Comments on: Favorite Sports Films

By: Rob Madeo

Rob Madeo — Sun, 18 Jul 2010 13:21:53 +0000

Hey, Moe: Thanks for mentioning Victory, which I'd completely forgotten. You can usually find copies of this in the $5 DVD bin, and it's worth the money. Directed by John Huston, this decidedly old fashioned WW II flick is a lot of fun. Think The Great Escape meets the World Cup. Not sure how Pele ended up a German prisoner of war...

By: Moe Howard

Moe Howard — Sat, 17 Jul 2010 12:13:24 +0000

A few I like that may not have already been mentioned:

– Karate Kid, original (I even liked Karate Kid II)
– Bang the Drum Slowly (Deniro playing ball – real Shea Stadium action; sad though)
– Hard Times (Bronson as a streetfighter, possibly not a sports movie but pretty awesome)
– Kingpin (hilarious, a must see)
– Back to School (also not fully a sports movie, but terrific seeing Rodney Dangerfield perform the Triple Lindy off the High Dive in the big finale)
– Rollerball, original (James Caan kicking butts in the future)
– Victory (Stallone, Caine & Pele against the Nazis – corny but fun; choosing to kick the ball instead of escaping defies belief)
– The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (Pryor & the ultra smooth Billy Dee Williams – cool)
– The Kansas City Bomber (Raquel Welch back in the day – oh yeah – on roller skates)
– Pumping Iron (Arnold & Lou pumping up to ridiculous levels during th early steroid days)

By: Mick

Mick — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 13:42:54 +0000

I think you could include The Wrestler, though it’s looking at “sports entertainment” the fact of the matter is that they have to be athletes to do the things they do in the ring. For those that view amateur wrestling as the only version I’d say you are stuck with Vision Quest as your submission.

By: Irn-Bru

Irn-Bru — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 12:27:53 +0000

A Shot at Glory might just be one of the worst soccer films ever that happens to have one of the best soundtracks ever by Mark Knopfler.

By: Jay Bobbin

Jay Bobbin — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 10:46:19 +0000

And …

“Grand Prix,” which was designed for the Cinerama process with plenty of scenes from the “you’re in the driver’s seat” perspective.

A great use of the split-screen concept, too, which still holds up well in the picture’s frequent showings on Turner Classic Movies.

By: Kevin Marshall

Kevin Marshall — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:42:21 +0000

That movie’s been in my Netflix Queue forever. I hear it’s really good…

By: BL

BL — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 02:40:02 +0000

Here’s a way different one. “Green Street Hooligans”. if you can get past the fact that Frodo is in it, it’s a good movie.

By: J. Eric Smith

J. Eric Smith — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:53:04 +0000

Rob: I didn’t remember that movie’s title (#35), but when I looked it up on IMDB, I certainly recall the flick itself: alas, I saw it in a military theater in Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, rather than at the Mitchel Field Movie Theater, as it was just before we headed to the Island . . . I saw a lot of crap at Raceway Cinema, though, once I got there. Not as much crap as I saw at the Uniondale Mini Cinema (“Rocky Horror” and “Jimi Plays Berkley,” anybody?), but pretty darn close . . .

By: J. Eric Smith

J. Eric Smith — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:49:44 +0000

Oh!!! Another GOTTA HAVE just popped to mind: “Greased Lightning,” an AMAZING Richard Pryor flick from about 1977-1978 period about dirt track race-car drivers. Awesome, awesome, AWESOME.

By: Rob Madeo

Rob Madeo — Fri, 16 Jul 2010 00:11:53 +0000

Has anyone ever seen The Last American Hero, the 1973 Junior Johnson biopic starring Jeff Bridges? I saw it when I was about 11 (at Raceway Cinema, J. Eric!). The movie featured the Jim Croce song, I Got a Name.