San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
The greatest sports movies of all time
“Raging Bull” (1980): The brutally exquisite combination of Robert De Niro, winning an Oscar as boxer Jake LaMotta, and director Martin Scorsese. Featuring Joe Pesci and Frank Vincent, a couple of musthaves in any tough-guy film. De Niro, who looked to have weighed about 140 pounds in “Mean Streets,” bulked up to the extreme and vanished into this role. Reaching far beyond sport, this is one that stays with you a while. (Streams for free on Amazon Prime.)
“Bull Durham” (1988): So many directors miss the boat so badly on sports, you wish they’d just turn to cabinetmaking. Ron Shelton, a former minor-league infielder, knows his stuff, and how to convey it onto celluloid. What’s it really like in baseball’s minor leagues? You get a poignant and often hilarious look, thanks to the choice performances by Kevin Costner, Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon. Other Shelton films recommended: “White Men Can’t Jump,” “Tin Cup,” “Blue Chips” and “Cobb.” (“Bull Durham” is available to rent on most streaming platforms.)
“Hoop Dreams” (1994): A landmark documentary that follows the life of two Chicago-area teenagers through their high school years, dreaming of the NBA and encountering the harsh realities of life. This is a stark, intelligent look at poverty, parenthood and racism in a world where hope is so difficult to grasp. Three hours, as directed by Steve James, and riveting throughout as it rises far above the ordinary. (Stream for free on HBO Now, HBO Go, Fandor, Mubi, Kanopy and DirecTV. Also available on most rental platforms.)
“The Natural” (1984): If you’re cynical about “the romance of baseball” and even more jaded as today’s game drifts off the rails, perhaps this isn’t for you. I’m on the other side, buying into every bit of this Barry Levinsondirected film, based on Bernard Malamud’s 1952 novel, and a bit mistyeyed at times. This is the brilliant Robert Redford as Roy Hobbs, a legendary slugger seeking release from his troubled past. Redford played some ball in his youth, and while his lefty swing may not be Ted Williams, it’s plenty good enough. Luxuriate in the cinematography by Caleb Deschanel and savor the Randy Newman score. (Streams for free on Netflix and available on most rental platforms.) “Field of Dreams” (1989): Now the sap is really flowing down the tree. But again, just let yourself go. Believe in a bit of the supernatural. Ghostly figures emerging from a cornfield in oldtime uniforms? Absolutely. Burt Lancaster playing a man called Moonlight Graham? Perfect. The simple act of playing catch, that timehonored staple of the pastime, comes marvelously to life here. Costner gets routinely panned as an actor, and I don’t quite get that. (Streams for free on Starz and DirecTV and available on most rental platforms.)
“Eight Men Out” (1988): This was a mustwatch for fans of John Sayles, who directed “Matewan,” “City of Hope” and “Return of the Secaucus 7,” among other gems. Baseball marked a venture into uncharted waters for Sayles, and he completely nailed the notorious “Black Sox” scandal surrounding the 1919 World Series. Great acting prevails, with John Cusack and David Strathairn at the forefront. Historians have quibbled over minor inaccuracies, but better to get lost in the mood of this very different time. (Streams for free on Vudu and the Roku Channel and available on most rental platforms.)
“When We Were Kings” (1996): Director Leon Gast filmed the “Rumble in the Jungle” — Muhammad Ali’s 1974 fight against George Foreman in Zaire — and turned it into a documentary masterpiece, with a perspective that stretches far beyond the ring. Today’s sports fans are quite likely turned off by the sport, so badly damaged by convoluted structure and less-thancharismatic figures. Watch this film to understand why it can be the most compelling of them all. (Streams for free on HBO Now, HBO Go and DirecTV.)
“Caddyshack” (1980): There has to be room for at least one uproarious comedy that people will be quoting for the rest of their lives. It won’t ever fit into the bin of classics, but the performances of Bill Murray, Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase and Ted Knight are just flat-out funny. What still pops into conversations: “Somebody step on a duck?” ... “How ’bout a Fresca?” ... “Pond would be good for you.” ... And of course, when your friend lines up a big putt: “Mmmiss!” (Streams for free on Fubo TV and available on most rental platforms.)
“A League of Their Own” (1992): Penny Marshall’s film about a women’s professional baseball league during World War II. Sounds hopelessly trite, but works well through an honest story, touching relationships and authentic glimpses into the power of women in sports, with Geena Davis, Rosie O’Donnell and Madonna as players. Tom Hanks, his career about to skyrocket, plays the team’s bumbling, alcoholic manager. Everyone remembers his line, “There’s no crying in baseball” — which he invoked last week as he was quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus — but catch Hanks’ priceless gestures and facial expressions as he wades through unfamiliar territory. (Streams for free on Showtime and available on most rental platforms.) “Hoosiers” (1986): The definitive piece about small-town basketball in the American heartland. It’s so refreshing to see the game-action shots actually resemble the sport. Interesting viewer’s subplot: Some might find themselves rooting for the other team, portrayed as the bad guys, at the end — just to put a quirky spin on the thing. Mostly, this is about the moving, sensational work by Gene Hackman and Dennis Hopper, neither of whom delivered a tepid performance in their lives. (Streams for free on Starz and available on most rental platforms.)
Also notable
Educating yourself on history, with a nod to artistic license: “Seabiscuit” (the racehorse), “Without Limits” (track star Steve Prefontaine), “Chariots of Fire” (British track athletes in the lead-up to the 1924 Olympics), “Senna” (race car driver Ayrton Senna), “The Damned United” (British soccer in the 1970s), “Pride of the Yankees” (Lou Gehrig), “Miracle” (the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team) and “Glory Road” (Texas Western in 1966, the first all-black starting lineup to win an NCAA basketball title).
For the acting: Daniel Day-Lewis in “The Boxer,” Christian Bale in “The Fighter” and “Ford v Ferrari,” Stacy Keach in “Fat City,” Denzel Washington in “Remember the Titans” and “He Got Game,” and Paul Newman’s progression from “The Hustler” to “The Color of Money.”
Tear-jerkers: “Bang the Drum Slowly” and “Rudy.”
Just plain fun: “Bend it Like Beckham,” “Major League,” “The Karate Kid,” “Happy Gilmore” and “Slap Shot.”