I fancied watching this film just because of Al Pacino and Oliver Stone but I have no real interest in American football at all.
Is there any other reason to watch this film? Is it purely about the sport or is that just what the story happens around?
There is a lot more "behind the scenes" stuff that goes on.
shareIt makes it look exciting. A real game might come as a disappointment.
shareYou have to appreciate real football to appreciate the context of the movie, something that Eurotrash will simply never understand.
Neil Gendreau.
Correction, you have to understand real SPORT. I think lots of things in this film are applicable to a majority of sports, especially the famous 'inches' speech, and the money/sport divide.
shareEurotrash? i hope your not referring to me! if so what a utterly ignorant comment! Where do you think you fore fathers came from? Not that its relevant to the film but seriously dude, why bother?
For The Record!
Lebowski85
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quote:"
You have to appreciate real football to appreciate the context of the movie, something that Eurotrash will simply never understand.
Neil Gendreau.
"
lol, says a girl named Gendreau. I pitty your ancestors.
Back to topic - u dont have to maybe sports in general.
mike-oneal, are you calling Neil Armstrong a girl? Gendreau is the last name is this person. Why would you pitty someone? It's pity. The reason he said Eurotrash will never understand the true reason of this film is because Europeans have already shunned FOOTBALL (i call soccer, soccer, i call american football, football, makes things MUCH easier). The reason why NFL Europe no longer exists is because Europeans have all shunned it. If you have not shunned it, then why is the NFL Europe no longer there? It takes much more than one person to keep a team above ground in the revenue department. And for the people out there, who call soccer, football. What do you call football here, for short? Per capita wise, Football here in the USA, is actually more popular than soccer is anywhere else. Per capita means number of people per square mile. The reason why most Americans (or at least me) don't like the MLS or Major League Soccer is because it is a group of people who run across a field roughly 4 times the size of a football field. The reason why football here is so popular is because that it may be a long field, but when you a hitting people and getting all of your frustrations out on a huge block or a tackle, or even a break block it is a great feeling. Rugby is much different, guys in rubgy have actually died from PLAYING rugby. The only deaths in the NFL are from weather conditions, mostly extreme heat in training camp. And not all players have gotten brain damage from playing football, if you want to see main brain damage, look at boxing. I love football, played one year in football. I know how fans can get pumped up while watching a soccer game (one reason, the game caller and his very flamboyant and extravagant GOOAAALL!!! and some awkward wording afterwards). But here, the tenacity for soccer is not even close to the tenacity over in Europe of other countries due to Football is mainly only in the USA. Soccer, is everywhere. If they had national football teams, going around the world playing other teams, you would see a lot more global fans of the NFL and football itself. To me personally, soccer is one of the least liked sports. I'm just not a fan of it, and not a fan of the clock that goes up. You don't know how much time is remaining only how much time has passed, its much easier to calculate how much time has already passed then time remaining in a quarter of the game. But I love football, mainly because there is a good team where I live. I only wish that the NFL would incorporate the same concept MLB and global soccer has. Owners can spend any amount of money on their teams. Show the fans that the team means something and shows how much they care about the team. So one good thing about soccer.
shareBut the NFL has begun to play games in Europe.
shareim pretty much on the other side of the world and i love american football cant get enough and btw did the giants v dolphines game in 07 sell out in euro so they must like it cause i herd the tickets were expensive
im kicking out fircely at the world around me wot went wrong
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-Did you just criticise Europeans for shunning American Football, whilst writing a post about how you shun soccer.
-You spelt rugby wrong. It's not rubgy.
"a field roughly 4 times the size of a football field"
-What???
"Per capita wise, Football here in the USA, is actually more popular than soccer is anywhere else"
-No its not. Soccer is practically a way of life in South America. They don't expend any real energy on any other sport.
"Per capita means number of people per square mile"
-Sorry, it doesn't
"not a fan of the clock that goes up. You don't know how much time is remaining only how much time has passed, its much easier to calculate how much time has already passed then time remaining in a quarter of the game"
-Maybe if you have mental difficulties
"Come at the king, you best not miss" - Omar Little
Look, you moron - Soccer is the most popular sport in the world, meaning more people watch it than ANY other sport. This is a proven fact, not just my opinion - you can check it quite easily.
And why is this so ? Simply because it is the most exciting and SKILLFUL game, not just a contest of BRUTE FORCE like the game you call Football.
Dude -- any need for that? The Q was polite.
sharewell: the good news is that I am part of Eurotrash, as you like to call it. Disqualifying the opponent in the beginning is such a boring game ...
and as you right guessed: I don't like football. I don't like even soccer.
But it seems that you share the same level of IQ, that makes me being indifferent to "fans" of that sort of stuff. Be it sports, movies, pop stars or whatever ...
I feel moved by cultural products that are more than food for the masses, all these boring impotent people that can nothing do of their own, that needs nothing more than to form an opinion on everything that surrounds them. How poor. Don't judge, better go out and do something yourself. Something you like, something that you stand for. Instead of having a poor opinion about something that you may not respect.
So I suggest that you have another look at the things around you and just like them as they are.
And then, with a sincere look, you may notice that nobody is interested in your opinion. This doesn't make you a poor person. Just do something of your own.
And that said: I really loved the pace of that movie. It is full of treasures. All scenes are consistent (if not extraordinarily) well filmed and the editing I still find amazing. What a groove.
maybe my friend but i do understand one thing that is for sure, one time i sat down to watch an american football game, man i bored my ass off, commercial after commercial then another commercial, really in usa u have so many commercial breaks all the time?? hell that would be a good reason not to move there!!!haha for god's sake gimme a break with this stu pid sport, a litlle action every ten minutes, where's the fun wathcing 20 big guys beat each other up? its a stupid sport and they should have never, never called it 'football' soccer is football, american football should be called handball or i dont know how. those 20 minutes were the most boring of my entire life.
Its American Football, get it right. The rest of the world calls "soccer" football. Its a more entertaining sport that isnt constantly interrupted for adverts and sponsors and doesnt have only 40 minutes of play in 5 hours.
The Superbowl sucks.
Charles, you spasticated idiot.
I really enjoyed this film and i find Gridiron football pretty dull as a spectator sport - although i do have a pretty good understanding of the rules and strategy involved. I have to say i find it sad to see people badmouthing other people's sports on a film forum. Not quite sure what the relevance was of the homophobia either...
share[deleted]
I'm English and have no real knowledge of American football other than it resembles Rugby. I'm familiar with some terninology (and the fact that it's the most commercial game in the world, i mean, who stops a *beep* sports match for TV commercials?)
However, i really enjoyed this movie, i'm a huge Pacino fan he delivers in this one. Hell, even Dennis Quaid does a good job!
this is the fil that developed an interest in amercian football...i now follow the sport....although not a avidly as i'd like (not shown too much on tv over here! :()
shareI am not a football fan by any means. I never played the sport, and I can't get myself to watch an entire game of football.
I love the movie on the other hand. It's got some great action, intense scenes, and some philosophical stuff to chew on without being too weighty.
But again, I'm not a football fan. I'll bet that real football fans probably wouldn't like the film so much because it probably isn't entirely accurate. Also, I'm willing to bet that Oliver Stone isn't much of a football fan either, as alot of his work, capturing the noise and magnitude of it all, is in a way his attempting to cone to grips with why the game is so important in the first place
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To be honest i dont like the sport at all but the movie was great.
shareI saw the first half (or two quarters) of an actual NFL game the other night. it was New England Patriots vs Dallas Cowboys and for some reason I wanted the cowboys to win.
There were lots of adverts but not many cheerleaders, which was a shame.
I'm English and wanted to know more about American Football, as the rugby world cup was on, and i'm bored by the way football/ soccer is getting so distant from the fans.
Who is... Brett Favre and why is he so great?
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I absolutely despise american football for reasons which should not be gone into on a film site! However I really enjoyed this film. The fact is the issues it deals with are common to all sports and the film does not get tactical. All you have to know really is one team is going one way and the other team the other way. Get it watched.
if it bleeds we can kill it
I absolutely despise american football for reasons which should not be gone into on a film site! However I really enjoyed this film. The fact is the issues it deals with are common to all sports and the film does not get tactical. All you have to know really is one team is going one way and the other team the other way. Get it watched.
if it bleeds we can kill it
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i think u have to be a fan to apreticate some of the stuff thats happens in the movie like when the line backer stops the play on 4th down if u dont no the rules or undertsand football theni dont see how u would apretiate it
im kicking out fircely at the world around me wot went wrong
You dont have to be a fan of football to watch and like this movie. I'm not. I'm an avid hockey fan, however this is one of my fave sports movie.
shareI'm no Fan of American football (=> being German) but I liked the film.
Once there was a TV show about a team called "California Bulls", I also liked this one.
The sport scenes in such films are very dramatised and thus they even attrac the attention of non or less interesseted people.
I also like the mighty ducks or other sport films without actually liking the sport.
Give it a try.
Edit:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086660/
Ich bin kein ausgeklügelt Buch, ich bin ein Mensch mit seinem Widerspruch.
Conrad Ferdinand Meyer
To answer the question without the idiocy...
You don't have to know American football too well, but there are a few things you should understand about it going in.
1.) American football is the most cerebral sport in the world. The game is played on Sundays, but it is won during the week leading up to Sunday, in the tactical preparation that occurs.
2.) It is a "team" game more than most. No one player on the field can take over a game... it truly takes eleven men seeing things the same way. Failure by one player can spell disaster. Being that traditional football/Soccer is my favorite sport, please do not think that I'm being bias here... in soccer, there are 2 types of players who can utterly ruin it for you: The defenders and the goaltender. In American football, any one player on the field can destroy a season.
3.) The position of Quarterback (the position around which this movie is focused) has been called the most difficult position to play in team sports. This may or may not be true, as the goalkeeper in soccer is at such a competitive disadvantage considering the size of the goal, but it is the most vital position in team sports. The position is often called the 'field general'. He must be a leader, must be in control, must know everyone's assignments (unlike everyone else, who must know, pretty much, their own), must have perfect timing, accuracy, touch, velocity, and decision making on his throws. Within seconds of the snap, he must identify what the defense is doing tactically, and then cycle through potentially 5 eligible receivers, make a decision, and throw the football... in the span of about 3-4 seconds before the defense is on him.
Understanding the ideas of quarterback on-field leadership, motivation, and the mental demands of the sport are key to understanding this movie.
1) American Football is NOT the most cerebral sport in the world. It's not in the top 5 and probably not even in the top 10.
2) It is NOT a team game more than most. In fact it's the only team game in which some players never touch the ball (except if there's a fumble)! Not to mention the fact that when the ball changes hands both teams trot off the field and two new teams trot back on; meaning you have players on the same team who are never on the field together. Your comments about soccer show that you have no understanding of it whatsoever.
3) The Quarterback has been called the most difficult position to play in team sports by who exactly? Someone like you who clearly has no understanding of other sports at all? Given the completely wrong things you've said so far we'll take this comment with a grain of salt too. You then say, amongst other thing, that everyone other than the quarterback only needs to know their own assignments, which completely contradicts what you've said about it being the a team sport more than most.