50 Best Sports Movies Ever

37. North Dallas Forty

Year: 1979
Sport: American Football
Starring: Nick Nolte, Charles Durning, Mac Davis, Dayle Haddon, Bo Svenson
Director: Ted Kotcheff

As sports fans, we’re inclined to ask filmmakers to bring realistic products to the silver screen. Everyone likes a good action film, but without the realistic aspect, it’s just an over-the-top attempt at duplicating our favorite past times.

If nothing else, North Dallas Forty was praised for being one of the most realistic and accurate sports films of all-time—for all of the reasons that the NFL likely didn’t want it to be.

As proven here, being realistic isn’t always an optimistic thing. North Dallas Forty it shined a light on a very concerning reality in the world of sports: not only are recreational drugs being abused, but painkillers are just as real of a threat to a player’s health.

There were comedic moments, of course, but at the heart of the film was a battered man who walked the thin line of overwhelming pain and genuine addiction.

Nick Nolte has been in a number of sports films, and some have even cracked this list, but it’s North Dallas Forty that’s remembered as his prized sports role.

Nolte plays Phil Elliot, a star wide receiver for the North Dallas Bulls—a team very closely based on the Dallas Cowboys. While his hands are still elite, his body is breaking down and he’s depending heavily on painkillers to keep his life and career afloat.

Unfortunately, this isn’t a story that’s exclusive to cinema. That’s a major reason why North Dallas Forty is so high on this list.

Next: 36. 61*