Sport and Film

What is it about?

The sports film has become one of commercial cinema's most recognizable genres. From classic boxing films such as Raging Bull (1980) to soccer-themed box-office successes like Bend it Like Beckham (2002), the sports film stands at the interface of two of our most important cultural forms. This book examines the social, historical and ideological significance of representations of sport in film internationally, an essential guide for all students and enthusiasts of sport, film, media and culture. Sport and Film traces the history of the sports film, from the beginnings of cinema in the 1890s, its consolidation as a distinct fiction genre in the mid 1920s in Hollywood films such as Harold Lloyd’s The Freshman (1925), to its contemporary manifestation in Oscar-winning films such as Million Dollar Baby (2004) and The Fighter (2010). Drawing on an extensive range of films as source material, the book explores key issues in the study of sport, film and wider society, including race, social class, gender and the legacy of 9/11. It also offers an invaluable guide to 'reading' the sports film as well as an analysis of the place of the genre within national cinemas, including case studies of the British, Australian and Indian sports film.

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Why is it important?

"An ambitious path-breaking study ... Seán Crosson can be deservedly said to have moved the ‘frontiers of sport’ and should inspire students to engage with both sport in film and film in sport." – Prof. John Bale, Sport in History.