20 best sports movies: the greatest sports movies ever made
The best sports movies of all time revealed.
It turns out that when it comes to the best sports movies, it's not always the sport that is at the forefront of the drama. And that's why we love this genre so much.
Sometimes combining two glorious things doesn’t always pay dividends – like chips and mayonnaise for example. And don’t even think of arguing otherwise.
But, sometimes mixing things can lead to a brief glimpse of nirvana. Take films for instance – they are aces. This is indisputable. Sport is also the best… Can you see where we’re going with this yet?
That’s right, we are here to salute those films that portray sporting endeavour. From boxing to baseball, via football and long distance running, we have uncovered the 20 best sporting films known to man, woman and child.
Back page glory awaits…
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20. Hoop Dreams (1994)
Hoop Dreams is without doubt the best sports documentary ever made. It might even be the best documentary ever. Filmed over eight years, it follows the hopes and dreams of two aspiring basketball players in inner city Chicago. Touching upon notions of race, class, education and the power of sport to transcend these issues, Hoop Dreams is both a touching and unflinching expose of Nineties America.
19. This Sporting Life (1963)
Kitchen sink dramas don’t get any dirtier than Lindsay Anderson’s powerful film about wayward rugby league player Frank Machin (played to brutal perfection by Richard Harris). A violent misfit in real life, Machin’s machismo finds legitimate expression in the gladiatorial arena of rugby league. If only his life outside rugby could make some sense.
18. The Bad News Bears (1976)
The 1976 original starring Walter Matthau is a comic masterpiece. And the 2005 remake (featuring Billy Bob Thornton) is worth two hours of your time too. Matthau plays a washed-up former minor league baseball player who is drafted in to coach a bunch of no-hopers. Along the way to the edge of glory, both coach and kids learn a few things about sport and life.
17. Rounders (1998)
Thankfully not a film about the less-than-masculine kids’ pastime. Rather a colourful depiction of the world of high-stakes poker, starring Ed Norton and Matt Damon. Featuring an impressive supporting cast (including Martin Landau, John Turturro, Gretchen Mol and the always superb John Malkovich), Rounders plays out like a classic sports movie thanks to its depiction of loyalty, friendship and eventual redemption.
16. Chariots Of Fire (1981)
Films don’t come more rousing than Chariots of Fire. Telling the events leading up to and including the 1924 Olympics – and featuring that Vangelis score – it really is stirring stuff. The lead actors Ben Cross (who plays Harold Abraham) and Ian Charleson (who portrays devout Christian Eric Liddell) would never reach such heights again, but this story is the stuff dreams are made of. That it’s mostly true is even more moving.