1. Rocky
It was always going to be my personal favourite film about Sport. The deeply personal project about unfulfilled ambition and talent that Sylvester Stallone completed the first draft of over a weekend after watching Muhammad Ali fight the unknown Chuck Wepner went on to controversially beat All The Presidents Men to Best Picture in 1976 and made Stallone a star overnight. I have chosen to include only the first Rocky, rather than the series, because while I enjoy the rest of the films, for different reasons, and respect them for changing with the times to meet different markets, I dont feel they come anywhere near to capturing the magic of the original. So, Rocky is a down and out loser. A once promising boxer, he let his talent go to waste and now boxes occasionally and works as a loan shark for a small time crook. He calls it a living but his once-trainer and owner of his gym Mic (Burgess Meredith) calls it a waste of life! He falls quickly in love with the shy, delicate but sensible sister (Adrian, played to pitch perfection by Talia Shire) of alcoholic, loser best friend Paulie (Burt Young) and his life seems to have found some meaning. But then he is offered a chance at glory as a publicity stunt, unbeaten Heavyweight Champion of the World Apollo Creed handpicks Rocky The Italian Stallion Balboa as his opponent. Cue the greatest set of training montages that laid the groundwork for the genre, as Rocky gets into shape for the fight of his life. This is Stallones finest hour; he inhabits the character of Rocky as well as any method actor, maybe because as he says, I was Rocky for years. Hes a likable, empathetic character we love and root for. The film that defined the infrastructure for the sports movie that they still follow today; it gave birth to the sports training montage but avoids much of the clichés they now fall into. The finale of Rocky must rank highly in the greatest denouements of all time and is certainly the one that makes the hairs stand on the back of my neck every time I watch it. Once the fight has finished Rocky has gone the distance the film completely dismisses the result, with the judges scores merely being announced off screen and under the commotion of a shocked crowd, a hungry press, Bill Contis rousing score and Rockys cries of Adrian!. Instead it focuses on the jubilation of a man who has achieved his personal goal of going the distance and rather than concern himself with whether he won the match is focused on his girlfriend and love. Thus the message is - if youre a winner in life, it doesnt matter how you fare in your profession.