Eight great football movies
From Mean Machine to The Miracle of Bern, James Croot selects eight of the best cinematic celebrations of the beautiful game you must-see.
The world’s greatest single-sport’s tournament kicked off in Russia early this morning. Supporters of 32 nations from around the world (and millions of other ‘‘neutral’’ fans) will be glued to the television and the internet for a month as one of the globe’s great dramas plays out. Ahead of the 21st edition of the Fifa World Cup, Stuff picked out an octet of cinematic celebrations of the beautiful game.
The 2002 film that gave the world Keira Knightley, Parminder Nagra and Jonathan Rhys-Davies, Gurinda Chadha’s multi-ethnic, coming-of-age story also inspired a generation of female footballers. A heady mix of off-field romance, domestic drama and compelling on-field action combined to crowd-pleasing effect.
The masterstroke, though, was probably keeping old Goldenballs (and his multimedia missus) far away from the project. Longest Yard, this 2001 film has former profootballer Vinnie Jones playing England captain Danny Meehan. After a run-in with the law, he ends up in Longmarsh Prison where the governor wants him to coach the guards’ semiprofessional team.
By infusing the cliched win-against-the-odds movie with a cast of bizarre and memorable characters (notably Jason Statham’s madgoalkeeper Monk), terrific football sequences and a jet-black sense of humour, director Barry Skolnick propels the movie into the premier division.
It also boasts the best commentary team since Best in Show: ‘‘He’s ambidextrous.’’ ‘‘I don’t know about that, Bob, but he can use both feet.’’
It’s easy to see why this 2003 dramatisation of West Germany’s 1954 World Cup campaign is such a crowd-pleaser, particularly in its native country.
A former second-division footballer, director Sonke Wortmann has created a sometimes compelling, exceedingly charming but slightly cheesy tale of family upheaval and underdog spirit. The pitch action is some of the most realistic committed to celluloid.
The Cup is a delightful demonstration of how spirituality can co-exist quite happily with an intense desire for France to defeat Brazil.
A quite simply stunning 2006 documentary that chronicles the rise and fall of the New York Cosmos and the North American Soccer League. Gathering some of the world’s best players – Pele, Franz Beckenbauer, Johan Cruyff – thanks to the millions provided by Warner Brothers president Steve Ross, the Cosmos attracted record crowds for the sport in the United States.
However, infighting and a lack of results on the field led to it all falling spectacularly apart.