Sport Films
Generally of the inspiring-true-story, triumph-of-the-little-guy variety, films about competitive sports and the people who play them are hugely successful in sports-mad USA. And they're catching on here. Get ready to sit back with a cold one and demonstrate your armchair referee skills - bearing in mind that you may just need to keep box of tissues handy.
Pictured: Kevin Costner and James Earl Jones in seminal baseball film, 'Field of Dreams'.
The Natural (1984)
7.5/10
Director: Barry Levinson
Starring: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Wilford Brimley, Barba...
Astonishing cinematography highlights this affecting fantasy drama with Robert Redford as a mystical 1930s ballplayer; his career is cut short in his... Read more
The Natural (Blu-ray) (1984)
7.5/10
Director: Barry Levinson
Starring: Barbara Hershey, Glenn Close, Kim Basinger, Richard Farnsworth, Robert Duvall, R...
Astonishing cinematography highlights this affecting fantasy drama with Robert Redford as a mystical 1930s ballplayer; his career is cut short in his... Read more
The Perfect Catch (2005)
6.7/10
Director: Bobby Farrelly, Peter Farrelly
Starring: Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon, Jack Kehler, Scott H Severance, Ione Skye
The American version of Nick Hornby's acclaimed novel, Fever Pitch, stars Jimmy Fallon as Ben a man obsessed, not with soccer, but with baseball. Dre... Read more
The Phenom (2016)
5.2/10
Starring: Johnny Simmons, Ethan Hawke, Paul Giamatti, Sophie Kennedy Clark, Alison Elliott...
A rookie pitcher undergoes psychotherapy to overcome the yips. Read more
The Program (2015)
6.5/10
Director: Stephen Frears
Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Guillaume Canet, Ben Foster, Jesse Plemons, Chris O'Dowd, Lee Pa...
An Irish sports journalist becomes convinced that Lance Armstrong's performances during the Tour de France victories are fueled by banned substances.... Read more
The Racer (2020)
5.7/10
Director: Kieron J Walsh
Starring: Tara Lee
It follows a rider who, after being dropped from the team, is reinstated following a doping error. Read more
The Rookie (2002)
7/10
Director: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Dennis Quaid, Rachel Griffiths, Jay Hernandez, Brian Cox
In this inspiring true story, Dennis Quaid is Jim Morris, a Texas science teacher whose once-promising baseball career was curtailed because of a shou... Read more
The Set-Up (1948)
7.8/10
Director: Robert Wise
Starring: Robert Ryan, Audrey Totter, George Tobias
One of the best film noirs of the '40s, this atmospheric tale centres around an ageing prize-fighter who refuses to be corrupted by the mob. A great p... Read more
The Stratton Story (1949)
7.2/10
Director: Sam Wood
Starring: James Stewart, June Allyson, Frank Morgan, Agnes Moorehead, Bill Williams
Excellent sports biography starring James Stewart as Monty Stratton, a pitcher with the Chicago White Sox whose career appears over when his leg is am... Read more
The Wrestler (2008)
7.9/10
Director: Darren Aronofsky
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis, Todd Barry, Judah...
Mickey Rourke made a barn-storming comeback with this portrayal of a down and out wrestler who wants back in the ring for one more shot at glory. Not... Read more