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THE
TOP 5
PROJECT

WEEK NO. 32
Main Page (including links to all past Top 5 weeks)

THE TOP 5 SPORTS FILMS:

view full results       see how points are awarded
Rank Film Points L #1
#1 Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) 60 14 10
#2 Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994) 17 5 1
#3 Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988) 15 5 -
#4 The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961) 12 6 -
TIE Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004) 12 4 -
L=How many lists each film appears on             #1=How many number one votes each film recieves

In probably the least surprising victory since Citizen Kane won as best first film, Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull crushes the competition with a big fat punch in the face. Scorsese's film (not only the best sports film ever made, but in this critics opinion, one of the greatest films ever made!) garnered 60 points, mentioned on fourteen lists and topping ten of the twenty-one lists handed in this week.

In a distant, distant, distant second (the largest margian of any top 5 week) was Hoop Dreams with 17 points, just followed by Bull Durham with 15. Rounding out the top 5 was a tie between The Hustler and Million Dollar Baby, both with 12 points.

Several films which were voted for perhaps have rather dubious "sport" credentials, but it was still great to see films about chess (The Luzhin Defence), Crossword Puzzles (Wordplay), Fishing (A River Runs Through It), Spelling Bees (Spellbound and Akeelah and the Bee) and Hockey (Slap Shot, Mighty Ducks etc.) - just kidding hockey fans. Anyway, have a good week and see you next time on The Top 5 Project.

Individual lists:

David Sterritt
Chairman, National Society of Film Critics

(Alphabetical Order)

  • Beyond the Mat (Barry W. Blaustein, 1999) - The straight dope on pro wrestling, and perhaps the most memorable sports documentary ever.

  • He Got Game (Spike Lee, 1998) - Athletics, religion, politics, education, violence, and capitalism, all ingeniously critiqued in one of Lee's most audacious pictures.

  • The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961) - Fast Eddie meets Minnesota Fats; 'nuff said.

  • The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Tony Richardson, 1962) - An indelible essay on the fine art of losing

  • Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) - Pugilism without tears.



Carrie Rickey
Film Critic, Philadelphia Inquirer

  1. Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938)

  2. Bend it Like Beckham (Gurinder Chandha, 2002)

  3. Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988)

  4. Remember the Titans (Boaz Yakin, 2000)

  5. The Cup (Khyentse Norbu, 1999)



Jeffrey M. Anderson
Film Critic & Freelance Entertainment Writer
Las Vegas Weekly, Metro (Silicon Valley), etc.

When I started listing my favorites I ended up with five boxing movies, so I split them up by sport:

  1. Boxing: Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) - Runners up: Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004), Fat City (John Huston, 1972), Undisputed (Walter Hill, 2002), The Set-Up (Robert Wise, 1947), The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952), The Black Dahlia (Brian De Palma, 2006)

  2. Baseball: The Rookie (John Lee Hancock, 2002) - Runners up: The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg (Aviva Kempner, 1999), Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988), Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989), Eight Men Out (John Sayles, 1988), Fear Strikes Out (Robert Mulligan, 1957)

  3. Soccer: Offside (Jafar Panahi, 2007) - Runners up: Shaolin Soccer (Stephen Chow, 2002)

  4. Football: The Longest Yard (Robert Aldrich, 1974)

  5. Basketball: Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994) - Runners up: Hoosiers (David Anspaugh, 1986), Blue Chips (William Friedkin, 1994)



Christopher Null
Founder, Publisher & Editor-in-Chief, Filmcritic.com

  1. Rollerball (Norman Jewison, 1975)

  2. Wordplay (Patrick Creadon, 2006)

  3. Spellbound (Jeffrey Blitz, 2002)

  4. Caddyshack (Harold Ramis, 1980)

  5. The Swimmer (Frank Perry, 1968)



Erik Childress
Film Critic, efilmcritic.com
Chicago Film Critics Association (Vice President)

  1. Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989)

  2. 61* (Billy Crystal, 2001)

  3. Hoosiers (David Anspaugh, 1986)

  4. Friday Night Lights (Peter Berg, 2004)

  5. Tin Cup (Ron Shelton, 1996)



Dennis Schwartz
Film Critic Ozu's World Movie Reviews

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. When We Were Kings (Leon Gast, 1996)

  3. The Set-Up (Robert Wise, 1949)

  4. The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961)

  5. Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story (Ron Berger/Dan Klores, 2005)



Peter Sobczynski
Film Critic, eFilmCritic.com

Of course, this begs the question of what one means by the best sports movies--are we talking the best movies overall or the films that best convey the magic of their subject matter in cinematic terms? Beats me, so I will offer up a smattering of both.

And yes, I am fully aware that Raging Bull should be on this list but I can't quite see my way to calling it a "sports movie"

  1. The Bad News Bears (Michael Ritchie, 1976)

  2. Slap Shot (George Roy Hill, 1977)

  3. Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988)

  4. Horse Feathers (Norman Z McLeod, 1932)

  5. Lagaan: Once Upon A Time In India (Ashutosh Gowariker, 2001)



Film Prophet
Film Critic, FilmProphet.com

  1. Rudy (David Anspaugh, 1993)

  2. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)

  3. Cinderella Man (Ron Howard, 2005)

  4. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  5. Jerry Maguire (Cameron Crowe, 1996)



Michael Parent
Film Student

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2005)

  3. Slap Shot (George Roy Hill, 1977)- Up here in Quebec this movie is an institution cause Hockey is as strong as Religion was.

  4. The Mighty Ducks (Stephen Herek, 1992) - Same thing as Slap Shot.

  5. The Longest Yard (Robert Aldrich, 1974)

Runners up: Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989), M*A*S*H (Robert Altman, 1970), Dogtown and Z-Boys (Stacy Peralta, 2001), Happy Gilmore (So bad it’s good…) (Dennis Dugan, 1996), Invincible (Ericson Core, 2006)


Kevin Cassidy
Film Enthusiast

  1. Eight Men Out (John Sayles, 1988)

  2. Tokyo Olympiad (Kon Ichiwaka, 1965)

  3. The Great White Hope (Martin Ritt, 1970)

  4. Body and Soul (Robert Rossen, 1947)

  5. Slapshot (George Roy Hill, 1977)



Mathew Viola
Film Fanatic

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorcese, 1980) - The protagonists of boxing films tend to possess a certain amount of nobility, whether they’re washed up fighters seeking a comeback, inspiring underdogs beating a seemingly invincible champ, or just dumb palookas holding onto their dignity by refusing to take a dive. In Raging Bull, Scorcese’s protagonist possesses no such higher human attributes; he’s simply a violent brute. This works to his advantage inside the ring, as his opponents must feel like prey stuck in a cage with a bloodthirsty, relentless predator. Scorcese emphasizes his animalistic nature by showing him eyeing his opponents in slow motion, like a stalking cat about to pounce, while bestial roars fill the soundtrack.

    Unfortunately, his behavior is the same outside the ring. His long-suffering wife, whom La Motta views as a possession, endures the brunt of his rage, which is sparked by the merest hint of infidelity; his irrational jealousy sends him into paroxysms of troglodytic fury, compelling him to brutally keep her in line and to beat away any would-be usurper of his possession, including his loyal brother. What we have here is a vision of man at his basest; it’s as if La Motta weren’t susceptible to the taming effects of civilization, leaving him in a raw, primitive state, motivated only by primal instinct and irrational impulse. He eats, he fucks, and he fights.

    Why is such a man worthy of a biography? Perhaps because, insofar as we all share a common evolutionary history, there’s a little La Motta inside all men. Watching La Motta forces us to confront a part of ourselves that we’d rather pretend didn’t exist. But make no mistake, it exists, and Scorcese and De Niro show it to us in all its naked ugliness. Luckily, most of us manage to control our inner La Motta. La Motta’s tragedy is that he lacks the faculty for rational self-control, leaving him and everyone else around him at the mercy of his destructive impulses.

    The film also happens to feature one of the all-time great screen performances, which clearly pays due homage to the early performances of Brando. De Niro’s explosive performance must have stunned early ‘80s audiences in the same way Brando stunned early ‘50s audiences. Whether stalking opponents around the ring, or his wife around the house, he’s a frightening, utterly compelling bundle of machismo. Interestingly, La Motta’s repertoire of behavior is so limited we can easily predict his behavior. In other hands, this might have been a shortcoming of characterization, but De Niro turns it into a dramatic strength. Because we quickly learn that it doesn’t take much to set off La Motta’s violent temper, De Niro has us cowering in our seats, bracing ourselves for his volatile character’s next inevitable explosion. The constant expectation of imminent violence creates unbearable tension in the viewer. We want to look away, but can’t, because, well, then we’d miss De Niro’s once-in-a-lifetime performance.

  2. The Set-Up (Robert Wise, 1949) - Told in real-time, anticipating High Noon by three years, The Set-Up is a low-budget gem that combines the potency of the boxing drama with the shadowy atmosphere and fateful sensibility of film noir. By unfolding in real-time the taut, spare narrative is lent a heightened sense of urgency as it counts down to aging boxer Robert Ryan’s rendezvous with destiny. His memorable introduction is film noir at its best. The camera pans from the boxing arena to the Hotel Cozy across the street, then slowly moves toward an open window, pushes past the curtains blowing in the night breeze, and finally enters the dingy room where Ryan, quickly established as a washed-up fighter who’ll “always be one punch away,” prepares to leave for what will prove to be his final fight. By the time Ryan enters the ring, he’s completely alone – the hostile, bloodthirsty crowd wants to see him pummeled, his manager and trainer, having fixed the fight without his knowing it, hope he goes down as expected, and even his girl, who can’t stand to see him fight anymore, fails to show up for his match. He’s got nothing left to lose but his pride.

    The fight itself is, if you’ll excuse the shameless pun, a knockout. Using three strategically placed cameras, Wise takes right inside the ring, bringing great power, immediacy and authenticity to the lengthy, grueling fight. It so impressed Scorcese that he consciously avoided copying it during the filming of Raging Bull! But as memorable as the fight is, the immediate aftermath is even more impressive. Having refused to take a dive, Ryan sneaks out the back door of the arena hoping to evade the enraged racketeers who think he welshed. From the alleyway he can see his hotel room, a tantalizingly close beacon of safety, where his girl awaits his return in the hopes of beginning a new life. All that stands in his way are the racketeers. This extraordinary sequence, with its richly atmospheric low-key lighting, its claustrophobic alleyway setting, its tight framing, its iconic close-ups of Ryan’s haunted face, and its oppressive sense of impending doom as Ryan desperately tries to maneuver himself out of this trap, is a textbook example of the techniques of film noir, as if Wise shot the sequence anticipating that one day it would be studied by film students. This classic film ends on an oddly bittersweet note. When Ryan finally emerges from the shadows, his boxing days are over, which is not a bad thing. His hands may be broken, but his integrity and pride are intact.

  3. Rocky (John G. Alvidson, 1976) - Walking through the slums of Philadelphia, all decked out in black, bouncing his rubber ball, and mumbling in that deep, guttural voice, Rocky makes an immediate impression. He cuts an imposing figure. He seems like a tough guy. But we quickly learn that he’s just a big softy. He can’t bring himself to break a deadbeat’s thumb; he tries to steer a neighborhood kid away from trouble; he cares for his alcoholic brother-in-law; he respects his trainer; and he treats his girl with gentleness and sensitivity. Jake La Motta he ain’t. But he never seems too good to be true because Stallone makes him into a believable character. And that’s important because the story is entirely fanciful. Rocky is the quintessential underdog; the little palooka that could; the original Cinderella Man; a Horatio Alger-like character of the boxing world; and, as one who overcomes humble circumstances and great odds by dint of hard work and sheer determination, the embodiment of the American Dream. Is it any wonder Rocky was released in the nation’s bicentennial year? There’s no point in trying to resist. From the opening scenes establishing Rocky’s lovable character, to the stirring training sequences set to Bill Conti’s memorable music, to the exciting, inspiring climactic bout in which the Italian Stallion goes the distance, Rocky is the sleeper to end all sleepers, the ultimate crowd-pleaser, an irresistible fairy-tale. By the time the beaten and bloodied yet triumphant Rocky yells for “Adrian!” his status as one of cinema’s great folk heroes is assured.

  4. Gentleman Jim (Raoul Walsh, 1942) - Even those who despise boxing should enjoy this spirited biopic of Jim Corbette. Not only does the film have rich period flavor, fast-paced direction and exciting fight scenes, it also features one of Errol Flynn’s most dynamic, charismatic performances. As played by Flynn, Corbette is a colorful and engaging lad, cocky yet immensely charming, the kind of guy who, through the sheer force of his personality, draws everyone’s attention wherever he is. Despite his brashness, it’s hard not to like him – unless you’re the champ, Ward Bond, who’s the target of Flynn’s merciless Ali-like taunting, or Flynn’s girlfriend, who’d like to see someone knock the conceit out of his swollen head! The film has a lot of memorable scenes. I love when he shows off his fancy footwork by darting back and forth between pedestrians walking in a crowded street, a scene that nicely showcases Flynn’s athletic gracefulness, and captures his character’s exuberant cockiness. But the best scene occurs after Flynn has defeated the prideful Bond. Bond used to strut around boasting that he could whip any man in the world, but when he shows up in shame at Flynn’s victory party to hand over his championship ring, Flynn magnanimously tells him that he’s glad he didn’t have to fight him in his prime. The macho emotionalism of Flynn’s gesture of good sportsmanship is a genuinely touching moment, capping off this highly enjoyable winner.

  5. The Harder They Fall (Mark Robson, 1956) - Unlike the other boxing films on my list, this one focuses on the sport itself rather than on an individual fighter. What emerges is a harsh indictment of boxing, exposing the sport as an utterly corrupt racket, run by crooked scumbags who heartlessly manipulate and exploit naïve palookas for profit. It stars Humphrey Bogart as an out-of-work sports writer who becomes a participant in this corrupt world when he accepts a job as a press agent for racketeer Rod Steiger. The plan: create bogus publicity releases to inflate the boxing reputation of a gigantic but completely inept fighter, pay off his opponents to take dives, and then bet big on their man. Once he gets a title shot, toss him in the ring against the far superior champion, who will make mincemeat out of the hapless palooka, and bet big on the champ. Having sold out in order to retire comfortably, Bogart reluctantly goes along with the scam, until he finds out what the exploited fighter has netted: $49! This outrage is the last straw, not only prompting Bogie to carry out a noble deed of selfless generosity in behalf of the palooka, but also to write an expose that is sure to result in the villainous Steiger’s comeuppance. Were Bogart not the star, his climactic actions might seem corny, but because he brings so many iconographic associations from earlier roles to bear in this part, his ultimate redemption rings true. Indeed, this cynical, hard-boiled, world-weary character who does the right thing in the end could be a cousin of Casablanca’s Rick. This was Bogie’s last film, and it’s a worthy and entirely fitting swan song for the legendary actor.

Runners-up: The Freshman (Sam Taylor and Fred Newmeyer, 1925), College (James W. Horne, 1927), Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1936), This Sporting Life (Lindsay Anderson, 1963), The Bad News Bears (Michael Ritchie, 1976), Breaking Away (Peter Yates, 1979), Eight Men Out (John Sayles, 1988)


Doug Pratt
DVD Critic, DVDLaser.com

The most spectacular sport sequence ever filmed is the chariot race in the remake of Ben-Hur, yet you cannot qualify that as a sports film, nor can a movie such as Field of Dreams qualify, since the playing of sports is not a central component of its drama.

Hence, the 5 best 'sports' films, which best interweave the action of a given sport with a drama that is integral to the sporting competition, are:

  1. The Black Stallion (Carroll Ballard, 1979)

  2. Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988)

  3. Downhill Racer (Michael Ritchie, 1969)

  4. Lagaan (Ashutosh Gowariker, 2001)

  5. Big Wednesday (John Milius, 1978)



Wirkman Virkkala
Writer and Editor of FilmFlam and an admitted sport hater.

  1. The Luzhin Defence (Marleen Gorris, 2000) - Chess is a sport, right?

  2. College (Buster Keaton & James W. Horne, 1927) - Buster Keaton plays a young scholar who, to get the girl of his dreams, tries out for a variety of sports. Comedy ensues.

  3. Akeelah and the Bee (Doug Atchson, 2006) - A black girl trains for a spelling bee. My kind of competition.

  4. Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951) - Farley Granger as Guy Haines, tennis pro and inadvertent conspirator. OK: the sport is a real sport, tennis, but it is not in the foreground. Nevertheless, the tennis match included is brilliantly done.

  5. Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988) - One of the better Kevin Costner performances in this memorable baseball flick, with Tim Robbins playing a goonish rookie. Susan Sarandon cheers 'em on.



Joel Webb
Film Enthusiast

"I think Rocky is a stupid movie."

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994)

  3. The Set-Up (Robert Wise, 1949)

  4. Horse Feathers (Norman Z. McLeod, 1932)

  5. The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961)

Honorable Mention - This Sporting Life (Lindsay Anderson, 1963), When We Were Kings (Leon Gast, 1996), Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004), Triplets of Belleville (Sylvain Chomet, 2003), The Freshman (Fred C. Newmeyer & Sam Taylor, 1925), The Pride of the Yankees (Sam Wood, 1942), Valery's Ankle (Brett Kashmere, 2006), The Sandlot (David M. Evans, 1993)...& - these are a bit of a stretch - Cowards Bend the Knee (Guy Maddin, 2003), The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, 1998).


Jason Mlinarsik
Film Enthusiast

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961)

  3. Body and Soul (Robert Rossen, 1947)

  4. The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, 1998)

  5. Pride of the Yankees (Sam Wood, 1942)



Clark Day
Film Enthusiast

  1. Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976)

  2. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  3. A River Runs Through It (Robert Redford, 1992)

  4. Caddyshack (Harold Ramis, 1980)

  5. Better Off Dead (Savage Steve Holland, 1985)

Honorable Mention (in no particular order): He Got Game (Lee, 1998), Ali (Mann, 2001), Bull Durham (Shelton, 1988), Heaven Can Wait (Beatty/Henry, 1978), Girlfight (Kusama, 2000), Million Dollar Baby (Eastwood, 2004), Cars (Lasseter/Ranft, 2006), and....Crash (Cronenberg, 1996) - you know, the 'auto sports film.'


Ben Dalton
Film Student & Enthusiast

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994)

  3. When We Were Kings (Leon Gast, 1997)

  4. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)

  5. The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961)



Jesse Walker
Film Enthusiast and Managing Editor, Reason Magazine

  1. Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994) - The greatest basketball movie ever made, and the only film on this list with a strong whiff of reality to it.

  2. The Naked Gun (David Zucker, 1988) - The greatest baseball movie ever made. No sappy sentimentality, no heavy-handed symbols, no soaring soundtrack -- just a zombie Reggie Jackson programmed to kill the queen.

  3. M*A*S*H (Robert Altman, 1970) - The greatest football movie ever made. "We've got a red flag! We've got a red flag!"

  4. Slap Shot (George Roy Hill, 1977) - The greatest hockey movie ever made, and the best sports comedy that people actually think of as a sports comedy.

  5. TIE: Body and Soul (Robert Rossen, 1947) and Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) - There are no great golf movies (sorry, Caddyshack fans), so I'll wrap up this list with a couple of boxing pictures. Strictly speaking, I suppose Raging Bull is a better film than anything else on this list, but I have trouble thinking of it as a "sports movie." Many of you may have trouble thinking of The Naked Gun and M*A*S*H as sports movies as well, but that's not my problem.

Honorable mention: The "Stanley's Cup" episode of South Park.


Rich Cline
Film Critic and Creator of Shadows on the Wall.

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorcese, 1980)

  2. Bull Durham (Ron Shelton, 1988)

  3. Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989)

  4. Chariots of Fire (Hugh Hudson, 1981)

  5. Offside (Jafar Panahi, 2006)

Runners-up: Touching the Void (Kevin MacDonald, 2003), Rocky (John G Avildsen, 1976), Strictly Ballroom (Baz Luhrman, 1993), Fever Pitch (David Evans, 1997), Seabiscuit (Gary Ross, 2003), Eight Men Out (John Sayles, 1988), Bang the Drum Slowly (John D Hancock, 1973), Girlfight (Karyn Kusama, 2000), Slap Shot (George Roy Hill, 1977), Breaking Away (Peter Yates, 1979).


Ricardo Luis Alvarez
Film Enthusiast

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. Jerry Maguire (Cameron Crowe, 1996)

  3. The Sandlot (David M. Evans, 1993)

  4. Million Dollar Baby (Clint Eastwood, 2004)

  5. The Bad News Bears (Michael Ritchie, 1976)



Kevyn Knox
Film Critic, Essayist + Historian

  1. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

  2. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Tony Richardson, 1962)

  3. Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994)

  4. Eight Men Out (John Sayles, 1988)

  5. The Hustler (Robert Rossen, 1961)


*points are given as follows: for numbered lists, first place recieves 5 points, second place recieves 4, third place 3, fourth place 2 and fifth place gets 1 point; for unumbered lists, each film will recieve 3 points; total points are then tallied up and a comprehensive Top 5 list is created


The Next Topic is:
Name The Top 5 Musicals

e-mail me at kevynknox@thecinematheque.com with your picks for week #33,
no later than 6pm on Sunday, July 29, 2007.

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