Sports Films from the 70s & 80s
The following list represents some of the best sports films made during the decades of 1970s & 80s. This list includes some of the best sports films ever made. Comedies like Caddyshack and Slap Shot are full of colorful characters and much quoted lines. Others, like The Bad News Bears and The Longest Yard combine elements of comedy and drama. Vision Quest, All the Right Moves, The Jericho Mile, Breaking Away, and Hoosiers are films specifically about underdogs that raise our spirits, but all of the films on the list have the idea of someone fighting the odds as part of the plot’s core. Brian’s Song and Bang the Drum Slowly are heartfelt tragedies about athletes dying young. North Dallas Forty is a cynical look at the exploitation and hypocrisy in professional sports. Fat City combines a number of these previously listed elements in its realistic portrayal of the hard world of pro boxing from the perspective of a washed-up, aging fighter. And finally, another boxing film, Raging Bull, is not only one of the finest sports films ever made, it is one of the finest period.
Hoosiers (1986) Directed by David Anspaugh. Starring Gene Hackman; Barbara Hershey; Dennis Hopper. Set in the 50s, newly hired Indiana high school basketball coach Norman Dale (Hackman) seeks redemption in a small town as the local team makes an improbable run at a state championship.
Vision Quest (1985) Directed by Harold Becker. Starring Matthew Modine and Linda Fiorentino. Louden Swain (Modine), Washington area high school athlete, embarks on a “vision quest” to challenge the top wrestler in the state.
All The Right Moves (1983) Directed by Michael Chapman. Starring Tom Cruise; Lea Thompson; Craig T. Nelson. Stefan Djordjevich (Cruise) is a high school football player trying to win a scholarship to college and get out of this Pennsylvania mining town.
Raging Bull (1980) Directed by Martin Scorcese. Starring Robert Deniro; Joe Pesci. Story of real life professional fighter and champion, Jake Lamotta (Deniro), a New York pugilist known for his brawling style.
Caddyshack (1980) Directed by Harold Ramis. Starring Chevy Chase; Bill Murray; Rodney Dangerfield; Ted Knight. A classic golf comedy full of quotable lines.
North Dallas Forty (1979) Directed by Ted Kotcheff. Starring Nick Nolte; Mac Davis. Story of Phil Elliott (Nolte), a wide receiver for a professional sports team in Dallas who becomes disallusioned with the pro game. Based on a novel by Peter Gent, who played wide receiver for The Dallas Cowboys.
Jericho Mile (1979) (TV) Directed by Michael Mann. Starring Peter Strauss. Inmate Larry “Rain” Murphy (Strauss) struggles with the problems of incarceration while achieving success as a competitive runner.
Breaking Away (1979) Directed by Peter Yates. Starring Dennis Christopher; Dennis Quaid; Daniel Stern. Dave (Christopher) and his friends, the blue collar sons of “cutters” (the men who built the local quarries), try to decide what to do with their lives. Despite his father’s concern, Dave dreams of being a pro bike racer.
Slap Shot (1977) Directed by George Roy Hill. Starring Paul Newman; Strother Martin. Reggie Dunlop (Newman) is an aging hockey player/coach tied to a floundering Buffalo based minor league team. Brought us the magic of the Hanson Brothers.
The Bad News Bears (1976) Directed by Michael Ritchie. Starring Walter Matthau; Tatum O’Neal. Story about Morris Buttermaker (Matthau), a washed up ex-baseball player who coaches a California little league team of misfits.
The Longest Yard (1974) Directed by Robert Aldrich. Starring Burt Reynolds; Eddie Albert. Former pro football player Paul Crew (Reynolds), incarcerated in State prison, leads a team of cons in a game against the guards.
Bang The Drum Slowly (1973) (TV) Directed by John D. Hancock. Starring Robert Deniro; Michael Moriarty. Seriously ill New York Yankee catcher Bruce Pearson (Deniro) relies on his friendship with fellow player Henry Wiggin (Moriarty).
Fat City (1972) Directed by John Huston. Starring Stacy Keach; Jeff Bridges. An aging, alcoholic fighter from California (Keach) navigates through the seedy world of professional boxing while mentoring young protege Ernie (Jeff Bridges).
Brian’s Song (1971) (TV) Directed by Buzz Kulik. Starring James Caan; Billy Dee Williams. True story of friendship between two young Chicago Bears football players, future hall-of-famer Gale Sayers (Williams) and Brian Piccolo (Caan), who contracts a fatal illness.