What's the best soccer movie

[nyrmetros]

The Football Facotry

[nikesoccer9000]

soccer dog, european cup

[northstars#7]

http://imdb.com/title/tt0354595/ looks like it should be a good soccer movie when it comes out whenever that may be

[MHaifa1913]

http://imdb.com/title/tt0101959/

Gmar Gavia (Cup Final)

[skipshady]

The Game of Their Lives

A documentary about the North Korean soccer team at the 1966 World Cup in England. Brillant.

http://www.thegameoftheirlives.com/I second this. Absolutely fascinating, but moreso from a socio-political, rather than sporting, standpoint.

[tomas_brolin]

i noticed that on 'the game of their lives' had zachary ty bryan on there. im not saying hes the best by any means but i did remember as a young lad reading si for kids that he was a huge soccer fan. so that is kinda cool and hes playing harry keough im going to assume father to ty keough?

anyways i did like 'a shot at glory' even tho it was falsified but its just great that ally mccoist beating up some rangers fans hahahaha.

i did like big green as a kid, but i would like to see football factory if it ever comes out in usa though.

but overall i would have to say bend it like beckham, it has my lady in there ,keira of course! :)

[john10001]

The best football movie of all time is, I agree:

1. Escape to Victory.

Classic.

In second place I would say it is:

2. Fever Pitch. www.imdb.com/title/tt0119114/

This is a brilliant movie about how Arsenal football club finally managed to win the league title in England in 1991 and put an end to Liverpool's domination. I'm not a fan of Arsenal but this was a brilliant film for football fans in general. Most football fans wanted a different team to win it for a change. This film manages to capture the emotions that the Arsenal fans went through before they finally got to celebrate.

I haven't really seen too many other football films so can't add any more to my list. However there is a new film currently in the making which should prove to be a great movie. It is called:

The Penalty King. www.penaltyking.com

It is based on the team I support Leeds United, and will no doubt be a great story as Leeds have been through everything as far as football on the pitch and everything else off it is concerned.

John

[comme]

To be honest I though Fever Pitch was rubbish. Having read the book, which is almost entirely about football, I was gutted that they turned into a bland rom-com.

[timberley11]

Fever Pitch is crap, especially for all the Liverpool suppoters out there. I can not really say there are any classic footy movies out there, of course Escape to Victory has to rate number 1 because of the players that were in it, but then with Sly in goal it takes a big knock back

[skipshady]

Fever Pitch is crap, especially for all the Liverpool suppoters out there. I can not really say there are any classic footy movies out there, of course Escape to Victory has to rate number 1 because of the players that were in it, but then with Sly in goal it takes a big knock back
Well, with very few exceptions, sports movies tend to be crap. It's incredibly hard to make a sports film dramatic without getting caught in cliches. You can only have a limited degree of fantasy, since sports movie viewers demand such close attention to detail and historical facts. It's hard to find great actors who can look believable as athletes on camera, and vice versa.
And ultimately, we like sports films a lot of times because they fall into the "so bad, it's good" category. So we laugh it up when we see Sly playing goalie or Pele try to deliver lines.

[skipshady]

I should add that, while most sports films are bad, or enjoyably bad, sports documentaries tend to be amazing. The aforementioned "The Game Of Their Lives" is a must-see for any fan or anyone interested in North Korea.

[vflkirwan]

HOTSHOT.

hands down.

Jim Youngs + Pele = best soccer movie.

[Thomas A Fina]

HOTSHOT.

hands down.

Jim Youngs + Pele = best soccer movie.
I vaguely remmeber this. The guy trains on a beach or something and scores a game winning bicycle kick 9game's on turf) or something of that nature? A very early early HBO staple.

[Chiquitibum]

that movie was good back in the day, watching it now would probably think it is crap.

[mik_smith]

Maybe not the best, but two of my favorites are below -- recommended for the indie film & soccer lover:

1) When Saturday Comes -- starring Sean Benn (is that right? Boromir?), and IIRC Emily Lloyd (?) and Pete Postelthwaite (sp?). Very cliched, slighty stilted at times. But a good cast helps. The story focuses on a poor b*stard doomed to a dreary life in a sad northern town who gets a chance to make it as a footballer (with Sheffield United). It's like Billy Elliot (except he's a drunken footballer instead of a ballerina, so it's more appropriate for 20/30 year old dudes who post on bs).

2) The Cup -- about Buddhist monks trying to get a tv to watch the world cup. Slow and arty. Hard to imagine you could make 2 films about eastern mysticism and soccer and have them be any more different than this and Shaolin Soccer. But they both work. Worth the trip to the Tibet section of the artsy video shop

A question: i recall reading a story about Robert Duval working on a film in Scotland, going to a Rangers(?) match, falling in love with soccer, and promptly signing on to direct, produce, and/or star in a film about underdogs in the Scottish FA Cup. That's the last I ever heard of it. Anyone ever catch this one?

[Anthony]

A question: i recall reading a story about Robert Duval working on a film in Scotland, going to a Rangers(?) match, falling in love with soccer, and promptly signing on to direct, produce, and/or star in a film about underdogs in the Scottish FA Cup. That's the last I ever heard of it. Anyone ever catch this one?

That is "A Shot at Glory." I liked it for what it was -- a very VERY cliched sports movie featuring a romantic redemption subplot. Not every movie has to be the Godfather.

[GuinnessFC]

It was called " Shot of Glory" or something like that... I saw didnt think it wa all the bad quite enjoyed it.... Even had an American Keeper on the Tim :)

cheers
charles

A question: i recall reading a story about Robert Duval working on a film in Scotland, going to a Rangers(?) match, falling in love with soccer, and promptly signing on to direct, produce, and/or star in a film about underdogs in the Scottish FA Cup. That's the last I ever heard of it. Anyone ever catch this one?[/QUOTE]

[SABuffalo786]

I'm going to reserve judgement until "Goal!" and the 1950 USA version of "Game of Their Lives" come out.

[supersport]

not the best, but how about

"Boys in Company C"

and I'm sure no one saw this one, an Italian film late 80's maybe, "ULTRA"

[sounderfan]

Ditto to those who said "A Shot at Glory."

Considering the scope of this sport, why are their so many great baseball films, and so few soccer?