Woody Creek Productions
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People have emotional ties to sports, so it's no wonder many sports movies tug extra hard on the heartstrings.
I just borrowed "The Heart of the Game" from my local library -- still the cheapest video rental place; it's free if you bring it back on time -- simply to learn more about the craft of documentary filmmaking.
Since I am working on a sports movie -- producing "The Blur", a documentary about former basketball phenom Dwight Anderson -- I chose this high school girls basketball doc to see how it was constructed.
Not so I could unclog my tear ducts.
It just happened.
"The Heart of the Game" won over my heart and leapt all the way into my top 10 of terrific tearjerker sports movies of my lifetime. Here they are, listed in chronological order.
"Brian's Song" (1971) Starring James Caan, Billy Dee Williams and Jack Warden. Based on the real-life relationship between teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers, and the bond established when Piccolo discovers he is dying. That'll do it.
"Rocky" (1976) Starring Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers and Burgess Meredith. A small-time boxer gets a once-in-a-lifetime chance to fight the heavyweight champ. Rocky's scene when he's lying in bed gets me every time: "If I can go that distance, you see, and that bell rings and I'm still standin', I'm gonna know for the first time in my life, see, that I weren't just another bum from the neighborhood."
"The Champ" (1979) Starring Jon Voight, Faye Dunaway and Ricky Schroder. An ex-boxing champion, now a horse trainer, tries to make a comeback in the ring to better support his young son. Saw it in a theater in New York. I was 7. My mom and her friends were weeping. "Why are you crying?" I asked right before I started sobbing.
"The Comeback Kid" (1980) Starring John Ritter, Susan Dey and Doug McKeon. A down-and-out former minor-league baseball player finds romance and a renewed zest for life when he starts coaching a group of underprivileged kids. I have a consecutive-teary-eyed-viewings streak going which might never be snapped.
"Hoosiers" (1986) Starring Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey and Dennis Hopper. A coach with a checkered past, with help from a local drunk, trains a small-town high school basketball team to become a contender for the state championship. I get chills when coach Norman Dale's sayings are repeated, finishing with, "I love you guys."
"Field of Dreams" (1989) Starring Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan and James Earl Jones. "Hey, Dad? You wanna have a catch?" I get a catch in my throat and tears in my eyes every time ... even though I've always heard and said, "Wanna play catch?" And Shoeless Joe bats from the wrong side. But nitpicks aside, some wonderful baseball and life moments.
"Rudy" (1993) Starring Sean Astin, Jon Favreau and Ned Beatty. Told he was too small to play college football, he is determined to overcome the odds and fulfill his dream of playing for Notre Dame. If you have wanted something with all your heart, you can relate -- even if you loathe Notre Dame.
"Hoop Dreams" (1994) Starring William Gates and Arthur Agee. A documentary following the lives of two boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional. Gripping stories intertwined. Cameos galore. Robbed of an Oscar. One of my top-10 favorite movies of all time, regardless of genre.
"Million Dollar Baby" (2004) Starring Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood and Morgan Freeman. A hardened trainer/manager works with a determined woman in her attempt to establish herself as a boxer. Saw the trailer in a movie theater and thought there is no way I am going to see a film about a female boxer. Yet I did, and what do you know? Waterworks.
"The Heart of the Game" (2005) Starring Darnellia Russell and Bill Resler. Narrated by Chris "Ludacris" Bridges. A documentary about a girls high school basketball team in Seattle and one player's fight to regain her eligibility to play. Cried four times -- twice during the movie and twice during the special features. Hey, don't make fun. I'm a moviemaker. I understand how tough it is.
