Hut one, hut two, 10 football movies to watch

Normally most of the blocking, tackling and running seen at movie theaters these days involves getting from the parking lot to a good place in line.

Football movies have been a notoriously hard sell in Hollywood, as have all sports movies. But in recent years, audiences have slowly developed a stronger appetite for sports films in general and grid flicks in particular, probably because of the ever-increasing popularity of the NFL and to a lesser extent college football in the U.S.

Yet whether the topic is football or gardening, it’s the quality of the story that keeps folks in a rah-rah, sis-boom-bah state of mind. If word gets around that a picture is worth the money and the two hours, then audiences will make a point to show up. And if the celluloid subject matter happens to include men in helmets and pads — which might remind people of their real-life pigskin passion — then all the better.

On Friday, “Leatherheads” opens in theaters. It’s a screwball comedy starring George Clooney (who also directed) and Renee Zellweger about the silliness surrounding a young pro football league in 1925. While the film has so far received mixed reviews, it does serve as a reminder of all its esteemed forefathers in the genre of football movies.

The following are humbly submitted as the 10 best football movies ever made. Granted, not all feature the sport from beginning to end. In some cases, football simply serves as a backdrop and is a secondary, but vital, character. Yet each celebrates the sport in all its pulverizing glory.

“The Longest Yard” (1974)
This would be the 1974 original, directed by Robert Aldrich and starring Burt Reynolds, and not the 2005 misguided remake top-lined by Adam Sandler. The premise has Reynolds’ Paul Crewe, a former pro quarterback  sent to prison, leading a ragtag group of inmates in the big game against the guards. But even though the idea is the stuff of Hollywood formula, Aldrich deftly applies a darkly comic tone and some brutal events to offset the high concept. Reynolds’ main character faces a real dilemma, too — play ball with the rotten warden, or give his all to lift his incarcerated teammates. It’s a rare crowd pleaser that almost works as an art film.

“Horse Feathers” (1932)
The Marx Brothers are not immediately associated with the gridiron. Their Vaudeville-style,  rapid-fire wisecracks mixed with preposterous plots have made them legends of comedy; football just happens to be the backdrop, as is real estate in “The Cocoanuts” and a dictatorship in “Duck Soup.” But here Groucho, Chico, Harpo and Zeppo cut loose to help Huxley U. win the big game over Darwin. The football sequences will never be found among the archives of NFL Films, but they celebrate the game nonetheless. Just hearing Chico’s Baravelli call signals — “Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, this time I think-a we go up the middle!” — is worth the price of admission.

“Brian’s Song” (1971)
Before James Caan was gunned down at the toll booth as Sonny Corleone in “The Godfather,” he made an impression on a wide audience with this television weeper about the relationship between Chicago Bears teammates Brian Piccolo (Caan) and Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams). Piccolo was white, Sayers black, and they were competing for playing time. Still, they became close, and the friendship grew deeper when Piccolo was diagnosed with cancer. It’s a sad story and it could have devolved into something treacly and unbelievable. Instead, it was done with taste and restraint, and it has elicited genuine tears from generations of football fans.

“North Dallas Forty” (1979)
Peter Gent was a wide receiver for the Dallas Cowboys during the mid 1960s. He caused a bit of a stir when he wrote a novel called “North Dallas Forty,” which was believed to be loosely based on his not-so-squeaky-clean experiences with America’s Team. The 1979 film version starred Nick Nolte and singer Mac Davis (in his movie debut) as characters who are believed to be drawn from Gent and Don Meredith. It was one of the first cinematic treatments about the seamy underbelly of the sport, and it explores not only the callousness of management in a brutal business, but also the love-hate relationship most players have with the game. Funny and unsettling at the same time.

“Heaven Can Wait” (1978)
Warren Beatty had a vision for his directorial debut, and he was fairly fanatical about seeing it come to life, as he also starred and co-wrote. This 1978 comedy is an updated remake of a 1941 film called “Here Comes Mr. Jordan,” only instead of a prizefighter dying in a plane crash, Beatty plays a former NFL quarterback who is taken by an angel before his time. So he is sent back to Earth and tries to regain his former form as leader of the Los Angeles Rams by assuming the body of a murdered millionaire. The football sequences in which he tries to convince his former teammates that he isn’t a spoiled rich guy but indeed their former signal-caller are priceless. It snared one Oscar and eight other nominations.

“Friday Night Lights” (2004)
Judging by previous directing efforts “Very Bad Things” and “The Rundown,” it’s hard to imagine that Peter Berg would be capable of sublety and nuance. But this was a beautifully subdued look at a raucous phenomenon known as football in Texas. Based on a non-fiction best seller of the same name by Buzz Bissinger, the film takes a look at the ups and downs of life in the fishbowl that is the Permian High football program in Odessa, Texas. Billy Bob Thornton as coach Gary Gaines leads a superb cast, but it’s really an ensemble piece with complex performances, expertly written and directed. 

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