in ones ears. I was tickled pink when my second row mate recovered for the spring season.
Did you read W.P. Kinsella's "Shoeless Joe," the basis for "Field of Dreams?" In the book the James Earl Jones fictional author was J.D. Salinger - thus the character's reclusive gruffness in the movie. Thought I'd toss that in here as apropos and topical.
Jack
Yeah read it a long time ago. Always though JE Jones was a strange choice for the movie...
I like his feisty red headed wife though.
Incidentally, that Narrative puzzle's answers are here. There's one surprise and the answer to the baffling No. 5. On the other hand, I did find it by googling, but it seemed too obscure.
I guess not.
The Marx Brothers' movie, Horsefeathers, rarely is mentioned on lists of great sports movies, but belongs on such lists. The game at the end of the movie is hilarious.
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