Sports are like a reality show: real people, no script, only drawn plays. In these games, everybody wants to win, and that can make for some film-worthy story lines.
Our List of the 10 Best Sports Movies Ever Made:
Caddyshack (1980)
Golf is a sport that treasures silence—if not requires it. Caddyshack reverses the stereotype with an endless array of quotable lines and a loud, colorful cast. Featuring comedic legends Bill Murray and Rodney Dangerfield, this film is full of ill-natured but timely quips. Golf has never been this funny!
Field of Dreams (1989)
Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) is urged by a mysterious voice to build a baseball diamond smack-dab in the middle of his farm. Once the project is finished, he’s visited by the ghosts of Shoeless Joe Jackson and the rest of his Black Sox teammates who put the field to use. In the end, Ray’s deceased father joins him on the field for that “Hey dad, want to have a catch?” homerun moment.
Moneyball (2011)
Brad Pitt plays Billy Beane, the general manager of an Oakland A’s club struggling to stay afloat financially. He makes some bold moves to acquire talent based not on the traditional scouting methods of the time, but on advanced statistics. Moneyball is one of the best sports movies to come out in recent years.
Slap Shot (1977)
Casual fans are constantly being drawn to the game of hockey because of its most unique selling point: fighting. Slap Shot takes this premise as its focus, adding a dash of comedy and drama to concoct one hell of a cult classic.
Hoosiers (1986)
Despite being chalked full of clichés, Hoosiers manages to earn the audience’s respect by making them both cheer ecstatically and reach for that box of Kleenex. David and Goliath stories are some of our favorites in sports, and this film represents one of the greatest.
Rocky (1976)
The story of an unknown boxer who is picked by chance to challenge the reigning world heavyweight, Rocky remains the true underdog of all underdog flicks. Terrible sequels may have sapped some life out of the film franchise, but the original will be preserved in all its glory by the United States National Film Registry.
The Natural (1984)
A film adaptation of Bernard Malamud’s 1952 novel of the same name, The Natural depicts Roy Hobbs (Robert Redford) returning after 16 years of absence to become a monster behind the plate. We’re talking about home runs struck with so much power that they destroy stadium clocks, stadium lights, and just about anything else you can hit inside a stadium. The Natural speaks to that phase in life when the window of time to accomplish a dream is shrinking, with one last opportunity remaining to give it go.
A League of Their Own (1992)
Softies have no place in America’s national pastime. Playing a gruff baseball manager, Tom Hanks affirms this in A League of Their Own when he yells the famous line, “There’s no crying in baseball!”
Miracle (2004)
Hockey often takes the backseat in the discussion of professional sports, but one of the proudest moments in US sports history has to be Al Michaels’ call in the 1980 Winter Olympics. It got the Hollywood treatment in 2004 with Kurt Russell playing US bench boss Herb Brooks. He delivers a chill-rendering motivational speech that will go down as one of the best in film history—and professional sports.
“Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
Raging Bull (1980)
This classic biopic—a testament to the greatness of director Martin Scorsese— traces the life of former world middleweight champion boxer Jake LaMotta, played by Robert De Niro. Shot completely in black-and-white, Scorsese played with light, smoke, and utilized every conceivable shot to epitomize and bring to life the pugilist’s experience.
Do you have any other movies that you feel deserve to make the list? Follow Top Bet on Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ and share your picks for best sports movies of all time.
