Sultans of reel sport: Eleven sports themed films that rocked Hollywood

Rocky (1976)

Perhaps THE most famous sports film of all, this Sylvester Stallone classic follows the fortunes of a down and out boxer, Rocky Balboa, who gets a shot at the World Heavyweight Boxing title out of nowhere. Yes, it was cheesy and yes, it was largely predictable, but it was the film that made Sylvester Stallone – and Rocky Balboa – household names. And also gave us one of the most famous.

Raging Bull (1980)

If Rocky is perhaps the most famous sports film of them all, then Raging Bull is perhaps the most acclaimed one in the genre. It is built around the real life story of Jake La Motta, the brilliant yet eccentric middleweight champ. Robert de Niro played the lead role of a boxer whose ego destroys his life, and indeed did the job so well that he won an Oscar for best actor. Of course, he bulked up for the role and learnt boxing. Compelling and intense viewing, even though it is in black and white.

Chariots of Fire (1981)

In terms of sheer acclaim, perhaps the only sports film that can be mentioned in the same breath as Raging Bull, Chariots of Fire tells the story of two famous sprinters at the 1924 Olympics, Harold Abrahams and Eric Liddell. Both battle beliefs and prejudices (Abrahams about being a Jew, Liddell about being a man of God) in this brilliantly shot film which captures athletics in the 1920s. And it features the iconic theme music from Vangelis too.

Escape to Victory (1981)

A football match between football players who are prisoners of war and the ‘Great German’ football team in Paris at the time of the German occupation after the Second World War? Yes, that was the premise of this multi-starrer football-heavy film which boasted a star cast that included Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow and yes, even the great Pele himself. The plot was paper thin but production values were slick and people kept coming back to see THAT incredible overhead goal from Pele at the end.

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Cinderella Man (2005)

What is it about the brutal sport of boxing that inspires so many great films? We know not, but in terms of sheer visual impact and quality, Cinderella Man is up there with the best. Based on one of sports greatest upsets – Jim Braddock’s defeat of Max Baer for the world heavyweight title in 1935. Braddock had gone through a lot of personal hardship and poverty and had been written off but he shocked Baer. Watch it for Russell Crowe and Renee Zelwegger’s brilliant acting and some absolutely brilliant boxing sequences.

Rush (2013)

1976 saw one of the closest battles for the Formula One racing title between Englishman James Hunt and Romania’s Niki Lauda. The contrast between the careful and calculated Lauda and the carefree and at times reckless Hunt was brilliantly recreated on screen by Daniel Burhl and Chris Thor Hemsworth in Rush, a film that revolved around that single season which saw Lauda almost getting killed and then fighting back to try and win the title. Speed and its attendant risks have seldom been better captured on the silver screen.

Ali (2001)

Yes, Muhammad Ali did act in a film based on his own life (the rather dull The Greatest), but it is the Will Smith-as- Ali starrer that makes our cut. Covering the traumatic period in which Muhammad Ali lost his title following his refusal to go to Vietnam to his amazing win against George Foreman in 1974, it came with some brilliant acting and direction, giving it an intensity and grimness that is not often witnessed on the silver screen. And Smith as Ali gave arguably the performance of his lifetime.

Invictus (2009)

A film with Matt Damon and Morgan Freeman, directed by Clint Eastwood. That in itself would be enough to satiate most film critics, but add in a sports element to the plot and you would have the sports fans baying for more as well. The film is all about how the South African rugby team, inspired by Nelson Mandela (played by Freeman) stunned the world by defeating the legendary New Zealand All Blacks team to win the World Cup in 1995, thus contributing to the re-unification of South Africa. Perhaps the greatest film ever made about rugby.

Cool Runnings (1993)

Can a country which has no snow at all have a bobsleigh team? That too in the Winter Olympic Games? Well, Jamaica did at Calagary in 1988. And as the world watched in surprise, they turned in a stunning performance too, winning hearts if not medals. Cool Runnings is a film that is roughly based on their achievement. It was not always accurate and some might find the production standards not quite the greatest but that does not detract from just how insanely inspiring the film is. Some people cannot believe that Jamaica had a Bobsleigh team…we still cannot, actually.

Jerry Maguire (1996)

Right, who said that the only thing in sport was playing it? Jerry Maguire showed us the other side of sports – the behind the scenes lobbying for endorsements, the battle for player contracts and the life of a sports agent, who goes from being the best to almost broke, and then stakes everything on a moody football player. With stellar performances from Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr and Renee Zelwegger, complemented with one of the most gently humorous screenplays of its time, the film remains a benchmark for anyone who wants to know the relationship between an athlete and his agent. And of course, it gave us a romantic line that is now part of folklore – ‘you had me at hello’.

Space Jam (1996)

Some might consider it an act of sacrilege to include this goofy basketball-oriented cartoon-and- real life blend into this list, but in terms of sheer fun, it is hard to beat Space Jam. Michael Jordan ends up leading a team of Loony Toons (including Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd) against invading aliens who have been challenged to…well, a basketball match. Sounds crazy? It looks even crazier. But is sheer fun, and it does seen His Royal Airness (Jordan) scoring an epic slam dunk at the very end.

Also worth seeing:

White Men Can’t Jump

Remember the Titans

Hoosiers

The Tin Cup

Leatherheads