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Favorite Sports-themed Films

Movie list created by kathy

Sort by: Showing 20 items

Decade: Rating: List Type:

8.7

6.1

First (2012)...

Director: Caroline Rowland
Starring: John Orozco, Heena Sidhu, David Rudisha, Majlinda Kelmendi, Caroline Buchanan, Missy Franklin, Katie Taylor and Laura Trott

The Official Film of the XXXth Olympic Games to be held in London, following the stories of twelve first-time Olympians from around the world.

kathy's rating:

8.3

7.5

Goal! The World Cup 1966 (1966)

Directors: Ross Devenish and Abidin Dino
Starring: Nigel Patrick (narrator) and Brian Glanville (commentary)

This entertaining documentary of the World Cup Soccer tournament of 1966 follows the 15 countries competing for the sport's most coveted prize. 117 cameras were used to record nearly 48 hours worth of action. Four editors were employed to created the final 108-minute feature.

kathy's rating:

Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations

130

7.3

7.8

Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations (1938)

Director: Leni Riefenstahl
Starring: Jesse Owens, David Albritton, Arvo Askola, Jack Beresford and Erwin Blask

After being commissioned by the 1936 Olympic Committee to create a feature film of the Berlin Olympics, director Leni Riefenstahl shot a documentary that celebrates the human body by combining the poetry of bodies in motion with close-ups of athletes in the heat of competition. Includes the marathon, men's diving, and American track star Jesse Owen's sprint races at the 1936 Olympic games.

The production tends to glorify the young male body and, some say, expresses the Nazi attitude toward athletic prowess. Includes the lighting of the torch at the stadium and Adolf Hitler looking on in amazement as Jesse Owens wins an unprecedented four Gold Medals.

kathy's rating:

7.3

7.7

Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty (1938)

Director: Leni Riefenstahl
Starring: Glenn Morris, Sheigo Arai, Jack Beresford, Ralf Berzsenyi and Ferenc Csík

In Part 2 of Olympia, director Leni Riefenstahl captures the grace of athletes during field hockey, soccer, bicycling, equestrian, aquatic and gymnastic events. Highlights are the Pentathlon and the Decathlon, which was won by American Glenn Morris; it ends with the triumphant conclusion of the games.

kathy's rating:

7.4

6.8

One Night in Turin (2010)

Director: James Erskine
Starring: Gary Oldman (narrator), Paul Gascoigne, Bobby Robson, Graham Kelly, Glenn Roeder and Colin Moynihan

Before the Premier League and multi-million pound salaries, in England 'football' was a dirty word. The game was in disgrace, the fans, hooligans and the nation, it seemed, were all played out.

Then there was Italia '90 - The World Cup - a shot at redemption. But this was no ordinary World Cup and no ordinary time. The manager, Sir Bobby Robson, was under intense media scrutiny and his team were described as 'donkeys'. Yet over six short weeks, through their heroic exploits they united a nation, coming within a heart beat of reaching the World Cup Final.

kathy's rating:

8.1

7.3

Phar Lap (1983)

Director: Simon Wincer
Starring: Tom Burlinson, Ron Leibman, Richard Morgan, Robert Grubb, Martin Vaughan, Celia De Burgh, Vincent Ball, Judy Morris, Richard Terrill, Peter Whitford and Steven Bannister

The true story of a legendary Australian racehorse that becomes a champion with the help of a local stableboy, rising from obscurity to win nearly 40 races in just three years before mysteriously dying in 1932.

kathy's rating:

270

7.3

7.5

The Damned United (2009)

Director: Tom Hooper
Starring: Michael Sheen, Timothy Spall, Colm Meaney, Stephen Graham, Henry Goodman, David Roper and Jimmy Reddington

A look at Brian Clough's 44-day reign as the coach of Leeds United.

kathy's rating:

1142

6.7

7.3

A League of Their Own

Director: Penny Marshall
Starring: Tom Hanks, Geena Daviis, Lori Petty, Madonna, Rosie O'Donnell, David Strathairn, Garry Marshall, Jon Lovitz, Bill Pullman, Megan Cavanagh, Ann Cusack, Tracy Reiner, Anne Ramsay, Bitty Schram, Eddie Jones and Téa Leoni

Two sisters join the first female professional baseball league and struggle to help it succeed amidst their own growing rivalry.

kathy's rating:

6.9

The Champ (1979)

Director: Franco Zeffirelli
Starring: Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway, Ricky Schroder, Jack Warden and Arthur Hill

Billy Flynn, an ex-boxing champion, is now horse trainer in Hialeah. He makes just enough money to raise his little boy T.J., over which he got custody after his wife Annie left him seven years ago. T.J. worships The Champ, who is now working on his come-back in order to give his boy a better future. But suddenly Annie shows up again ...

kathy's rating:

518

6.8

7.2

Chariots of Fire

Director: Hugh Hudson
Starring: Ben Cross, Ian Charleson, Nicholas Farrell, Nigel Havers, John Gielgud, Lindsay Anderson, Ian Holm, Nigel Davenport, Cheryl Campbell, Alice Krige, Dennis Christopher, Brad Davis, Patrick Magee and Peter Egan

Based on a true story, this award-winning film follows the rivalry between two British track athletes, one a determined Jew and the other a devout Christian, competing in the 1924 Paris Olympic Games.

kathy's rating:

186

6.6

7.2

Secretariat (2010)

Director: Randall Wallace
Starring: Diane Lane, John Malkovich, Margo Martindale, Nelsan Ellis, Otto Thorwarth, Fred Dalton Thompson, James Cromwell and Scott Glenn

Against all odds, housewife and mother Penny Chenery - with the help of veteran trainer Lucien Laurin — navigates the male–dominated horseracing business, ultimately taking Secretariat on a spectacular journey to become the first Triple Crown winner in 25 years and perhaps the greatest racehorse of all time.

kathy's rating:

2975

7.5

8.1

Rocky (1976)

Director: John G. Avildsen
Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, Burgess Meredith and Thayer David

Rocky Balboa is a struggling boxer trying to make the big time, working as a debt collector for a pittance. When heavyweight champion Apollo Creed visits Philadelphia, his managers want to set up an exhibition match between Creed and a struggling boxer, touting the fight as a chance for a nobody to become a somebody.

kathy's rating:

6.6

6.7

Le Mans

Director: Lee H. Katzin
Starring: Steve McQueen, Siegfried Rauch, Elga Andersen and Ronald Leigh-Hunt

Throngs of race car media, fans and drivers are making their way to Le Mans, France for the annual 24-hour Grand Prix race. One of those attending this year is American driver Michael Delaney, despite he being involved in a horrific crash the previous year which claimed the life of fellow driver, Piero Belgetti.

kathy's rating:

7.5

6.2

The Games (1970)

Director: Michael Winner
Starring: Michael Crawford, Ryan O'Neal, Charles Aznavour, Jeremy Kemp, Stanley Baker, Kent Smith, Sam Elliott and Mona Washbourne

Four marathon runners (an Englishman, an American, a Czech and an Australian Aborigine) prepare to run in the Olympic games. The film follows each one and shows what their motivations are for running in the games.

kathy's rating:

213

7.3

7.7

Breaking Away

Director: Peter Yates
Starring: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern, Jackie Earle Haley, Barbara Barrie, Paul Dooley, Hart Bochner and John Ashton

A small-town teen obsessed with the Italian cycling team vies for the affections of a college girl.

kathy's rating:

6.4

6.7

Keeper'n til Liverpool (2010)

[also known as 'Keeper'n til Liverpool']
Director: Arild Andresen
Starring: Ask von der Hagen, Susanne Boucher, Jostein Brox and Mattis Asker

A warm comedy in which both girls and boys play football, worship their idols and are frustrated by complicated friendships, young love, anxious mothers and overambitious football coaches.

At the heart of the events, we find twelve year old Jo. Jo tries to avoid both potential girfriends, mothers and football coaches, as he is hunting desperately for a rare football card which he believes will solve all his problems.

kathy's rating:

6.7

6.4

One on One (1977)

Director: Lamont Johnson
Starring: Robby Benson, Annette O'Toole, G.D. Spradlin and Gail Strickland

Henry Steele is a basketball phenom at his small town high school, but when he matriculates to a big city university on a scholarship, soon realizes that he has few skills outside the sport. Expected by his coach to contribute significantly to the team, Henry is overwhelmed by the demands on his time, the "big business" aspect of college sports and the fact that he never fully learned to read.

Things look bleak for Henry when Janet Hays, a pretty graduate student, is assigned as Henry's tutor. Her intellect and strength lift Henry out of his doldrums just in time to battle the coach, who attempts to rescind Henry's scholarship.

kathy's rating:

6.8

6.3

Personal Best

Director: Robert Towne
Starring: Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly, Kenny Moore and Jim Moody

The intertwined lives and loves of three highly-ranked athletes striving for the national team.

kathy's rating:

7.6

6.8

Joe and Max (2002)...

Director: Steve James
Starring: Til Schweiger, Leonard Roberts, Richard Roundtree and David Paymer

The true story of two boxers: African-American Joe Louis and German Max Schmeling, and their enduring friendship.

kathy's rating:

6.2

6.9

Will (2011)

Director: Ellen Perry
Starring: Damian Lewis, Bob Hoskins, Rebekah Staton, Kieran Wallbanks, Alice Krige, Jane March, Kenny Dalglish, Jamie Carragher, Steven Gerrard and Clive Tyldesley

An orphan journeys across Europe to the 2005 Champions League Final in Istanbul.

kathy's rating: