TF Issue 190: Is It Just Me? Football films...

[Lizhawkins]

On page 147 of TF issue 190, Neil Smith asks:

"Is it just me... or should football films be given a red card?"



Here are a few excerpts:

As a die-hard supporter of the mighty Fulham FC, I’ve seen nights of drama down at Craven Cottage that would make your hair curl. I’ve seen elation, despair, heartbreak and joy, often within seconds of each other. I’ve laughed like a drain, screamed like a banshee and wept like a baby (Hamburg, 12 May 2010). And I’m willing to bet there is not one football fan who wouldn’t tell you their club has put them through the same rollercoaster of emotions.

You’d think that any half-decent filmmaker would be able to capitalise on a sport with so much excitement, passion, incident and tension. Why, then, is cinema so crap when it comes to football? From Escape To Victory to When Saturday Comes, the Goal! trilogy to the woeful Will, there are more donkeys than have ever made it into an England shirt. Admittedly, the odd documentary (Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait, One Night In Turin) might cut the mustard, primarily by using footage of the real thing. But any good they did has been more than cancelled out, not least by football sides themselves abusing the medium with self-congratulatory corporate videos masquerading as fly-on-the-wall exposés. (Not seen Manchester United: Beyond The Promised Land? Count yourself lucky.)

OK, so every once in a blue moon you get a The Damned United, a Gregory’s Girl or even a Bend It Like Beckham. But for the most part alas, football’s association with celluloid is like England’s record in major tournaments: sad, disappointing and largely ignominious. Or is it just me?

Check out the full article in Issue 190 - on sale 19 January 2012.

Agree? Disagree? Have your say below - a selection will be printed in the next issue...

[jaykays hat]

When it comes to football films you can't beat The Arsenal Stadium mystery (1939). A film shot at the famous Highbury Stadium (the home of football I hasten to add) and featuring performances from the manager George Allison and players such as the great Cliff Bastin and Eddie Hapgood. Brings a tear to the eye when the players gather together to sing that famous Highbury chant "here we are again happy as can be, all good chums and jolly good company".......marvelous.

[MikeyRix]

Film is good. Football is not. The two should not mix, plain and simple.

[sumistry]

I remember seeing a decent footie movie - ' There's Only One Jimmy Grimble' - wasn't a bad movie (except it was based around Man City!).

I also thought Fever Pitch (the original UK one with Colin Firth) was a good footie based movie (ok, more of a romcom but at least Arsenal won something).

[bencobra]

The Damned United is a decent footie movie (despite not being able to match Pearce's book), I also quite enjoy Fever Pitch. It's movies like Goal and Mike Bassett that are unable to portray any realistic aspects of the game. If Michael Sheen reprised his role as Brian Clough in an adaptation of 'Provided You Don't Kiss Me' that would be another decent film to the two I've already mentioned.

[Vyncent]

Preface: as an American, I usually call it soccer, but for the this site, I'm using "football" the same way a European would and use "American football" to refer to our version.

If you want a really good football (soccer to us Yanks) film, then you're probably going to have to try and find one made in Europe. Not to bad mouth non-American films, since really quality filmmaking as an artform seems almost non-existant in Hollywood. And perhaps my view on this is slanted since I am an American, but it seems to me like the vast majority of films being made are tied to the American filmmaking machine. And we don't get football.

But back to my point: last I heard, football was the most watched sport in the world, yet in the US, I bet that most or at least a lot of people don't even know that we have a professional league. I think there's something about it that we either just don't get or don't have room for.

And let me clarify what I mean by "don't have room for." The first excerpt from the article talks about the emotional journey of being so invested in a team. Well we have that here. Ask any die hard sports fan. Ask the Boston baseball fans how they felt to finally win the World Series. Or insert any story for a die hard American football fan. The point is, all that emotion is already focused on other sports, but it all comes from the same place. So there isn't really much likelihood that football will take its place among the American sports pantheon.

But because we don't/won't get it, it can't exactly be odd that we can't quite pin it down. Look at the people who made "Hackers." I'm not even a serious computer science guy and I know that was crap. Fun crap, but crap nonetheless.

But if you watch our movies about our sports (baseball, American football), clearly we understand those. We understand the rules, the dynamics between players and positions, and how those things can parallel real life. That's why we can make moving sports movies, so long as it's one of our sports.

[jaykays hat]

Originally Posted by sumistry

I also thought Fever Pitch (the original UK one with Colin Firth) was a good footie based movie (ok, more of a romcom but at least Arsenal won something).

I loved Fever Pitch, it reminded me of me. I was an Arsenal season ticket holder in the 80's and early 90's and I missed weddings and all sorts to be at Highbury watching my team, just like Firths character I was obsessed with them. The film showed mans obsession with football and the highs and lows it brings. To finish the film with the Mickey Thomas goal at Anfield (it's up for grabs now) was brilliant. The book was very good too.

[galenurko]

I'm a Swansea City fan but I still cheer when Ipswich and guests equalise against the Whermacht Eleven in Esacape to Victory.Great film, greart cast and brilliant footie.

[dojj singh]

The one problem with football films is that they are all set in the 80's and all revolve around the violence and mayhem that the "fans" used to indulge in while out and about.

If you've seen one, you've seen them all.

But, on the flip side of the argument, no one wants to see a film about Stato, living in front of his computer and nerding out about how many minutes player has been walking on the pitch or dribbling the ball or how many yards they've run, because, frankly, that would be boring.

[Firedragon76]

Originally Posted by Vyncent

And let me clarify what I mean by "don't have room for." The first excerpt from the article talks about the emotional journey of being so invested in a team. Well we have that here. Ask any die hard sports fan. Ask the Boston baseball fans how they felt to finally win the World Series. Or insert any story for a die hard American football fan. The point is, all that emotion is already focused on other sports, but it all comes from the same place. So there isn't really much likelihood that football will take its place among the American sports pantheon.

But if you watch our movies about our sports (baseball, American football), clearly we understand those. We understand the rules, the dynamics between players and positions, and how those things can parallel real life. That's why we can make moving sports movies, so long as it's one of our sports.

This may be a stupid question, but are there football (soccer) movies made in the US? I can't think of any right now.

I can't count the amount of bad baseball movies I've seen though, so even 'getting' the sport doesn't guarantee getting it right. Same for American football. I love both sports (Toronto Blue Jays and Vienna Vikings fan respectively) and the one time a year I can make it to an MLB game I might even forget I'm a lady when I don't agree with the umpire, but most baseball movies leave me cold. 61* was a great one, but that's probably due to Billy Chrystal practically breathing Yankees history.

The only football movie I liked was Fever Pitch - about as much as I disliked the baseball remake which was a lot and not just because my tolerance for Red Sox is pretty low to begin with