Sports movies based on real-life events are often fun to watch but they aren't always accurate. While some are faithfully based on actual events, some tend to be highly dramatized for purposes of entertainment. Dramatization is not necessarily a bad thing since the actual story might not be that exciting.
However, when watching movies about sports teams or athletes that made an impact, audiences prefer to know the real story. A huge number of real-life sports movies have been made over the years and here are the ones that stick to exactly what happened and those that were buffed up, thanks to creative liberties.
Accurate: Rudy (1993)
The movie revolves around a man named Rudy Ruettiger who had dreams of playing for the Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team. However, he was undersized thus getting into the team was a challenge. But due to his resilience, he managed to do so.
Rudy Ruettiger has been quoted as saying that the movie is "92% true". This puts it more in the accurate side of things than the inaccurate side. The only thing he had a problem with was the players laying down their jerseys to demand he be included in the team. That didn't happen. Instead, it was the captain who requested for his inclusion.
Inaccurate: Remember The Titans (2000)
Remember The Titans tells the story of real-life African-American football coach Herman Boone (Denzel Washington). Boone was a phenomenal coach who attempted to integrate the T. C. Williams High School team in Alexandria, Virginia, and later led them to glory.
In the movie, the integration happened shortly before the championship season. In real life, it was a long journey. The integration happened six seasons prior to the championship one. T.C. Williams wasn't an underdog school. It was ranked second nationally by the time it was winning the championship.
Accurate: Ali (2001)
The Michael Mann movie that focusses on the prime years the most influential boxer of all time might not be considered a classic in its genre but it was fairly accurate. Muhammad Ali himself was consulted in the making of the film. He even attended Will Smith's training sessions.
A couple of scenes in Ali (especially the fight scenes) are also recreations of real-life footage. Everything is portrayed exactly the way it happened. Will Smith also gave an outstanding performance as Ali, earning himself an Oscar nomination in the process.
Inaccurate: The Greatest Game Ever Played (2005)
The film, which is set in 1913, chronicles the life of Francis Ouimet, portrayed magnificently by Shia LaBeouf. Ouimet was the first-ever amateur golfer to win the U.S. Open. At that time, golf was a sport reserved for the wealthy. Ouimet was from a lower-class immigrant family.
While The Greatest Game Ever Played showed Ouimet winning the playoff by a single stroke, he actually won it by five and six strokes to his two nearest competitors. The film also took a couple of other liberties from the Mark Frost book from which it is based. The book is said to be the most accurate version of events.
Accurate: Invictus (2009)
Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon were both nominated for Oscars for their performances in this film. Directed by Clint Eastwood, Invictus chronicles the journey South Africa rugby team (The Springboks) before and during the iconic 1995 Rugby World Cup.
Freeman played South African President Nelson Mandela while Damon played Springboks captain François Pienaar. But is the film really accurate? It turns out it is. Everything including the presence of only one non-white player in the Springboks was entirely truthful.
Inaccurate: Invincible (2006)
Invincible covers the professional life of Philadelphia Eagles star Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), who had a remarkable run from 1976 to 1978, thanks to his dedicated coach Dick Vermeil. While it is true that Papale was once a bartender who made the Philadelphia Eagles team after a private workout, the movie is not entirely accurate.
The movie fails to mention that Papale didn't just come from nowhere. He had been playing semi-professional football for a couple of years before he joined the Eagles. His epic touchdown while playing against the New York Giants also never happened in real life. In fact, Papale never scored a touchdown.
Accurate: Offiside (2006)
Despite it being the most popular sport in Europe, Africa, South America, and Asia, there aren't always many movies about soccer. However, once in a while, a film about the sport gets released. Offside was a brilliant International sports movie that also touched on social issues.
In the movie, a group of six Iranian ladies who were staunch soccer decided to do everything in their power to watch the 2006 World Cup qualifying match between Iran and Bahrain. Women weren't allowed to watch live matches in the country so the ladies disguised themselves as men in order to gain access to Azadi Stadium in Tehran. The movie was even filmed during a live match and according to The Guardian, it's 100% spot on.
Inaccurate: Moneyball (2011)
In Moneyball, Billy Beane (Brad Pitt), the manager of the Oakland A's baseball team decides to recruit lowly-rated players instead of making mega purchases of superstars. He then teams up with an Ivy League graduate named Peter (Jonah Hill) to help in managing the team.
The movie was far from accurate. Peter is said to be a recent Harvard graduate in the movie with no sports experience but he actually spent two years as a chief scout to Cleveland GM John Hart. Former Oakland A's manager Art Howe also said he was portrayed inaccurately. A couple of key players were also excluded from the film.
Accurate: Rush (2013)
Just two years after he had become Thor, Chris Hemsworth gave an outstanding performance as the wild '70s Formula One driver James Hunt. The highly-rated film revolved around his intense rivalry with the more disciplined legendary driver Nikki Lauda.
According to the real-life Niki Lauda, Rush is completely accurate. After the movie was released, he gave an interview to Carjam TV, saying: "When I saw it, I was impressed. There were no Hollywood changes or things changed a little bit Hollywood-like. It is very accurate. And this really surprised me very positively."
Inaccurate: Foxcatcher (2015)
Foxcatcher was a well-directed and well-acted movie. As a result, it was nominated for five Oscars. The film tells the story of a multimillionaire who recruited two U.S. Olympic gold medalist wrestlers to coach other U.S. wrestlers. Soon everything turns tragic.
Schultz was angry at how the movie implied he had a romantic involvement with du Pont. He went to slam director Bennett Miller in a series of tweets. Schultz and Dave also never resided in the same house as depicted. It also took a lot of convincing for Schultz to accept du Paul's offer to train at his estate.