Filmmakers have been inspired to depict the challenge and excitement of sports as well as the exploits of those who play them. The list of sports genre films is extensive. Here are some of the most popular and critically acclaimed among them.

*The U.S. Movie Rating System We have included the rating of each movie in this list – for example, PG or PG-13 – directly before the year the movie appeared. The movie rating system is a voluntary system sponsored by the Motion Picture Association of America and the National Association of Theatre Owners to provide parents with advance information on films, enabling parents to make judgments on movies in consideration of whether their children should be permitted to see the movie. The rating system began in 1968, so films that came out before that year have no rating. The rating board uses the criteria parents would use when deciding what is suitable viewing for their children. Theme, language, violence, nudity, sex and drug use are among those content areas considered in the decision-making process. Current ratings are: (G) General Audience – All ages admitted. This signifies that the film rated contains nothing most parents will consider offensive for even their youngest children to see or hear. (PG) Parental Guidance Suggested – Some material may not be suitable for children. This signifies that the film rated may contain some material parents might not like to expose to their young children. (PG-13) Parents Strongly Cautioned – Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13. Parents should be especially careful about letting their younger children attend. Rough or persistent violence is absent; sexually oriented nudity is generally absent; some scenes of drug use may be seen; one use of a harsh, sexually-derived word as an expletive may be heard. (R) Restricted – Attendance by someone under age 17 requires an accompanying parent or adult guardian. This signifies that the rating board has concluded that the film rated contains some adult material. An R may be assigned due to, among other things, a film's use of language, theme, violence, sex or its portrayal of drug use. (NC-17) No One 17 and Under Admitted – This signifies that the rating board believes that most American parents would feel that the film is patently adult and that children age 17 and under should not be admitted to it. Source: The Classification and Rating Administration

Bang the Drum Slowly (Rating*: PG, 1973)

Starring: Michael Moriarity and Robert De Niro
Director: John D. Hancock

The star pitcher of a professional baseball team in New York is determined to make the season memorable for his good friend, the team's eccentric catcher, who has learned that he is terminally ill. Based on the novel of the same name by Mark Harris, who also wrote the screenplay.

The Bingo Long Traveling All-Stars and Motor Kings (PG, 1976)

Starring: Billy Dee Williams, James Earl Jones, and Richard Pryor
Director: John Badham

Set in the late 1930s during the waning years of the Negro Baseball League, charismatic team leader Bingo Long, in a break from the monopolistic dominance of league owners, takes his team of African American players on a barnstorming tour. Based on the novel of the same name by William Brashler.

Breaking Away (PG, 1979)

Starring: Dennis Christopher, Dennis Quaid, and Daniel Stern
Director: Peter Yates

A high school graduate in Indiana, enamored of bicycle racing, Italy's Cinzano racing team, and all other things Italian, joins three friends to take on the Indiana University college students in an annual bike race. Based on the novel of the same name by Steve Tesich, who also wrote the screenplay.

Brian's Song (G, 1971)

Starring: James Caan, Billy Dee Williams, and JackWarden
Director: Buzz Kulik

This movie is based on the real-life friendship between professional football teammates Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers and the bond they developed while Piccolo was dying of cancer.

The Color of Money (R, 1986)

Starring: Paul Newman and Tom Cruise
Director: Martin Scorsese

In this sequel to The Hustler, Newman plays pool hustler "Fast" Eddie Felson, and Cruise his talented, young protégé, whom Fast Eddie uses in order to break into the game again. Newman won an Oscar for best actor for this film, widely considered a masterpiece that combines Scorsese's genius for music and camera moves with the game of pool. Based on the novel of the same name by Walter Tevis.

Downhill Racer (M/PG, 1969)

Starring: Robert Redford and Gene Hackman
Director: Michael Ritchie

In a departure from his customary roles, Robert Redford stars as a thoroughly self-centered, ambitious athlete who joins the U.S. ski team as downhill racer and clashes with the team's coach (Hackman). Based on the novel of the same name by Oakley Hall.

Endless Summer (not rated, 1966)

Starring: Mike Hynson and Robert August
Director: Bruce Brown

Described in reviews as "the definitive surfing movie," this documentary follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave.

Field of Dreams (PG, 1989)

Starring: Kevin Costner, James Earl Jones, and Burt Lancaster
Director: Phil Alden Robinson

In this evocative slice of Americana, Costner stars as an Iowa farmer who hears voices indicating he should build a baseball diamond in his cornfield. When he does, the ghosts of disgraced professional baseball players appear, along with the farmer's deceased father, proving that baseball can bring people together--even from beyond the grave. Based on the book, Shoeless Joe, by W.P. Kinsella.

Hoop Dreams (PG-13, 1994)

Starring: William Gates, Arthur Agee, and Emma Gates
Director: Steve James

In this three-hour documentary, two inner-city Chicago African-American teenage basketball prodigies struggle to become college basketball players on the way to hoped-for success as professionals.

Hoosiers (PG, 1986)

Starring: Gene Hackman, Barbara Hershey, and Dennis Hopper
Director: David Anspaugh

Based on the true story of a small-town Indiana high school basketball team that made the state finals in 1954, this film showcases Hackman as the independent-minded coach who, together with the town alcoholic, leads the team to victory.

The Hustler (not rated, 1961)

Starring: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, and Piper Laurie
Director: Robert Rossen

Newman fans love his "Fast" Eddie Felson, a small-time but talented and cocky pool hustler with a self-destructive attitude. He challenges "Minnesota Fats" (Gleason) for the world title, and falls for the alcoholic, down-and-out Sarah (Laurie). Based on the novel of the same title by Walter Tevis.

A League of Their Own (PG, 1992)

Starring: Tom Hanks, Geena Davis, Lori Petty, and Madonna
Director: Penny Marshall

This comedy brings to life a little-known chapter of American sports history. During the Second World War, with most of the male players drafted into the military, team owners formed the All American Girls Baseball League. Davis and Petty play sisters who join the Rockford Peaches, an Illinois team, and Hanks is their manager.

National Velvet (not rated, 1944)

Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Mickey Rooney, Donald Crisp
Director: Clarence Brown

In the movie that made her a star, Elizabeth Taylor plays a 12-year-old girl whose dreams of entering her horse in Great Britain's Grand National come true when her mother gives her 100 gold pieces that she herself won for swimming the English Channel as a child. Based on Enid Bagnold's novel of the same title.

The Natural (PG, 1984)

Starring: Robert Redford, Robert Duvall, and Glenn Close
Director: Barry Levinson

In this Depression-era tale, Redford plays middle-aged batter Roy Hobbs, who returns after years of obscurity with the bat he fashioned from a fallen oak when he was 14, to lead a losing team to league dominance. Based on Bernard Malamud's novel of the same title.

Pride of the Yankees (not rated, 1942)

Starring: Gary Cooper, Teresa Wright, and Babe Ruth (as himself)
Director: Sam Wood

Nominated for 11 Academy awards, this classic brought to the screen the life story of the famed baseball player and American idol of the 1920s and 1930s, Lou Gehrig of the New York Yankees.

Remember the Titans (PG, 2000)

Starring: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, and Wood Harris
Director: Boaz Yakin

Set in Virginia in 1971, just after U.S. schools in the South were racially integrated, this is the true story of an African-American coach appointed to lead a high school basketball team while his white predecessor stays on as assistant coach.

Requiem for a Heavyweight (not rated, 1962)

Starring: Anthony Quinn, Jackie Gleason, Julie Harris, and Mickey Rooney
Director: Ralph Nelson

Considered one of the best boxing movies ever, this is the grim tale of a brain-damaged fighter suffering from too many years in the ring and pushed into round after punishing round by his corrupt manager (Gleason). Quinn's burned-out boxer falls for a shy social worker (Harris), while Gleason fends off a pack of creditors.

Rocky (PG, 1976)

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Carl Weathers, and Burgess Meredith
Director: John G. Avidsen

Winner of the Oscars for best picture and best director, this movie remains the quintessential ode to the underdog. Stallone, who wrote the screen play, portrays Rocky Balboa, an impoverished, down-and-out club fighter, who, when given the chance to fight the world champion, takes perseverance and grit to inspiring levels.

Seabiscuit (PG-13, 2003)

Starring: Jeff Bridges and Chris Cooper
Director: Gary Ross
Script: Gary Ross

This movie is based on the best-selling nonfiction book of the same name by Laura Hillenbrand. It tells the story of Seabiscuit, the knobby-kneed thoroughbred horse that "came from behind" in race after race in the late 1930s to win the hearts of Depression-weary Americans.

Without Limits (PG-13, 1998)

Starring: Billy Crudup and Donald Sutherland
Director: Robert Towne

Billy Crudup plays Steve Prefontaine, or "Pre," a runner in the 1960s with the University of Oregon and the leading American runner as the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich approached. He died in a car crash at age 24.