Five of the best sports documentaries of all time (and where to watch them)
Fascinated by deep-sea diving? A must-watch for you is The Deepest Breath. A lover of e-sports? Then you have to check out The King Of Kong. Looking for something completely left field but still super competitive? Spellbound is the one for you, set in the world of spelling bees.
Sports fans tend to follow more than just the games—news, stats, even things like betting offers often come up in the mix. These documentaries tap into that same wide interest, showing how deep the love for competition can go.
See what we mean? There is quite literally something for everyone. Whittling down that list to five of the best is tough, but these picks are tremendous, and some of the best movies ever made, not just under the banner of sports documentaries.
So on with our five picks, and where to watch them* right now:
Free Solo – Disney+
From the description alone, you would be forgiven for thinking this isn't going to be THAT interesting a watch, as the documentary profiles rock climber Alex Honnold on his quest to perform the first-ever free solo climb of a route on El Capitan, a vertical rock formation found in Yosemite National Park in California. So you'll have to trust us when we tell you this is one of the most edge-of-your-seat movies you'll ever see, and it proved to be so impressive that it went on to win the Best Documentary Oscar back in 2019.
Murderball – rent on Apple TV
This documentary focuses on the intense rivalry between the American and Canadian wheelchair rugby teams in the run-up to the 2004 Paralympic Games taking place in Athens, Greece. We get to know the players and their families, who all talk openly and frankly about their injuries, personal lives, and the love of the game that has them all vying for the gold. This movie was nominated for Best Documentary at the 2006 Oscars, but lost out to March of the Penguins.
Icarus – Netflix
Some of the best documentaries are those that begin filming with something specific in mind – in this case, director Bryan Fogel wanted to expose the inadequacy of the procedures to catch athletes using performance-enhancing substances – but become something else over the course of the movie being made – here, the World Anti-Doping Agency's investigation of doping in Russia led to the head of the Moscow Anti-Doping Laboratory to flee his country and become a whistleblower. Icarus went on to win the 2018 Best Documentary Feature Oscar.
Senna – Netflix
Arguably one of the best and most impactful documentaries not to even be nominated for an Oscar, this film tells the story of much-loved Brazilian motor-racing champion Ayrton Senna. Directed by Asif Kapadia (who went on to win an Oscar in 2016 for his Amy Winehouse documentary), it tells us about Senna's life, death, and intimate rivalry with fellow driver Alain Prost through archival race footage and home video recorded by Senna's friends and family.
When We Were Kings – Sky/NOW
Another Best Documentary Picture winner, focusing on the night of The Rumble in the Jungle in 1974. Betting offers on underdog Muhammad Ali were 4-1 against the then-unbeaten, heavy-hitting George Forman. It took director Leon Gast over 22 years to edit and finance before it could be released in 2006, when it was met with immediate critical acclaim, and the movie is still considered to be one of the best sports documentaries ever made.
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BBC News
14 minutes ago
- BBC News
Fine margins: How Norris lost out to Piastri in Belgium
Oscar Piastri's victory in the Belgian Grand Prix underlined the fine margins that will likely decide the world championship battle with his team-mate Lando Australian bounced back after two consecutive victories for Norris on a weekend on which the advantage swung back and forth between the McLaren drivers almost from session to pair arrived at Spa-Francorchamps on the back of two consecutive wins for Norris, one from the front in Austria, one somewhat fortuitous after a penalty for Piastri at took a pole position each in Belgium - one for Piastri for the sprint, and one for Norris for the grand prix. And the race turned on a few key drive was from the top drawer - he took the lead from Norris at the rolling start after a few exploratory laps behind the safety car in the wet by being, by Norris' admission, a little braver through Eau Rouge on the first he managed his position with careful judgement to make his medium-compound tyres last to the end while under pressure from the closing Norris on more durable Norris may look back on a few small errors in which he could have done better. He said he "couldn't have won". He probably could not. But he could have given himself a slither of a chance, despite the difficult position he was in by leading at the start. The start Piastri had demonstrated how difficult it is for the driver on pole to lead by the end of the first lap at Spa by losing the sprint race win to Red Bull's Max Dutchman slipstreamed past Piastri up the hill to Les Combes, and then held the McLaren at bay for 15 laps, while Norris followed closely in the grand prix, it was Norris in front, with Piastri in second and Piastri had been thinking about the opportunity this presented him since losing out on pole the day team boss Andrea Stella said: "This weekend, Oscar, if anything, the only inaccuracy was in qualifying, where his laps weren't perfect."At the same time, we have to say that after the sprint qualifying, he said, 'Yeah, I'm in pole position, but maybe this is not the right place to be in pole position.'"And as a joke, after the qualifying yesterday, he said, 'That was not my best lap in Q3, but perhaps this is the best place not to have the best lap in Q3.'"Sure enough, Piastri took the lead on lap one of the grand prix, just as Verstappen had the day before."I had a good run out of Turn One," he said, "and then tried to be as brave as I could through Eau Rouge and was able to stay pretty close. After that, the slipstream did the rest for me."When I watched the onboard back, it didn't look quite as scary as it felt in the car. I knew that I had to be very committed to pull that off."But Norris could have done a better job. For a start, he failed to build himself a gap over the finish line by arguably going too early at the restart. Then he made a mistake at La Source, which allowed Piastri to be right on his tail approaching Eau Rouge."I didn't have the best Turn One," Norris said. "So it's hard to know how much that played a part. At the same time, Oscar came past me pretty easily. So even if I had a better Turn One, his run and the slipstream probably still would have got me."Stella said: "It would have always been very difficult for Lando to keep the position starting first at the safety car restart. At the same time, I think Lando didn't help himself by not having a great gap on the finish line." The pit stops The next turning point was the stops. Piastri had first choice as leader, and went for mediums with a stop on lap could have pitted Norris at the same time - the so-called double-stack - but went for another lap, and decided for hard tyres, to go to the end. Piastri was planning the same but didn't know whether the mediums would make had been just under two seconds behind when Piastri pitted, and was nine seconds back when he rejoined the seconds of that offset can be accounted for by a slower pit stop, the other five by the extra lap on worn intermediates. A double-stack would have cost less time - but then he'd have been on the mediums, and the race effectively already said: "To catch Oscar from that gap is quite an achievement. I gave it a good shot, but just not close enough."Piastri said: "It was quite a late decision to pit on the lap we did, but there's risks either way. If I was in Lando's position, I probably would have done the same thing. At that point, it seemed like the safest thing to do was go on the medium, because the hard is two steps harder here."Stella said: "We did consider double stacking. At the same time, it was possible for Lando to deviate. He opted to deviate, which would have given him the possibility to go on hard tyres, which is what he decided to do."Actually, I thought at some stage that that would have been a very good move, but I have to say that Oscar managed a very solid and strong stint on the medium tyres. Even if Lando was, on average, a little bit faster, that was not enough to attack Oscar at the end." The chase Norris now had to try to chase Piastri down. He got to within 3.4 seconds by the end of the race, but he probably lost a little more than that with three errors during his ran wide at the fast Pouhon double left-hander on lap 26, costing himself 1.3 seconds, then had lock-ups at La Source on laps 33 and 43, costing a total of just under three a perfect race might have given him a shot at Piastri on the last lap or two. But given how difficult overtaking proved at Spa in both races, the chances of him actually getting by must be considered slim in the said: "Yes, Lando had a couple of lock-ups in corner one and also a little oversteer in corner nine that cost him time. I think this, overall, prevented us from having an interesting battle, possibly, at the end."But, in fairness, even Oscar had a couple of times in corner one a little bit of a time loss."It's very difficult when you push so much in these conditions. It's very difficult to always drive within the limit of the grip, and also it's not easy to always keep the car on the racing line when you have the maximum grip, considering that, away from that, you can lose it very rapidly because of the track being still a little damp." The lessons Piastri's sixth win in 13 races extends his lead in the see-sawing battle to 15 points before the next race in Hungary this weekend, scene last year of Piastri's maiden victory, in somewhat controversial circumstances. Stella called Piastri's drive "very, very, very high quality", but added: "We have two drivers which to the standards that even myself in my career have been close to, driving with multiple World Champions, I think Lando and Oscar are operating at that level, at the level of deservedly being in contention for the drivers' world championship."This is quite the compliment considering Stella engineered both Michael Schumacher and Fernando Alonso during his Ferrari years earlier this said: "The difference will be made by the accuracy, the precision, the quality of the execution."The execution is what is going to make the main difference. We, as a team, we will try and make sure that from a reliability point of view, from a team operation point of view, we are as good as possible, such that it will be the drivers deciding their own outcome in terms of competing for the drivers' championship." Should the race have started earlier? The other main talking point at Spa was whether the race should have started earlier - either at the original start time, or a few minutes before it eventually Hamilton and Max Verstappen were of the view that it should have and that officials had been too said the decision "didn't make sense". He said that at the scheduled start time "it was not even raining" and added: "Of course between Turn One and five there was quite a bit of water, but two or three laps behind the safety car it would have been a lot more clear. And the rest of the track was anyway ready to go. It's a bit of a shame."Hamilton added: "I kept shouting, like, it's ready to go, it's ready to go. And they kept going around and around and around."However, both acknowledged that the decisions were made after the drivers had urged officials following the last race at Silverstone - in which one car rammed another unsighted at a restart in the rain - not to go too Piastri and Ferrari's Charles Leclerc both pointed out the extreme dangers of Spa, and referenced the two fatalities that have happened there in junior categories in recent said: "For that reason, I'd rather be safe than too early. It's a constant discussion, and we'll probably feed the people that made this decision back that maybe it was a little bit on the late side, but I wouldn't have changed anything."Piastri added: "The past few years, particularly here, we've given the FIA feedback that we would much rather be on the safe side than risk anything. I think that's what we did today."If you were to be picky, maybe we could have done one less formation lap. But in the grand scheme of things, if that's one lap too early, is it worth it? No."
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
George Lucas makes Comic-Con debut for Lucas Museum of Narrative Art
SAN DIEGO, July 27 (Reuters) - Excited fans waved glowing "Star Wars" lightsabers on Sunday at the San Diego Comic-Con panel for George Lucas' latest project, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art. Along with Lucas, the panel included director Guillermo del Toro and Doug Chiang, vice president of Disney's (DIS.N), opens new tab Lucasfilm, with Queen Latifah moderating at the San Diego Convention Center. Attendees shouted "Lucas! Lucas! Lucas!" and clapped their hands in anticipation of the "Star Wars" creator's arrival, and gave the 81-year-old Lucas a standing ovation as he took his seat. "Opening in 2026, the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art is a first-of-its-kind institution dedicated to illustrated storytelling across time, cultures, and media," a press release from the museum said. The 11-acre campus, in Exposition Park in Los Angeles, will include a green space and a 300,000-square-foot building with galleries, two theaters, a library, restaurant, café, and retail and community spaces. Some of its collection will include art from comic book artist Jack Kirby, painter Norman Rockwell and illustrator Kadir Nelson, as well as a Lucas archive with models, props, concept art and costumes. "I love all art, no matter what it is," Lucas said after showing a video that gave a sneak peek at the museum. The video included renderings of the museum interior and exterior, as well as the museum's broad range of art ranging from more traditional fine art and comic book strips to "Star Wars" sculptures and installations. Lucas began the panel recalling his days as a college student struggling to pursue his dream of becoming an art collector due to the steep cost of fine art. But the filmmaker found an affordable exception with comic books, sold cheaply in "underground" markets. Now, rather than selling art he collected over around 50 years, Lucas said he prefers to create what he calls a "temple to the people's art." Lucas kept the conversation focused on the museum and did not discuss "Star Wars" or "Indiana Jones." For del Toro, the museum offers a visual past that belongs to everyone" and can't be erased, noting that he may move some of his personal art collection to the Lucas Museum. Part of the liberation that comes with narrative art for the "Pan's Labyrinth" director also means that art can't be made with a computer app, as it lacks "personality and knowledge."
Daily Mail
2 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Adam Sandler honors late costar Cameron Boyce in Happy Gilmore 2... six years after his tragic death at age 20
Adam Sandler is once again making sure Cameron Boyce is never forgotten. Six years after Boyce's tragic passing, the beloved actor made a posthumous cameo in Happy Gilmore 2, Sandler's newest Netflix comedy, which hit Netflix on July 25. In one early scene at a golf course check-in desk, Boyce can be seen playing on a background TV screen. The footage appears to be from Jessie, the Disney Channel series Boyce starred in from 2011 to 2015. It's a quiet blink-and-you'll-miss-it tribute, but many fans found his brief presence on their screens to be deeply meaningful. 'Adam Sandler including Cameron Boyce in #HappyGilmore2 as a cameo is so heartwarming,' one fan posted on X. 'He really loved that kid and I'm so glad he keeps his memory alive.' Another wrote, 'Adam Sandler honoring Cameron Boyce in Happy Gilmore 2 melts my heart.' 'Adam put a tiny Cameron Boyce (played his son in Grown Ups) tribute in Happy Gilmore 2. Excuse me while I sob,' a third wrote. Boyce, who played Sandler's son in the Grown Ups films, died in 2019 at age 20 due to a seizure related to an ongoing medical condition. At the time, Sandler posted an emotional tribute, calling him 'the nicest, most talented, and most decent kid around.' 'Loved that kid. Cared so much about his family. Cared so much about the world… All our hearts are broken,' he said wrote. Sandler previously honored Boyce in his 2020 Netflix film Hubie Halloween, where a tribute card appeared during the credits, reading: 'In loving memory of Cameron Boyce. Gone way too soon and one of the kindest, coolest, funniest, and most talented kids we knew. You live on forever in our hearts and are truly.' Boyce played Keithie Feder, the spoiled son of Sandler's Lenny Feder in the 2010 comedy Grown Ups, returning in the 2013 sequel Grown Ups 2. Boyce was best known for playing Carlos - son of 101 Dalmatians villain Cruella de Vil in the Descendants movies and TV shorts that all aired on Disney Channel. Boyce was found unresponsive in his home on July 6, 2019, and pronounced dead later that day. His family confirmed three days later that he passed away due to an epileptic seizure, which was confirmed by the autopsy later that month. Earlier this month, Boyce was remembered by three of his Descendants co-stars on the sixth anniversary of his tragic passing. Sofia Carson (Evie), Booboo Stewart (Jay) and Sarah Jeffery (Audrey) - all took to Instagram to pay tribute to their beloved co-star. Carson shared an undated black and white throwback snap of her, Boyce and fellow Descendants co-star Dove Cameron (Mal). She added the poignant caption, 'Our Angel. Forever,' which received over 1.1 million likes in nine hours from her 20.3 million followers. Jeffrey also took to her Instagram story sharing a throwback pic from 2014 of her and Boyce, along with a poignant tribute. A young Boyce was seen in a black hoodie with a black stocking cap while Jeffrey was in a black stocking cap and a brown coat as they embraced. '2014. On a BC ferry heading back to Victoria to shoot more of Descendants. Life is good. Miss you Cam,' Jeffrey said with a red heart emoji. Kenny Ortega, who directed all of the Descendants films, also shared a throwback snap of Boyce and a touching tribute on Instagram. 'Impossible to forget you Cameron. You own a piece of my heart. The memories of our times working together are some of my greatest treasures,' Ortega began. 'When you entered a room the light grew brighter because of your presence. Your laugh, imagination, talent, generosity, and loving heart were second to none,' he added. Descendants followed a group of kids - the offspring of iconic Disney characters - who try to free their parents from captivity. Carson's Evie was the son of the Evil Queen from Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Stewart's Jay was the son of Jafar from Aladdin and Jeffrey was the daughter of Aurora and Prince Philip from Sleeping Beauty. Boyce also starred in Mirrors, Eagle Eye, Grown Ups, Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer and Runts, along with playing Luke Ross on Jessie from 2011 to 2015.
