So the first American movie about rugby opened in selected cinemas on September 26th and of course we went to see it. Normally sport movies are not my thing – I’d rather work or do other things than sit and stare at a screen watching some actors pretending to be athletes; but once again, with this being the first US film featuring rugby – so, yes, that was a must.
First things first: the movie was not as bad as expected. It certainly is not a highlight in the history of cinema, just a pleasant run-of-the-mill story about sport being a way of redemption for some troubled young man.
But – and this is what made the film enjoyable, leaving the slightly cookie cutter-story aside – the rugby scene were marvelous (as they should be, especially as real All-American rugby players were involved). Yes, I know, editing and sound mix and whatnot do play their part; still, these scenes were so great, I could watch the film all over again.
Really – even though I do not like sport movies.
I’d never thought about it before, but when you brought it up, I realized I don’t like movies about sports either. And I like nearly all sports. Most are just so formulaic.
I loved the movie “Top Gun”. Not the sappy love story, or the pilots’ recklessness, or the predictable dialogue. Oh, no. The sexiest thing in that movie was the F-14. The scenes showing the catapult take-offs and the nail-biting landings, and the aerial acrobatics, now those were wonderful. For the longest time, I didn’t tell my brother how much I liked the movie. I figured he’d spill his coffee laughing. He was a Marine aviator, and had flown off carriers, flown the F-14. When I finally told him how much I liked the F-14 sequences, he got very animated. It turns out the flying sequences were very realistic, even to a pilot. I felt better about my “secret passion” then. I love watching footage of carrier take-offs and landings. So precise, so little room for error. Amazing.
I am so with you on admiring the pilots on the aircraft carriers. Those guys – wow. I mean, the take-offs alone are a bit hair rising, but the landings – that just blows my mind. These pilots are amazing. And yes, too, F-14 are quite, quite sexy.
I have never seen “Top Gun” – even my love for aviation was not enough to suffer through anything with TC. There are limits to what I can endure.
LOL. I see we have the same opinion of TC. I can’t abide “the grimace” which seems to be the only expression he has for emotion. Here’s a suggestion. Record it off TV or rent the DVD. Watch the flying scenes. FF through everything else. You could also try “The Great Santini” with Robert Duvall, one of the best actors ever. It doesn’t have carrier scenes, but has some great flying scenes, and is a wonderful story besides. PBS recently had a series called “Carrier”. I watched every episode. It was wonderful. Not entirely about flying, but still wonderful. I would love to actually be on a carrier to watch take-offs and landings. No way would I ever consent to actually be in the aircraft to do either one, though. I watch every show on TV that I can find about aircraft carriers or flying jets.
My father was stationed on Aircraft Carriers for 20 years. Never any flying, just the CPO who ran the ship’s stores. As a kid I got a few tours. The most memorable was Thanksgiving Dinner for the families of the Coral Sea on a lower deck surrounded by planes.
Many of the older Carriers are now museums. USS Hornet in Alameda, USS Midway in San Diego and, for all of you in Texas, the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi. Few things are more amazing than standing on the flight deck of a Carrier and riding on the elevator.