OTHER SPORTS- PART 2

As promised, here is the rest of my list of the best sports movies that are not about baseball. 

6. Requiem for a Heavyweight (1962). Believe it or not, this is a movie that is based on an original television play.  Both were written by Paddy Chayefsky, one of the best.  Only a cut below Raging Bull, if that.  Anthony Quinn is excellent as the used and abused fighter, and Jackie Gleason is good as his manager, and user. Gleason was about the biggest TV star of them all when I was growing up. It seems almost unfair that he was also a very gifted actor! 

7. The Hustler (1961). This movie made Paul Newman a star and demonstrated that Jackie Gleason was more than a comedian. Loosely based on a true story, it is about a pool player who wants to beat the best and strike it rich.  This film is superbly shot in smoky black and white; color would ruin it. The character Gleason plays, the legendary Minnesota Fats, died at 82 but certainly lived to see the movies based loosely on his life.  The Color Of Money (1986) is a worthy successor, with Paul Newman now a middle-aged Fast Eddie Felson, mentor to Tom Cruise as his cocky student.

8. Heart Like a Wheel (1983) features Bonnie Bedelia as drag racer Shirley Muldowney.  This is as good a film as we have about a woman trying to make it in a man's world.  It is reasonably close to the facts of Muldowney's life. A superb antidote to the “girls can’t do that” crowd. Excellent action footage. Beau Bridges is fine as her husband.

9. White Men Can't Jump (1992). Woody Harrelson and Wesley Snipes having a big time as basketball hustlers, and throw in Rosie Perez as a Jeopardy hustler.  A funny story without much substance, it is just plain fun. 

10. Rocky (1976). Because Stallone cranked out so many sequels that the whole thing became sort of a national joke, you tend to forget just how good the first one was.  Rocky is the American hero story, about the little guy winning against impossible odds with a little luck and talent and a lot of hard work.  The wonderful theme music lives on. Forget the sequels.

Honorable Mention: Phar Lap (1983) horse racing; Semi-Tough (1977) football; The Harder They Fall (1956) boxing; The Longest Yard (1974) football; Hoosiers (1986) basketball;, Rudy (1993) football, This Sporting Life (1963) soccer, Invictus (2009) rugby.

All of the films in this column are available for streaming.  Google the title and click on “watch movie”. All are really for adult audiences.