A mysterious man, Suba, gets himself a job at a fencing academy, and as he learns the way of the students, the school, and its maestro, they learn that there’s more to him than meets the eye. He gains (or regains?) his fencing skills and his philosophy of teaching clashes with the maestro’s.
Read More »
Sport
Alibi Ike (1935) Ray Enright, Joe E. Brown, Olivia de Havilland, Ruth Donnelly, Comedy, Romance, Sport
Rookie pitcher Francis “Ike” Farrell comes seemingly out of nowhere to help the Cubs go for the pennant. His idiosyncratic ways, which include excuses and alibis for everything, drive his manager and fiancee crazy in this baseball farce.
Read More »
Walkower / Walkover (1965) Jerzy Skolimowski, Aleksandra Zawieruszanka, Krzysztof Chamiec, Drama, Sport
Jerzy Skolimowski’s second feature (and first full-length narrative) cemented his status as a one-man Polish New Wave, with the rhythms of his films influenced as much by jazz and (his own) poetry as by more conventional storytelling. Skolimowski himself plays a dropout-turned-amateur boxer who’s distracted from his bouts when Teresa (Aleksandra Zawieruszanka), an old university friend, re-enters his life.
Read More »
It’s in the Air (1935) Charles Reisner, Jack Benny, Ted Healy, Una Merkel, Comedy, Sport
Calvin Churchill, a confidence-man, and his sidekick/stooge, “Clip” McGurk, are being pursued by an Internal Revenue agent, Henry Potke, for their failure to file an income-tax on the advice of a shyster lawyer. They are hiding out at the Desert Springs Hotel-Resort, where Calvin is working a scam by posing as a stratosphere-flyer who is looking at making Desert Springs the base of his operations. A rich airplane manufacturer sees a chance to get rid of a stratosphere balloon that he built for an unsuccessful expedition at a great loss. Calvin intends to take the money and run but his estranged wife, Alice, now a tennis instructor at the resort promises to come back to him if he will reform. Alas, reformation does not come easy for Calvin, especially when “Clip” is around, and Henry is closing in.
Read More »
Jocks (1986) Steve Carver, Scott Strader, Perry Lang, Mariska Hargitay, Comedy, Sport
The coach of a college tennis team is given an ultimatum: put together a winning team, or else.
Read More »
Le grand bleu / The Big Blue (1988) Luc Besson, Jean-Marc Barr, Jean Reno, Rosanna Arquette, Adventure, Romance, Sport
Enzo and Jacques have known each other for a long time. Their friendship started in their childhood days in the Mediterranean. They were not real friends in these days, but there was something they both loved and used to do the whole day long: diving. One day Jacques’ father, who was a diver too, died in the Mediterranean sea. After that incident Enzo and Jacques lost contact. After several years, Enzo and Jacques had grown up, Johanna, a young clerk in an insurance office, has to go to Peru. There she meets Jacques who is being studied by a group of scientists. He dives for some minutes into ice-cold water and the scientists monitor his physical state that is more like a dolphin than human. Johanna can not believe what she sees and gets very interested in Jacques but she’s unable to get acquainted with him. Some weeks later back in her office, she finds out that Jacques will be competing in a diving championship that takes place in Taormina, Sicily. In order to see Jacques again she …
Read More »
The Champ (1931) King Vidor, Wallace Beery, Jackie Cooper, Irene Rich, Drama, Family, Sport
Dink Purcell loves his alcoholic father, ex-heavyweight champion Andy “Champ” Purcell, despite his frequent binges, his frequent gambling and their squalid living conditions. And there’s nothing Andy wouldn’t do for Dink. When Andy wins a race horse gambling, he gives it to Dink and they race it at a Tijuana track. There, Dink meets Linda Carleton, a race horse owner herself, and they have an immediate rapport. But Linda’s rich husband sees Andy and realizes Dink is Linda’s son, who she gave up when she and Andy divorced. Andy is bribed $200 to allow Dink to visit with Linda, but refuses to allow Dink to spend six months with the Carletons. When Andy loses the horse gambling and winds up in jail after a drunken tirade, he realizes Dink’s place is with his mother. Dink tearfully goes but sneaks out and returns at his first opportunity, filling a depressed Andy with a desire to make good. So Andy goes into training after his managers arrange a boxing match with the Mexican champion.
Read More »
Million Dollar Legs (1932) Edward F. Cline, Jack Oakie, W.C. Fields, Andy Clyde, Comedy, Sport
A small country on the verge of bankruptcy is persuaded to enter the 1932 Los Angeles Olympics as a means of raising money. Either a masterpiece of absurdity or a triumph of satire, depending on your mood, but it’s quite possibly the funniest movie ever made, and becomes even funnier with subsequent viewings.
Read More »
Victory (1981) John Huston, Michael Caine, Sylvester Stallone, Pelé, Action, Drama, Sport
In World War II, a group of Nazi officers come up with a propaganda event in which an all star Nazi team will play a team composed of Allied Prisoners of War in a Soccer (Football) game. The Prisoners agree, planning on using the game as a means of escape from the camp.
Read More »
Fear Strikes Out (1957) Robert Mulligan, Anthony Perkins, Karl Malden, Norma Moore, Biography, Drama, Sport
Jim Piersall is groomed by his loving but hard-driving father (living vicariously through his son) to play major league baseball. His desire to succeed to please his father leads to mental illness and a nervous breakdown. Can he overcome those difficulties and return to the major leagues?
Read More »
Shoshana Halutz Merkazi / Kicking Out Shoshana (2014) Shay Kanot, Oshri Cohen, Gal Gadot, Eli Finish, Comedy, Sport
In the conservative city of Jerusalem, Ami Shoshan, an Israeli football player, is forced by a mafia boss to pose as a homosexual, a punishment for flirting with the criminal’s girlfriend. Shoshan is banned by players and fans of his team, but becomes a hero of the gay community.
Read More »
Panter Lavan / White Panther (2013) Danni Reisfeld, Ze’ev Revach, Yevgeny Orlov, Meytal Gal, Drama, Family, Sport
In the 1990’s a million former USSR Jews arrived in Israel. The immigrants were despised by the local population who feared their ‘invasion’. While many embraced the Israeli lifestyle, others chose to live in self-made Russian ghettos. These ghettos were a fertile ground for the creation of self-hating Jewish skinheads. ‘White Panther’ is the story of Alex, a young Russian immigrant who joins a skinheads’ gang, led by his older brother. An unexpected meeting with David, a religious Moroccan Jew, gives Alex a chance to pursue his longtime dream of becoming a boxer like his father. Alex finds himself torn between his two father figures – his violent older brother and his new Jewish trainer, only to find out the truth about those he so admires.
Read More »
One on One (1977) Lamont Johnson, Robby Benson, Annette O’Toole, G.D. Spradlin
Henry Steele is a basketball phenom at his small town high school, but when he matriculates to a big city university on a scholarship, soon realizes that he has few skills outside the sport. Expected by his coach to contribute significantly to the team, Henry is overwhelmed by the demands on his time, the “big business” aspect of college sports, and the fact that he never fully learned to read. Things look bleak for Henry when Janet Hays, a pretty graduate student, is assigned as Henry’s tutor. Her intellect and strength lift Henry out of his doldrums just in time to battle the coach, who attempts to rescind Henry’s scholarship.
Read More »
Personal Best (1982) Robert Towne, Mariel Hemingway, Scott Glenn, Patrice Donnelly
The intertwined lives and loves of three highly-ranked athletes striving for the national team; Chris bounces between the beds of male coach Terry and her female friend, competitor, and role model Tory.
Read More »