Just like TV, Olympics dominated the sport film scene this year
When the movie “Apollo 13” was released 30 years ago, it was a case study in how great acting, direction, cinematography, sound, editing and a tight screenplay can come together to make for intense drama, even if the outcome was known by almost everyone watching.
The 1995 Oscar winner starring Tom Hanks, the late Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon and Ed Harris was a critical success as Best Picture at the Academy Awards and a global box office champion, driving $355 million US in worldwide box office receipts (a whopping $740 million in today’s dollars).
September 5, a re-telling of the tragedy in which 11 Israeli athletes and coaches were killed by terrorists at the Munich 1972 Olympic Games, won’t be matching anywhere near the haul of awards and ticket sales of Apollo 13 — partly because of the subject matter and partly because of it having a very limited theatrical release. Yet, like the story of the failed Apollo 13 mission, it is simply riveting from start to finish.
We go into the film knowing exactly what happens. We experience the false promise and short-lived relief of what was thought to be a successful rescue. We ultimately anticipate the sad and horrifying conclusion. Yet thanks to a solid cast and the direction of Tim Fehlbaum — nominated for an Academy Award for best original screenplay at the Oscars coming up Sunday — it is one of the most intense films of the year. It is also a dominating presence in the 18th edition of The Sport Market Movie Awards.
September 5 wins best picture among sport movies released in 2024. It is also best drama and wins a total of seven categories recognizing excellence in the genre of sport films over the past year.
The main point of reference for September 5 is no household name or star. It’s ABC sports director Geoffrey Mason, who is put in charge of the news coverage of that tragic day by ABC Sports head Roone Arledge, against the objections of other network executives who wrongly thought it was “over the head” of the sports department assigned largely to cover the competitions in Munich. Mason is played by John Magaro, and he is excellent. So is Peter Sarsgaard as Arledge and Leonie Benesch as German translator Marianne Gebhardt.
Many of the most compelling parts of September 5 rely on original video and audio from ABC’s coverage of the 1972 Munich Games. Cases in point are Jim McKay’s sad farewell to the Israelis killed in gunfire and the stylistic reporting of the icon that was Howard Cosell. Reporting from the boxing venue, Cosell’s audio is a highly recognizable and classic scene in the movie, even though it lasts less than a minute and we only hear his voice.
September 5 is not only the best sport movie of the year, it is arguably one of the most important sport business movies of all-time. Note that the Munich Games were the first in history to be broadcast live by satellite, and that more than 900 million people watched the tragedy unfold from the Olympic Village. It was a remarkable global audience in the days long before the Internet era that began about 23 years later, ultimately bringing digital, social and streaming to the fore.
Anchored in the multitude of ethics that come into play when sports becomes real-life news — especially in the intersection point between politics and terrorism — the movie puts a premium on leadership and decision-making. And it does so entirely from within the ABC studios adjacent to the Olympic Village in Munich.
Also figuring prominently in The Sport Market Movie Awards for 2024 are the biopic The Fire Inside, the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields, the Olympic gold medal-winning boxer played to perfection by Ryan Destiny, and Giannis: The Marvelous Journey, the story of NBA superstar Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, the best sport documentary of the year.
The Shields biopic reflects the rise of women’s sports in recent years, as does Young Woman and The Sea, the story of Gertrude Eberle, the first woman to cross the English Channel in 1926. Eberle is played poignantly by Daisy Ridley.
Some of the other titles to make a note on from the 30 sport movie releases of 2024 are Unstoppable, the story of Anthony Robles, winner of the NCAA Division I wrestling championship in the U.S., despite being born with only one leg; The Beautiful Game, where themes of sport and hard times come together in a Homeless World Cup of Soccer; and Breaking Olympia: The Phil Heath Story starring Dwayne Johnson in the role of the seven-time Mr. Olympia, the kind of bodybuilding.
Unstoppable, which made its debut at the Toronto International Film Festival last June, features a breakout performance by Jharrel Jerome, who is the best actor in The Sport Market Movie Awards for 2024, and a strong performance by Jennifer Lopez, who plays the protagonist’s mother Judy Robles in a film directed by Ben Affleck.
Aside from that celebrity connection, there’s also some millennial star power this year in Challengers, the bromance/love triangle that features Zendaya of the Dune movies and Spiderman.
Yet when it comes to the full package of what makes sport movies so special, there is nothing like September 5. The movie proves yet again that the most timeless stories are real stories, no matter how sad and tragic they are.
The Sport Market Movie Awards 2024 – 18th annual
Winners in the 18th annual edition of The Sport Market Movie Awards recognizing excellence in the genre of sport movies:
Best picture – September 5 (Olympics-broadcasting)
Box office champion – YOLO (boxing), US $484.5M worldwide (Chinese language)
*Leading English language box office – Challengers (tennis), US $96.1M
Best drama – September 5 (Olympics-broadcasting)
Best biopic – The Fire Inside (the story of Claressa “T-Rex” Shields/boxing)
Best documentary – Giannis: The Marvelous Journey (basketball)
Best actor – Jharrel Jerome (Unstoppable/wrestling)
Best actress – Ryan Destiny (The Fire Inside/boxing)
Best supporting actor – Peter Sarsgaard (September 5/Olympics-broadcasting)
Best supporting actress – Leonie Benesch (September 5/Olympics-broadcasting)
Best cast – John Magaro, Peter Sarsgaard, Leonie Benesch, Ben Chaplin, Peter Jennings, Benjamin Walker, Georgina Rich, Marcus Rutherford, Zinedine Soualem, Rony Herman, Ferdinand Dorfler, Corey Johnson (September 5/Olympics-broadcasting)
Best director – Tim Fehlbaum (September 5/Olympics-broadcasting)
Best original screenplay – Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum and Alex David (September 5/Olympics-broadcasting)
Best photography/cinematography – Markus Forderer (September 5/Olympics-broadcasting)
Best sound track – Tamar-kali (The Fire Inside/boxing)