Now that this year is drawing to a close, it’s fun to look back and remember the great sports films we got to see this year. If you missed any of these sports films, now is a great time to rent or borrow them, grab a beer (I’m more the hot cocoa kinda girl) and cuddle up on the couch for a great flick.
This year, there was Bleed for This, the true story of Vinny “The Pazmanian Devil” Pazienza, a fighter who shot to stardom after winning two world title fights, but a near-fatal car accident left him with a severed spine. Will he get back to the ring and fight again?
Of course, there was also Race, the dramatization of the life of Jesse Owens, highlighted by the 1936 Summer Olympics.
One of my favorites, Eddie the Eagle, is about a British — yes British — ski jumper from 1988 Calgary Olympics. Loved this movie. Even the kids will enjoy this one.
How about a blast from the past — can you believe that Hoosiers was released 30 years ago? Hoosiers was a film that came out in 1986 — it was written by Angelo Pizzo and directed by David Anspaugh. It tells the story of a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that wins the state championship. It is loosely based on the Milan High School team that won the 1954 state championship. It starred Gene Hackman as Norman Dale, Barbara Hershey and Dennis Hopper. It was a classic sports movie that is a must-see. Here are others:
The Color of Money: Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Paul Newman and Tom Cruise, the film is a continuation, 25 years later, of The Hustler from 1959. Newman played pool hustler and stakehorse Edward “Fast Eddie.”
Youngblood: starred young Rob Lowe in a drama that was about an American teen assigned to a Canada junior hockey league. The movie also starred Patrick Swayze, Cynthia Gibb and Keanu Reeves.
American Anthem: Two gymnasts (Mitch Gaylord, Janet Jones) fall in love and train hard in Arizona for stiff competition in a world-class meet.
Jerry Maguire: “Show me the money!” “You had me at hello!” How can you forget these great lines? Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr., gave unforgettable performances in this iconic sports film movie that still gets quoted to this day. If you missed it, I wrote about Jerry Maguire and posted an interview here.
Okay, so in 1996, there was also Ed, the comedy that starred Matt LeBlanc (How you doin’?) who befriended a baseball-playing chimpanzee. We will not talk about this movie and I don’t think Matt will talk about it either (check out Man With a Plan though on CBS, I like that show).
Have you seen We Are Marshall which came out in 2006 and starred Matthew McConaughey. It’s the tear-jerker of a movie about the college team’s 1970 plane crash and aftermath. Ten years ago there was also Invincible, the biopic of bartender Vince Papale (played by Mark Wahlberg), who gets to play for the Philadelphia Eagles.
Dangal just came out a few days ago and I haven’t had a chance to see it yet, but it’s about former wrestler Mahavir Singh Phogat (Aamir Khan), who trains young daughters Geeta (Fatima Sana Shaikh) and Babita (Sanya Malhotra) to follow in his footsteps and become world-class grapplers. According to Forbes, Dangal notched the second biggest opening week in history in India and scored more than $16 million internationally. It set the sights on beating the all-time Hindi record-holder, Khan’s PK.
While I was looking for movies that debuted this year as well as 5, 10, 15 and 20 years ago, I came across this documentary about the New York Cosmos. For those of you who don’t know, the North American Soccer League’s New York Cosmos shut down in this last month (much to our sadness). This documentary talks about their history, which really got started when the world’s most celebrated soccer star, the Brazilian champion Pele, signed with the N.Y. Cosmos in 1975. he players—including Pele—became the toast of the town, earning their own private table at Studio 54. This documentary looks at the team’s remarkable history and includes interviews with many of the Cosmos’ star players.
What sports films do we have to look forward to next year? Creed 2 will debut (I still have to watch Creed), and in January, there’s the scheduled release of The Bronx Bull, the life of boxing champion Jake LaMotta (William Forsythe), from his youth to his retirement.
