Haven't been here for years... all new and shiny these days.
Haven't been here for years... all new and shiny these days.
Member since:31.10.2000
Reviews:148
Members who trust:101
As you may have guessed from the title, this film is directed and co-written by Oliver Stone, and yes it is effectively the same film again; this time tackling the game of American football. It bears all the hallmarks of an Oliver Stone creation - multiple film-stock epileptic editing of world-weary cynicism on an important issue. In Any given sunday it appears that the central issue is the racial inequality in American football, with the majority of players being black, but the game controlled by white coaches and team owners.
So to the story... the film casts Al Pacino as the weary 'over-the-hill' coach who is stereotypically cranky and stuck in the past until the predictably he sees the light. Whilst the role is perhaps a little constricting for an actor of Pacino's quality he does get to let loose in certain team berating sessions and it is here that he is at his mesmeric best. The team owner, a hard-nosed business type, is well played by Cameron Diaz. The seasoned pro at quarter back, Dennis Quaid, team doctor, James Woods add to what is an impressive cast.
At the beginning of the film Quaid is injured and leaves the way clear for black quarter back, played by Jamie Foxx, to step in and seize his chance in the big time. The team in question, the made-up Miami Sharks, are tettering on the edge of the play-offs and need to end a run of four defeats. All this sets the scene for Stone to use his camera wizardry and allows the 'deeper' issues of the film to be developed - Fame going to new stars head, coach and owner clashes, living in the past, medical ethics, individual against team etc. etc.
So is the end result any good? Well the film is certainly engrossing, the action in the actual games is occasionally frighteningly realistic, it does help if you have a rudimentary knowledge of American Football, as otherwise it may prove a little confusing. The performance of the actors is convincing and impressive in places, even if the characters are all fairly stereotyped. Perhaps the biggest fault is a continual display of lightening at many of the swift cut scenes, and also the speed of the changing film type and camera angle/focus can become a little disorientating with overuse.
All in all this film is well worth checking our, yes it is flawed and won’t appeal to everyone but the issues Stone deals with are very real and deserve to be screened, also it is well acted and eminently watchable. My final piece of advice is watch the film all the way through the credits as it has one the finest (and least expected) endings I’ve seen for a long time.
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Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 1998 - Drama - Director: Martin Brest - Original Language: English - Classification: 12 years and over - Starring: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Marcia Gay Harden, Jake Weber, Claire Forlani, Jeffrey Tambor
Good opinon! However not sure I agree, but that's not quite the point i suppose? Didn't u think this film was amzingly weak compared to Stone's other films... NBK, Platoon, JFK, etc... I must admit I thought it was going to be brilliant when I saw the trailers but I was sooooo disappointed!
BennyRialto 12.04.2001 14:12
We've had this film sitting in the promos cupboard at work for the past two months and I haven't been able to decide whether or not to watch it... til now! A great opnion which has persuaded me to finally take the thing home and see it!
Oliver Stone'sAny Given Sundayis a massive 150-minute American football drama which, for ... more
all its ferocity and cynicism, is as soft-centred and clichéd as anyRocky-style underdogs-make-good crowd-pleaser. The Miami Sharks have lost threegames in a row a...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Oliver Stone'sAny Given Sundayis a massive 150-minute American football drama which, for ... more
all its ferocity and cynicism, is as soft-centred and clichéd as anyRocky-style underdogs-make-good crowd-pleaser. The Miami Sharks have lost threegames in a row a...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Life is a contact sport and football is life when three-time Academy Award-winning ... more
filmmaker Oliver Stone and a dynamic acting ensemble explore the fortunes of the Miami Sharks in 'Any Given Sunday'. At the 50-yard line of this gridiron cosmos is Al P...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
Director's Cut, containing previously unseen footage. Life is a contact sport and football ... more
is life when three-time Academy Award winning filmmaker Oliver Stone and a dynamic acting ensemble explore the fortunes of the Miami Sharks in 'Any Given Sunday'...
Advantages: Strong performances, excellent musical accompaniment,Highly engrossing Disadvantages: Predictable, and sometimes ponderous narrative,Subject matter may put some people off
Advantages: Storming cinematography, strong pace, great acting Disadvantages: might not like it as its about American Football, script a littel lacking compared to the other parts of the film
![Any Given Sunday [DVD] [2000]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78535561.jpg "Any Given Sunday [DVD] [2000]")
Dec 12th, 2000
(Mar 1st, 2001)
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