Wrestling Movies

[wrestle87]

Does anybody know what happened to the documentary ithaka?  I think it was meant to be about the 2012 ohio state rtc guys trying to make the olympic team.  They really put out some great short film work, some of my favorite to this day.

 

These two for example, get me every…single…time…

 

 

Edited January 28, 2024 by wrestle87

[1032004]

On 1/23/2024 at 9:28 PM, 11986 said:

In the non documentary movies, what movies depict the actual wrestling scenes best? Love Vision Quest, but not so much in this aspect. Foxcatcher I think excelled here. 

I thought Foxcatcher’s wrestling scenes were bad, at least the ones involving Tatum and Ruffalo.

Reversal has good wrestling, but bad acting.

Win Win is by far my favorite wrestling movie with good acting (even well known actors) but also good wrestling.  The main kid was an NJ state champ

Edit: there was a more recent one that I thought had decent wrestling too.  Maybe the Last Champion?

Edited January 29, 2024 by 1032004

[11986]

10 hours ago, 1032004 said:

I thought Foxcatcher’s wrestling scenes were bad, at least the ones involving Tatum and Ruffalo.

Reversal has good wrestling, but bad acting.

Win Win is by far my favorite wrestling movie with good acting (even well known actors) but also good wrestling.  The main kid was an NJ state champ

Edit: there was a more recent one that I thought had decent wrestling too.  Maybe the Last Champion?

Watched The Last Champion last night. Wrestling scenes were decent.

[Jason Bryant]

None of the wrestling scenes in The Last Champion were shot in slow motion either.

[1032004]

I just saw this link to a documentary about the University of Nebraska Omaha team being cut after winning D2 NCAA’s randomly posted on Facebook or something.  Pretty good

 

[tiger-style]

Warrior is mostly an MMA movie, but it does feature a clip of one of the fighters wrestling in their youth. It's a really good movie overall too.

[CHROMEBIRD]

On 1/27/2024 at 8:32 PM, BIGTENFANBOY said:

Not a movie but an episode of Wonder Years.

 

 

Errata: Dan Gable shoes (while he was a student at ISU in the timeline of this episode!), CK halo headgear, international cut singlet, locked hands, Giovanni Ribisi.

True to life: no tech fall, wrestler fleeing the mat for a restart.

[Fadzaev2]

I'll call it a trilogy for Dave Schultz....2 were mentioned Foxcatcher and Team Foxcatcher, but I didn't see the third one mentioned....ESPN's "Prince of Pennsylvania".....Fadz

[jmoney]

With everyone loving The Holdovers and Giamatti up for best actor , it’s time for everyone to promote Win Win to their neighbors for the next month of Academy chatter and get wrestling some extra attention !

[jmoney]

10 hours ago, tiger-style said:

Warrior is mostly an MMA movie, but it does feature a clip of one of the fighters wrestling in their youth. It's a really good movie overall too.

I recall thinking “how on earth did critics give this film a W” five minutes in and then I was blown away. It’s arguably better than the Rocky films. 

Edited February 23, 2024 by jmoney

[NM1965]

I remember my JR High coach took the team to the "Anchor Inn" restaurant in Tulsa after the last tournament of the season (not counting state). We gorged on fried shrimp night, then he took us all to watch "Takedown" with Lorenzo Thomas. Terrible movie, but great times

 

[NM1965]

On 1/25/2024 at 9:46 PM, AgaveMaria said:

Foxcatcher has to be one of the most depressing movies ever made.

Agreed. I hated it. Brilliant performances by the actors but definitely not a movie to watch more than once. It's like watching "The Road".

[NM1965]

On 1/22/2024 at 7:00 PM, CHROMEBIRD said:

There was a documentary that followed Brandon Sorenson in high school and another with the Peppelman brothers.

LOL...the Peppelman brothers. That's a bast from the past.

[lightweight]

On 1/27/2024 at 11:42 PM, Natty Boh Army said:

Pinned is actually quite good. Palmer's dad comes across of a bit of a douchebag, but I think that was sort of the filmmakers point. It's still a solid watch, though, if for no other reason than to see the inner working of the St. Eds program. 

Takedowns and Falls is also really well done.

Agreed, it kept your interest.  I also liked the sub-story line of the 'haves and have nots', private Lakewood St. Eds, with multiple teams, a nutritionist, etc., and public Lakewood down the road who has one good kid living in an apartment with his single mother but who has a dream of being a champion.  

If you haven't seen it I won't spoil it for you, other than to say it is a documentary, and not Hollywood.  

[lightweight]

On 1/24/2024 at 9:50 AM, gromit said:

Win win is one of my personal favorites....right up there after Vision Quest and World According to Garp

 

Forgot about WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP.  As many/most of the people on this board probably know, John Irving wrestled for Pitt back in the day.  Some other of his books, THE 158 POUND MARRIAGE and THE IMAGINARY GIRLFRIEND have more wrestling in them, but are less well known.  

[gromit]

9 minutes ago, lightweight said:

Forgot about WORLD ACCORDING TO GARP.  As many/most of the people on this board probably know, John Irving wrestled for Pitt back in the day.  Some other of his books, THE 158 POUND MARRIAGE and THE IMAGINARY GIRLFRIEND have more wrestling in them, but are less well known.  

Big John Irving fan here....his memoir, you reference, is excellent...definitely worth the read for any fan of the sport.

[11986]

On 2/22/2024 at 10:03 AM, tiger-style said:

Warrior is mostly an MMA movie, but it does feature a clip of one of the fighters wrestling in their youth. It's a really good movie overall too.

That clip looks a lot like Cary Kolat footage from one of his state finals. 

[CHROMEBIRD]

3 hours ago, NM1965 said:

LOL...the Peppelman brothers. That's a bast from the past.

Are there still any Peppelmans in college wrestling right now? I feel like there were so many of em.

[NM1965]

33 minutes ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

Are there still any Peppelmans in college wrestling right now? I feel like there were so many of em.

The last one I heard of was, I think, Marshall. I think he managed to finish 7th or 8th at NCAAs one year.

[Fadzaev2]

Foxcatcher has to be one of the most depressing movies ever made.

Agreed. I hated it. Brilliant performances by the actors but definitely not a movie to watch more than once. It's like watching "The Road".

But remember, there is Foxcatcher AND Team Foxcatcher, as well as Prince of Pennsylvania (ESPN 30 for 30)....you may like them much better if you haven't already seen them.

 

 

[Natty Boh Army]

3 hours ago, NM1965 said:

The last one I heard of was, I think, Marshall. I think he managed to finish 7th or 8th at NCAAs one year.

Pretty sure there was at least one more after Marshall, maybe even two. I don't believe they were quite as highly regarded as the older brothers were, but still solid. BTW, Walter was the oldest, and the only one to AA (for Harvard in 2008/9ish). Marshall had a superb HS career, but was something of a bust in college. 

[NM1965]

14 hours ago, Natty Boh Army said:

Pretty sure there was at least one more after Marshall, maybe even two. I don't believe they were quite as highly regarded as the older brothers were, but still solid. BTW, Walter was the oldest, and the only one to AA (for Harvard in 2008/9ish). Marshall had a superb HS career, but was something of a bust in college. 

Ah. Well, I'm not surprised I got them mixed up, hehe. I think they all ended up being doctors or something didn't they? 

[Rassling]

19 hours ago, CHROMEBIRD said:

Are there still any Peppelmans in college wrestling right now? I feel like there were so many of em.

Blast from the past. One of the biggest D1 disappointments for me after watching their dominance for years at state level. Same with the Alton bros - they dominated in HS but did not deliver beyond a 3rd place finish for one of the brothers. I recall the Mom with her camera following her sons from mat to mat.

[gromit]

 

 

..

Edited February 24, 2024 by gromit

[gromit]

28 minutes ago, NM1965 said:

Ah. Well, I'm not surprised I got them mixed up, hehe. I think they all ended up being doctors or something didn't they? 

I don't believe any of the sons went into the medical field, but the father is an ortho/spine surgeon..