Since June 11th the entire world has been at a standstill, tuning into their televisions to watch a rare spectacle, The World Cup. After two years of qualifying matches 32 teams are placed against each other in the final tournament where nations face off to find out who really is the best footballing nation.
With the final tomorrow at 2:30 EST all the football junkies will have to find something else to do with their days as all the chat will be over. For you film geeks out there who have been ignoring your movie needs to watch football I wanted to give you my list of the Ten Football Movies To Watch When World Cup 2010 Concludes.
When I started researching films that were actually about football I found out something that I already knew in my heart; there aren’t that many movies about football. Check out the slim pickings below and comment with your favorites.
10 . Kicking and Screaming (2005) (dir. Jesse Dylan)
Will Ferrell usually plays a character where he goes kicking and screaming throughout the whole film. This time he does it while coaching a children’s football team. As previously noted, there aren’t many football films out there, so this gets shoved in at #10. Americans even have something to relate to with Mike Ditka.
9. Bend it Like Beckham (2002) (dir. Gurinder Chadha)
Here a young girl rebels against her overly religious family and starts playing football for a local team. She’s a huge talent and massive David Beckham fan. As big an England and Manchester United football fan that I am I still have my problems with people over-glorifying David Beckham and his talented right-foot. With that in mind, this is still a decent movie about a girl coming into her own and going for her dreams even when her family’s religious lifestyle doesn’t approve of it.
8. The Big Green (1995) (dir. Holly Goldberg Sloan)
Here lies my one caveat film on this list. This was a movie I had a VHS copy of as a child and watched at least a dozen times. I’m almost sure it’s a really bad movie, and it definitely looks like it tried way too hard to be a worse version of The Sandlot for football, but my nostalgic memories are good enough for me to mention it here.
7. Green Street Hooligans (2005) (dir. Lexi Alexander)
How can one separate English Football from the English Hooliganism? There was a period of English history where UEFA (the European Football Association) banned all English clubs from playing in any UEFA sponsored tournaments because of how horrible the English Hooliganism was. When we get a movie about some of the worst English hooligans (i.e. West Ham, a.k.a. Hammers, fans) then I was totally on board. It’s not great filmmaking but if you love your EPL football then the movie has enough references for bias to take over and tell you that it’s good enough.
6. Goal (2005) (dir. Danny Cannon)
Santiago was raised in America. After having fled Mexico with his father and successfully crossing the border he naturally becomes fascinated by football. He’s spotted by a scout and is flown over to England to get a trial at Newcastle United F.C.. He surprises all and begins his dream of becoming a professional football player. It’s a fun movie and even though the sequels go into a deep dark territory of horrid filmmaking I stand behind the first movie as a solid ‘sports’ movie that any lover of football you will enjoy.
5. Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait (2006) (dir. Douglas Gordon & Phillipe Parreno)
Zinedine Zidane is arguably one of the greatest footballers of my generation. The French attacking midfielder in 2001 moved to Real Madrid for a record breaking 75.5 million Euro transfer fee. He’s loved by many and hated by rivals. However this is a documentary with a very special idea. Instead of the usual documentary that will follow his career and paint you a portrait of what kind of player/person he is, the filmmaker decided to take a game (this time around Real Madrid vs. Villareal) and install numerous cameras around the field to document Zidane’s playing for the entire match. When we watch football on television we generally follow the ball. This film gives us ninety-minutes of following Zidane’s movements on the field which I respect as a brilliant idea. If you want to know what kind of player someone is then forget the rest of the game and watch the player alone. It’s intense and a true football fan will be captivated.
4. Mean Machine (2001) (dir. Barry Skolnick)
Here is the British remake of the American classic film The Longest Yard. This time around we have a football team captained by Danny Meehan, played by Vinnie Jones. What most Yanks don’t know is that Vinnie Jones is actually a former footballer. He played for teams that includes Chelsea FC, Wimbeldon and Leeds United. Vinnie Jones was made famous in English football for being a dirty player and to watch him as the hard head who will play dirty just makes me smile and want to laugh-out-loud.
3. Shaolin Soccer (2001) (dir. Stephen Chow)
Stephen Chow, being a massive Bruce Lee fan, decides to make a movie about a group of people coming together to form a football team and they all happen to be shaolin kung-fu masters. It’s a hilarious movie that doesn’t bog the viewer down with knowledge of the sport but rather look at the more ridiculous kung-fu applications on the pitch and the action-packed moments. It’s not my favourite Chow film but it is worth a watch.
2. Looking for Eric (2009) (dir. Ken Loach)
Here is a film about Eric Bishop (Steve Evets) and how he looks into himself and tries to find the inspiration from his favourite footballer Eric Cantona, to do what is best for himself and his family. It’s a brilliant inspirational film that takes a character that all the fans know and puts him in a new light. Let’s all pop our collars and get ready to surprise ourselves.
1. The Damned United (2009) (dir. Tom Hooper)
This is, without a doubt, the greatest football film ever made. It’s a true story about one of the greatest England managers ever to live, Brian Clough (Michael Sheen). Even though the movie sets itself in the world of English Club Football it pays more attention to characters, which is what sets this movie apart. It really is about Brian Clough and his relationship with his Assistant Manager, Peter Taylor (Timothy Spall). I personally love to see the effects of Clough’s attitude to the job when he finally gets called up to the great team of the time, i.e. Leeds Utd.
What are your favorite football movies?