Sports movies we need on DVD
DOWNHILL RACER (1969)
That Robert Redford: what a vain, careerist jerk! All right, so
this isn't the image he's cultivated, maybe because he was so scarily
steely in this early role that he figured he should spend the subsequent
decades warming us up. The future resort entrepreneur finds his ski legs
as a would-be Olympian without much on his mind besides winning and
women, to the chagrin of his coaches (the then more hirsute Gene Hackman
and Dabney Coleman). Paramount has no DVD plans yet, but we're holding
out hope for the gold — and not just because Redford's such a golden boy. — Chris Willman
CITY FOR CONQUEST (1940)
Scrappy, reluctant boxer James Cagney goes big time to keep up
with his sweetheart (Ann Sheridan), who's dancing her way to the top.
Between bouts, Cagney lends emotional support to his
composer-in-the-making brother (Arthur Kennedy). Then comes the big
match and...great hokum that would put a lump in your throat, if only
you had the chance to watch it. (Warner just completed a restoration,
but doesn't have a release date yet.) Cagney — who hated director Anatole
Litvak, calling him a ''squirrelly son of a bitch'' — was displeased with
the final film. Not to start a fight, Jimmy, but we don't agree. — Tim Purtell
GENTLEMAN JIM (1942)
And in this corner, Errol Flynn, knockout handsome and bouncing
with easy masculine gusto as boxer Jim Corbett, who rises from cocky
bank clerk to cocky champ. Flynn has all the right moves in the ring — he
was so energetic in the climactic bout with Ward Bond that he collapsed
on the set. The movie's such a blast, you'll feel punchy afterward. And
Warner has plans for a restored version, so get ready. — TP
OXFORD BLUES (1984)
It taught us that character wins races and that Rob Lowe is, in
fact, as good as he looks. In his first lead, Lowe is Nick, an American
rower/gold digger who enters Oxford to chase his dream: Lady Victoria
(Amanda Pays). Naturally, she's engaged to a top oarsman (Julian Sands),
who, like the rest of the school — save a coxswain from Weehawken, N.J.
(Ally Sheedy) — finds Lowe arrogant and useless until he's needed to
avenge a 25-year-old loss to Harvard. A Warner rep says a DVD release is
''under consideration,'' and writer-director Robert Boris is already
pondering extras: ''Rob and Julian sank with their scull into the
freezing Thames,'' he recalls. ''It was more than a blooper.'' — Mandi Bierly
THIS SPORTING LIFE (1963)
From the graphic opening shots of rugby players getting muddied,
bloodied, and kicked in the teeth, it's clear This Sporting Life isn't
going to be an uplifting ''win one for the Gipper'' flick. A strapping
Richard Harris, looking like Stanley Kowalski's British twin, plays a
loudmouthed bloke more at ease with his teammates than with the
depressed widow he loves (Rachel Roberts). Bleak and moving, it's one of
the rare films that portray an athlete's dark soul with honesty and
depth. Criterion holds the rights, so Life could well get a new lease.
(And speaking of the Gipper, Knute Rockne-All American will debut on DVD
from Warner in 2006.) — TP
THE LONELINESS OF THE LONG DISTANCE RUNNER (1962)
In another noir Brit pic, Tom Courtenay is Colin Smith, a rebel
who winds up in reform school for robbing a bakery. He takes up running,
at first in a phony bid to please the school's stone-faced governor
(Michael Redgrave), but when he breaks through the oppressive iron
gates, he submits body and soul: His arms flail, his head bobs, his legs
wobble, and the events of his checkered past flash before his eyes with
remarkable clarity. And the defiant ending is unlike any you'll ever see
in a sports film. The DVD can currently be found at
nostalgiafamilyvideo.com, and Warner is planning a rerelease in 2007.
— Melissa Rose Bernardo
