Learn The Playbook From The Best Football Movies of All Time
From Rudy to Friday Night Lights, let’s dive deep into the Xs and Os of what makes the football sports film genre hit.
As a self-proclaimed lover of all “movies about sports,” I’d still be hard pressed to make a case for there being a set “American football movie” to explore as part of this greater sports genre. Baseball and basketball have more films and more of a deep root in particular culture. Despite its vast popularity, football is a bit under-explored in cinema.
My theory is that this doesn’t actually have to do anything with what the sport means to its fans and how it connects with different cultures because—let’s face it—in football’s home country, the United States, it remains supreme as the most popular sport of them all.
It might simply come down to the fact that it’s hard to bring football to life in a cinematic fashion. By its nature, the sport is very complex, busy, and chaotic. Yet, despite some of the technical challenges of recreating a believable football game, there have been some valiant efforts in creating its characteristic genre approach and style.
So, in honoring these ambitious filmmakers who have attempted to create the perfect gridiron film, let’s look at the best football movies of all time to see what we can learn about this hard-to-tackle genre.
Honorable Mention
As we have with other sports genre breakdowns, we have several honorable mentions to go over before diving into our complete list. As mentioned above, the football genre film lends itself to many different styles so some of these might be better classified as action, comedy, or romance films that happen to have football as a part of the story.
Films like Jerry Maguire, The Last Boy Scout, and The Waterboy come to mind for these different genres. Other, more pure drama films like Concussion were all great films but didn’t quite make our list due to their multi-genre nature.
7. North Dallas Forty (1979)
Now, onto our list of the best football movies of all time. It’s fitting that we’re starting with North Dallas Forty, as it’s probably one of the most honest sports movies ever made. Based on a best-selling book written by former Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Peter Gent, North Dallas Forty explores all the dark, seedy, and downright dangerous aspects of the popular American sport.
It also obviously centers on the Dallas Cowboys, regarded as the most popular (or at least most polarizing) football team, and is a crucial watch for those looking to see what the sport is all about.
6. Brian’s Song (1971)
Another behind-the-scenes look into the world of football (rather than just the contest on the field), Brian’s Song was originally an ABC movie of the week that tells the story of real-life footballers Brian Piccolo (played by James Caan) and Gale Sayers (played by Billy Dee Williams) and their unlikely friendship.
While maybe not considered groundbreaking by today’s standards, at the time, it was a very important film as it attempted to tell the then-very-recent story of the first interracial roommates in the history of the NFL.
While the sport itself can be traced back to the late 1800s, the modern game of football (and the modern NFL itself) didn’t quite come to prominence until the 1960s and 70s, which makes films like Brian’s Song and North Dallas Forty the best options to get a glimpse into what life in the NFL was actually like during its formative years. For its historical significance it makes our list of the best football movies.
5. The Longest Yard (1974)
The 1970’s really did produce some of the best football movies. We also have to highlight Burt Reynolds’ The Longest Yard as one of the most famous football genre films. It’s also considered a comedy (or a prison film), The Longest Yard created a whole genre unto itself as it’s been remade three times (once even as soccer aka “football” film as well).
The Longest Yard is also noteworthy as a formative film in the ragtag team up against the world style of storytelling. Reynolds’ character leads a rambunctious, but comical crew of misfits up against a much better opponent. Through friendship and lessons learned, they’re able to triumph. You’ll see this narrative quite often in the sports genre, but The Longest Yard might be the one that presents it best.
4. Remember the Titans (2000)
Owing a bit to the success of these fun-loving comedies like The Longest Yard, our fourth pick for the best football film of all time is the uplifting yet challenging classic Remember the Titans. Again, while not the first sports film to tackle historical drama, Remember the Titans is perhaps the shining example of this concept done well and with class.
In fact, there are several other films that you could consider similar (if not heavily influenced) by Remember the Titans (and its box office success), including We Are Marshall, Gridiron Gang, and Invincible (all of which came out in 2006, oddly).
Still, for the best example of an ensemble football film done right in terms of subject matter and cinematic on-field performance, Remember the Titans might be tops.
3. Any Given Sunday (1999)
Now, if you’d like to break away from what might feel like a tight-knit formula for football films, look no further than Oliver Stone’s highly-charged sports drama film Any Given Sunday. Unlike many of the feel-good hybrid sports films, Any Given Sunday might be the best, and most complete portrayal of football culture.
Featuring an all-star ensemble cast, the film gives great drama and insights into the behind-the-scenes of the modern NFL, yet it shines on the field. Remember, filming football is complex and presents many challenges in terms of cinematography.
Yet Any Given Sunday throws all the conventional thoughts and rules for how to shoot a sports movie out the window in favor an intense and chaotic approach that literally puts the viewer on the field and in the line of fire. The shaky camera work, quick cuts, and hard hits perhaps give the most visceral and real portrayal of what it’s actually like to be on the field.
Additionally, Any Given Sunday produced one of the best motivational speeches we’ve seen in any sports genre film. Even if you’re not a football fan, hell, even if you’re not a sports fan, this speech can help lift your spirits on a low day.
2. Rudy (1993)
We might get some heat for this pick, but coming in at number two, we have the all-time football classic Rudy. David Anspaugh’s biographical sports drama account of the real-life Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger (portrayed by Sean Astin) is widely regarded as one of the best football films—if not best sports films—of all time.
Telling the story of an underdog groundskeeper who—through will and determination—makes it onto the historic Notre Dame football team, Rudy is the high-water mark for feel-good sports cinema. It’s essential viewing to really understand what a sports film is capable of in terms of heart-warming memorableness.
1. Friday Night Lights (2004)
While Rudy might showcase football at its best, Friday Night Lights might portray football as what it really is to most Americans. Based on the best-selling nonfiction novel following the Odessa Permian football team in the oil fields of West Texas, Friday Night Lights might be the best encapsulation of what modern filmmakers can do with the subject of football.
Co-written and directed by Peter Berg, the film is presented almost as a documentary as the camera hovers in team meetings and high school classrooms. It also combines the best elements of what makes films like Any Given Sunday and North Dallas Forty gritty and true while still inspiring audiences with the most cinematic elements of what makes the sport so endearing.
The film was so popular that it spun off a television series of its own that lasted five seasons and received similar praise. As inspiration and a case study, Friday Night Lights is genuinely the most achievable goal for most indie filmmakers looking to explore making sports films (or specifically football films) of their own.
If you’d like to read up on more film theory, lists and resources, check out these articles from the PremiumBeat blog.
