July 28, 2003

Another list of the greatest: sports movies of all-time. Top 5-Rocky, Raging Bull, Bull Durham, Hoosiers, Caddyshack.

posted by dales15 to general at 10:00 PM - 22 comments

MSNBC had a poll on this topic this morning but replace Caddyshack with Slapstick and the list was the same. Rocky was leading the vote the only time I saw the results.

posted by billsaysthis at 10:19 PM on July 28, 2003

Slapstick? Slapshot.

posted by 86 at 11:26 PM on July 28, 2003

Uh, where is Victory?

posted by StarFucker at 11:30 PM on July 28, 2003

Victory is number 47. Karate Kid is in the top 25? The world will now roll off it's axis and spin into space.

posted by kloeprich at 12:16 AM on July 29, 2003

Not that it deserves top-five status, but Any Given Sunday should be much higher than number 61.

posted by chmurray at 05:18 AM on July 29, 2003

I would have ranked "When We Were Kings" and "61*" a bit higher.

posted by grum@work at 07:28 AM on July 29, 2003

I don't know if I would rank Bull Durham that high.

posted by jerseygirl at 08:36 AM on July 29, 2003

I had no idea 'Enter the Dragon' was considered a sports movie, but since its on the list, getting ranked 112 is insulting. Bravo, this past Sunday, was re-running the movie seemingly non-stop with little nuggets of info: Lee, an established director prior to shooting the film, specifically seeks out director Robert Clouse, because Lee enjoyed his previous film Darker Than Amber. The final kick Lee delivers to the dishonorable scar-faced guard was not faked. Several extras broke bones just from the impact of catching the flailing guard. I think the guy who was kicked in the chest sustained injury as well, but I missed that part. Most impressive is Kien Shih,who plays the villain Han, couldn't speak English, but learned his lines, took visual cues to know when to speak, and tried to convey that he knew what he was talking about.(I know the link says it was overdubbed, and maybe it was, but Bravo told a different story) For that, he has my gratitude.

posted by garfield at 09:08 AM on July 29, 2003

Face it, there are no good sports films. Mike Bassett, England Manager raised a few laughs from me, but it would be incomprehensible to a non-Brit. After Raging Bull, The Hustler is probably the best sports film of all time, because it doesn't forget it's a film first and foremost, not a fairytale where the underdog comes back to win against incredible odds. I liked the sequel, The Color of Money as well. Any Given Sunday was good, but would have been better if they had had permission to use real NFL teams. Generally, one thing that seems impossible to do in film is to shoot realistic sports sequences. Thus the best films try to avoid showing any actual sport whereever possible. The British TV drama, Dream Team used doctored footage of real football games for maximum realism.

posted by salmacis at 09:11 AM on July 29, 2003

Slapshot is better than Bull Durham. 61* was good, The Longest Yard I thought was better than Any Given Sunday, Shaolin Soccer is no where near the list, yet kicks the ass of most of these films. When We Were Kings and Hoop Dreams are probably my favorites, after Slapshot - 'My halergy to deez fucking fans has return." What - no Blue Chips?

posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 09:12 AM on July 29, 2003

# 38 Vision Quest I'm vomiting right now, as we speak.

posted by vito90 at 09:19 AM on July 29, 2003

Field of Dreams got jobbed at #7.

posted by mbd1 at 09:25 AM on July 29, 2003

Tin Cup at #22? That movie sucked ass.

posted by Samsonov14 at 10:15 AM on July 29, 2003

I'd like to see a top 10 list of top 10 sports movie lists. And Bull Durham sucks.

posted by wfrazerjr at 11:56 AM on July 29, 2003

Bull Durham DOES suck...

posted by StarFucker at 02:19 PM on July 29, 2003

# 38 Vision Quest I'm vomiting right now, as we speak. .. and remember the greatest lines in it are about Pele !!!!

posted by stuartmm at 02:21 PM on July 29, 2003

Bull Durham sucks But how can you not love a movie where Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon fell in love?

posted by billsaysthis at 04:27 PM on July 29, 2003

Okay, I looked at the list and let's just all say in unison: 59. Ice Castles. 64 60. Bend it Like Beckham. 59 The list sucks!

posted by billsaysthis at 04:29 PM on July 29, 2003

When We Were Kings is brilliant, but does a documentary belong alongside fiction? And does Alive count? Old Scores is bloody funny, although hardly a great movie.

posted by rodgerd at 04:45 PM on July 29, 2003

The biggest injustice has to Rocky IV behind such The Sandlot, Prefontaine, Love and Basketball, etc. While far from a great movie, it is a "great bad movie" and is definitely among the fifteen most entertaining on the list. It is also probably the most important Rocky (besides the first one) for pop culture references and not to mention, its influential role (some might say monumental role) in predicting the end of the Cold War. If I can change and you can change....

posted by dales15 at 05:53 PM on July 29, 2003

The Hustler is probably the best sports film of all time The Hustler is excellent, and the book is good, also. It's very insightful into winners and losers and their motivations. When We Were Kings is brilliant, but does a documentary belong alongside fiction? Sure. It's a movie. About sports.

posted by kirkaracha at 10:50 PM on July 29, 2003

What about that Tom Emansky video? I think Fred McGriff had it at #1.

posted by yerfatma at 11:41 AM on July 30, 2003

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