The Guardian's Ten Best Sports Films

[zettel45]

Still, it's hardly surprising that they trot out these lists when some people do take them really seriously

Even in a lazy piece of fluff I'd hope the choices weren't patently absurd. And I seem to recall that only a few hours ago you thought it was a "good list".

[GRAEME]

How I Won the War has some claim to being a cricket movie.

[Mr Sloane]

How I Won the War has some claim to being a cricket movie.

Surely Antz is the ultimate cricket movie?

[CaptainWaggett]

Even in a lazy piece of fluff I'd hope the choices weren't patently absurd. And I seem to recall that only a few hours ago you thought it was a "good list".

I'm not the one arguing against the Wisdom of the List

But surely everyone agrees on the greatest film actually to feature a cricket match...

[Steve Crook]

The vast majority? Have you done a statistical analysis on this Steve? What're the percentages?

I usually find plenty of interest to read in a Sunday paper. Sure, there are whole sections I don't bother with and a certain amount of fluff even in the ones I read but to dismiss the whole paper on that account seems ludicrous.

Anyhoo, French's piece was in the Guardian online. Lord knows if it's in the Observer too.

A lot more than 50%.

Once you dismiss the sports section, the motoring section, the fashion, holiday and home furnishing sections, there's not a lot left

French's piece was on the guardian.co.uk site - but that's where they publish the Observer as well. His piece was in the Observer

Steve

[zettel45]

A lot more than 50%.

I see. Interesting. How big was your sample size; was it statistically significant? And what criteria did you lay down to separate "filler" from "non-filler"? And did your analysis include all Sunday papers, or just some of them (and if so, then which ones)?

[torinfan]

No "Second Serve"? No "Little Mo"?

Okay......

[Steve Crook]

I see. Interesting. How big was your sample size; was it statistically significant? And what criteria did you lay down to separate "filler" from "non-filler"? And did your analysis include all Sunday papers, or just some of them (and if so, then which ones)?

How much are you willing to pay to see my research methodology?

Steve

[MonicaMC]

Dear CW: Where is that boxing clip from? I've seen that film recently, but I can't remember what it is!

[dpgmel]

Yes it was in The Observer.

[CaptainWaggett]

Dear CW: Where is that boxing clip from? I've seen that film recently, but I can't remember what it is!

[MonicaMC]

Of course -- Helping Hands. Thank you, that was driving me crazy!

[Edward G]

I would have included the golf movie "The Greatest Game Ever Played".

[torinfan]

"Little Mo." Maureen Connolly cleaned up the Grand Slam in 1953, the first woman in tennis history to do so.

[Maurice]

THE TIMES Arts section
27 May, 2011 (two days before Observer list)

"25 best ever sports films: our film critics and sports team hand out the gold medals....
"These films show us that classic sports films are not about sport at all...

25. The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
24. Water Lilies (2007)
23. 127 hours (2010)
22. Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos (2006)
21. Caddyshack (1980)
20. Breaking Away (1979)
19. National Velvet (1944)
18. The Bad News Bears (1976)
17. Rocky Balboa (2006)
16. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
15. Any Given Sunday (1999)
14. Tin Cup (1996)
13. The Hustler (1961)
12. Hoop Dreams (1994)
11. Lagaan (2001)
10. Olympia (1938)
9. Escape to Victory (1981)
8. Big Wednesday (1978)
7. Touching the Void (2003)
6. Chariots of Fire (1981)
5. The Champ (1979)
4. This Sporting Life (1963)
3. When We Were Kings (1996)
2. Field of Dreams (1989)
1. Raging Bull (1980)

'Worst Five'
Kid Galahad (1962)
Chalet Girl (2011)
Wimbledon (2004)
Days of Thunder (1990)
The Legend of Bagger Vance (2000)

Sports Writers' Favourites

Mike Atherton
Chief Cricket Correspondent: A River Runs Through It (1992)

Ed Smith
Former England Cricketer and Times writer: When We Were Kings (1996)

Tim Hallissey
Sports Editor: Raging Bull (1980)

[Maurice]

Letters in The Times

From Dr. Amanda Field (May 30):

In choosing from more than 100 years of film history, you seem to suggest that boxing movies only came into their own around 1980. They were, however, an established part of Hollywood's output since 1894, reaching their height of popularity in the 1930s and 1940s.

Many modern-day directors have acknowledged that in terms of "best" boxing films, it was BODY AND SOUL (1947) and THE SET-UP (1949) that set the standard.

So for anyone who thinks the genre began with RAGING BULL or ROCKY, exploring releases from the 1930s and 1940s would bring many hours of viewing pleasure.

From Amanda Andrews (31 May):

Fans of boxing movies might also look out for the 1956 biopic SOMEBODY UP THERE LIKES ME, starring Paul Newman as Rocky Graziano, the one-time world middleweight champion. The film even bears comparison, technically, with RAGING BULL, having won Oscars for black and white cinematography and black and white art direction.

Baseball fans might try EIGHT MEN OUT (1988), John Sayles's depiction of the fixed 1919 World Series. This film demonstrates that Charlie Sheen really does know how to act.

From John Farmer (1 June):

How curious that a film with members of the 1950s English cricket team speaking lines while playing themselves should not have been mentioned.

Terence Rattigan's THE FINAL TEST (1953), with Jack Warner as the ageing Test cricketer and Robert Morley as the fierce literary critic, albeit cricket fanatic, still remains unique entertainment.

[zettel45]

Good point from Dr Field: there are numerous excellent boxing movies from the 1930s-1950s. The sport lends itself very easily to film adaptation - not just because of the built-in violent denouement it provides, but also because of the history of gambling, organised crime and dirty tricks that comes with it. I bet you could devise a pretty good "best 25" list just for boxing films.

Must say I'm not a fan of Any Given Sunday, which I thought was a flashy but ultimately rather hollow movie. Something like Remember the Titans would've gotten my vote.

And no love for Coach Carter? Surely one of the best American High School sports movies out there (and that's a sub-genre all of its own) and worth a place ahead of (say) Rocky Balboa or The Champ?