cinemadiso's - Best Sport Themed Films Vol. 1 List
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After 17 years in the ring, it's the final bell for Mountain Rivera (Anthony Quinn). A fight doctor confirms one more punch for the washed-up heavyweight and he could become permanently disabled. Reluctantly, but with the support of his faithful trainer (Mickey Rooney) and a kindly employment counsellor (Julie Harris), Rivera tries to land a job outside the ring. But his calculating manager Maish (Jackie Gleason) has other plans for Rivera. With the mob closing in on him for payment of a huge gambling debts, Maish coerces Rivera into returning to the ring for a lucrative, yet humiliating, career in staged wrestling matches. - Director:
- Ralph Nelson
- Cast:
- Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Mickey Rooney
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The quintessential Marx Brothers comedy. Groucho, Harpo, Chico, and yes, Zeppo, are at their manic peak in this uproariously anarchic parody of college life. As the fun-loving president of Huxley College, Groucho tries to keep the student body in line while attempting to keep his own body near a flirtatious floozie (Thelma Todd) who is secretly trying to rig the big football game between Huxley and arch rival Darwin University. Plot aside, and it usually is, Horse Feathers contains some of the greatest sequences in movie comedy history, including a classic schoolroom shoot-out between Groucho and students Harpo and Chico, as well as an unforgettable football game finale. Other gems include each brother offering his personal rendition of "Everyone Says I Love You" and a speak-easy sequence that will forever give meaning to the word "swordfish". The fourth and perhaps funniest Marx Brothers comedy boasts a script by immortal humorist S.J. Perelman, songs by Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby (including Groucho's theme, "I'm Against It") and direction by the great Norman McLeod. - Director:
- Norman Z. McLeod
- Cast:
- Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx
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Four friends graduate from high school and find themselves looking at an uncertain future in small-town America. Dave's passion is cycling and his dream is to compete against the best in the sport, the Italians he idolizes. Despite being disillusioned when he finally races against his heroes, his passion for cycling takes on new meaning when he and his friends face a team from the local college in the town's annual bike race, The Little 500. Looked down on by the students, Dave faces his greatest challenge yet, one that will test his endurance and spirit to the limit. - Director:
- Peter Yates
- Cast:
- Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, Daniel Stern
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Following the success of Karel Reisz's 'Saturday Night and Sunday Morning', Alan Sillitoe adapted another of his works for the screen, this time a short story of a disillusioned teenager rebelling against the system to make Tony Richardson's 'The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner' one of the great British films of the 1960's. Newcomer Tom Courtenay is compelling as the sullen, defiant Colin, refusing to follow his dying father into a factory job, railing against the capitalist bosses and preferring to make a living from petty thieving. Arrested for burglary and sent to borstal, Colin discovers a talent for cross-country running, earning him special treatment from the governor (Michael Redgrave), and the chance to redeem himself from anti-social tearaway to sports day hero. With Colin a favourite to win against a local public school, tensions build as the day approaches... - Director:
- Tony Richardson
- Cast:
- Michael Redgrave, Tom Courtenay, Avis Bunnage
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Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) knows little about family. Less about sports. What the homeless teen knows are the streets and projects of Memphis. Well-to-do Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) knows little about his world. Yet when she and Michael meet, he's found a home. And the Tuohys found something just as life-changing: a beloved new son and brother. - Director:
- John Lee Hancock
- Cast:
- Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw
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