Today ...
- Actor presentations
- Kevin's 13 Sports Movies worksheet with links to movie clips
Characteristics of Sports Movies
A sports film, obviously, is one where a sport and its athletes are featured heavily in the movie. For the viewer, excitement is often generated by the question of whether the athlete or team will win in the end. On the other hand, unlike a real game or season of sports, there is usually a story in the movie that is compelling regardless of whether the athlete or team wins. For this reason, favorite sports movies can be watched multiple times, even if the outcome is already known.
One very common theme of sports movies is the idea of the underdog (the weak player or team) that overcomes great odds to succeed in the end. The underdog doesn't always win the final match, as that would be too predictable. However, the underdog usually does well enough to justify the hard work of the players and leave the viewer satisfied that the participants got what they deserved.
Sports movies are sometimes based on true events, such as Eight Men Out, about the Chicago White Sox scandal of 1919, when the players conspired to throw the World Series. They can also be comedies (Cool Running) or serious (Million Dollar Baby). Another sub-genre is the sports documentary.
There's an extensive list of sports movies on Wikipedia:
Kevin's recommended sports movies are (in no particular order):
Raging Bull, Hoop Dreams, Bull Durham, When We Were Kings, Eight Men Out, Field of Dreams, Million Dollar Baby, The Wrestler, Moneyball and Jerry Maguire.
Two other movies, Rocky and The Big Lebowski, are also recommended. Rocky is recommended because it's a classic sports movie that was very influential. However, the pattern has been imitated so many times, that it may seem to be a cliche. One must keep in mind that Rocky was a pioneer for many films that came later. It's also a much better film than the Rocky sequels. The Big Lebowski is not really a sports film. However, the bowling scenes in this movie are legendary.
Sports Movie Clips & Trailers
Hoop Dreams (1994) trailer
Bull Durham (1988) clip
When We Were Kings (1996) trailer
The Endless Summer (1966) clip
Million Dollar Baby (2004) trailer
Field of Dreams (1989) trailer
The Wrestler (2008) trailer
Raging Bull (1980) trailer
Jerry Maguire (1996) trailer
Eight Men Out (1988) trailer
Rocky (1976) trailer
The Big Lebowski (1998) clip
Some recent sports movies:
The Way Back (2020) trailer; basketball movie, starring Ben Affleck
Battle of the Sexes (2017) trailer; tennis movie, starring Emma Stone, Steve Carrell
Foxcatcher (2014) trailer; starring Steve Carrell, Channing Tatum, and Mark Ruffalo
Rush (2013) trailer; Formula 1 racing movie, starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Bruhl
Moneyball (2011) trailer; baseball movie about the Oakland Athletics manager, Billy Bean; starring Brad Pitt, Jonah Hill, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Chris Pratt
42 (2013) trailer; about Jackie Robinson, the first black player in the MLB
I, Tonya (2017) trailer, about Tonya Harding, figure skater involved in a scandal
Ford v Ferrari (2019) trailer, racing, starring Matt Damon, Christian Bale
Creed (2015) / Creed II (2019) trailers; boxing; starring Sylvester Stallone, Michael B. Jordan
Athlete A (2020) - trailer; Netflix documentary about sexual abuse in U.S. gymnastics
King Richard (2021) - trailer, tennis; starring Will Smith; about Serena and Venus Williams
Great bowling clip:
Jesus (from the Big Lebowski; 1998) clip
Top 10 Inspirational Sports Movies (Watchmojo)
Top 10 Sports Biopics (Watchmojo)
Sports Activity PDF
Directions
1) Try to guess from the movie titles which sport each movie is about; answers will be given in class
2) Watch the trailer or clip for each of the movies on the handout
3) Listen for the lines in the list below. Which movie is each line from? Write the number next to the title.
Match the movie line to the correct movie title. Look for clues to which sport it is! (The letters B, M, E tell you where in the clip to find the quote.)
1. Oh, no. He's shaking off the signs. (B-M)
2. Show me the money! (B)
3. No. I want a player who’s got the guts not to fight back. (M-E)
4. Cause you had the talent to become a good fighter … (B-M)
5. I am not saying that women don’t belong on the court. Who would pick up the balls otherwise? (B-M)
6. Two words: re – match (M)
7. Mark it zero. Next frame. (M)
8. “What do you hope to achieve, Mark?” “I want to be the best in the world.” “Good.” (B)
9. I done something new for this fight; I murdered a rock. (B)
10. All I ever dreamed about was playing in the NBA. (M)
11. I'm the best. I can take more than anybody. (B)
12. You can’t tell how good a wave is until you actually ride it. (B)
13. Stop talking to her. That girl is your enemy. (B)
B = beginning; M = middle; E = end; B-M = between beginning and middle; M-E = between middle and end
Blog Post about Sports
Make a post in your blog about one of the Sports clips you watched this week. Or you can write about a movie in the Sports genre that you actually saw. Please write more than one sentence!
To Do List
1) Sports Activity
2) Hot Seat
3) Blog post about Sports
4) Make your movie blogs complete and up to date:
* add Action and Romance posts
* customize your blog
* make sure title and description are correct
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