What are the ingredients of a great sports movie? Arguably they’re the same as in any other movie: a great story, outstanding performances and the perfect blend of emotion-stirring scenes, whether they inspire us, warm our heart, thrill us, make us laugh or shed a tear. Great sports movies have been around almost as long as cinema itself, so choosing the ten best sports movies that capture that magical mix of triumph over tragedy, inspiration, drama and comedy is no mean feat, but these ten should indisputably feature in any list of the best sports movies of all time.
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1Rocky (1976)
A textbook ‘underdog makes good’ sports movie, Rocky tells the story of an unknown amateur boxer (Sylvester Stallone)who is given a once-in-a-lifetime shot at glory when he is plucked from obscurity to fight reigning World Champion Heavyweight Boxer Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers). It should be no contest, of course, but Rocky ‘mans up’, trains hard and delivers a knockout feel-good movie via a series of beautifully choreographed and realistic fights which lead to the climactic showdown.
2National Velvet (1944)
Demonstrating at an early age the star-quality that would later secure her status as a Hollywood legend, the fourteen-year-old Elizabeth Taylor plays Velvet, a girl who wins a feisty horse with racing potential and is encouraged, with the help of down-on-his-luck jockey Mi Taylor (Mickey Rooney), to train the steed and enter it for England’s premier steeplechase event, the Grand National.
3Kingpin (1996)
Sports movies set in the world of competitive ten-pin bowling are few and far between, but the Farelly Brothers struck comedy gold with Kingpin, the story of champion bowler Roy Munsen (Woody Harrelson) who forfeits his bowling hand after scamming the wrong opponents but seeks victory over his arch-rival ‘Big Ernie’ McCracken (Bill Murray with cinema’s most outrageous comb-over hairdo) by training an Amish protégé to bowl.
4The Hustler (1961)
Talented but cocky pool hustler “Fast” Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) pushes his luck one step too far when he takes on legendary pool player “Minnesota Fats” in a winner takes all game. Losing everything, Felson learns life’s lesson the hard way as he rebuilds his confidence and skills from scratch in order to gain a shot at redemption in a thrilling rematch with Minnesota Fats.
5Field of Dreams (1989)
“If you build it, he will come”, says the ghost of baseball player Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) to Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner). Kinsella takes this message from the spirit world to mean he should convert his cornfield into a baseball pitch. But who will come? Let’s just say that outstanding (deceased) father-son issues are resolved in this superb, heart-warming ghosts-and-baseball-based sports movie.
6Raging Bull (1980)
Robert de Niro on Oscar-winning form plays real-life 1940s boxer Jake la Motta, a man as dangerous and unpredictable in his domestic life as he was in the boxing ring. The very traits that make him a champion fighter are those that destroy his family life, and only after violence and jealousy have taken away the things that mean the most to La Motta does this poignant film tantalisingly suggest that he might be capable of self-redemption.
7Escape to Victory (1981)
Could this be the ultimate ‘bloke movie’? A war film that focuses on football and features a cast including Sylvester Stallone, Pele, Ossie Ardiles, Michael Caine and Bobby Moore has got to be a winner. It’s Allied Prisoners of War versus the German national football team in a grudge match where the PoWs are as passionate about escaping as they are about playing great football.
8Cool Runnings (1993)
The idea of a movie plot about Jamaica entering a bobsleigh team for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympic Games might seem far-fetched, but Cool Running is based upon a true story. This might be a John Candy-starring comedy, but the determination and heroics of the Jamaican bobsleigh team shines through the laughs as the film builds to a triumphant and heart-warming conclusion.
9Chariots of Fire (1981)
This Oscar-laden classic sports movie charts the true story of two British runners, Harold Abrahams (played by Ben Cross) and Eric Liddell (Ian Charleson) who must overcome personal rivalry, religious persecution and a host of domestic trials and tribulations in their bid to obtain glory on the running track at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
10Jerry Maguire (1996)
Tom Cruise’s high-achieving, high-earning and well-respected sports agent has it all until he is suddenly struck with a pang of conscience about the perceived lack of ethics in his commission-hungry (“show me the money!”) business. Stripped of his prestigious sports-star clients and enviable pay-packet by employers ungrateful for his candour, Jerry Maguire sets about rebuilding his life, career and reputation whilst remaining true to his new-found principles in this Oscar-winning and heart-warming comedy drama.