Football in Cinema.

Hello MilanMania. Although I just recently registered, I've been visiting this forum daily for years now. First off, I want to thank all the contributors (moderators, posters, etc..) for keeping this forum insightful and helpful.

Now, being both a filmmaker and an avid football fan, I was wondering what you all thought of how this brilliant sport has been represented in cinema over the years. Personally, I have yet to see a film that has really been able to capture all the intricacies that football has to offer, and I really hope to be able to do so myself eventually.

Giovanni has encouraged me to start this thread to discuss the matter in general, and has recommended some of the Italian football comedies of the 80s. Maybe some of you have seen football films that are worth mentioning. If not, what do you feel is lacking in them?

Thanks again. Forza Milan.

I dont think i've ever seen a film that looks realistic, though there have been plenty of quite entertaining football films.

Escape to Victory, When Saturday Comes and Fever Pitch are all decent films in their own way but the actual football doesnt really flow.

American Football films always seem to work better though, probably because the way the game is played allows directors to stop every 10 seconds or so to allow to audience to grasp what just happened so you can see the game in close up but still understand whats going on. Either that or Americans are just better at directing sports films...

Closest I seen is the movie "Goal"

The best one is easily 'Mike Bassett: England Manager' ... with Ricky Tomlinson in it. Very funny film

Football is best as it is - as a game. It's impredictability(if there's such word) is the main factor no football theme movie can compete with the real thing. It's like comparing wanking to real sex. You just don't get the real deal.

Anyhow the best relatively connected film to football has to be "Football Factory". Then again it's more close to "Fight Club" point than football.

Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait is worth watching, pretty much just a whole match watching Zidane and seeing how little he touches the ball. Its nicely shot too.
There's Green Street too, but its similar to Football Factory but is more 'Hollywood' - higher budget, more stars.

Well Goal looked very realistic for me