By Lori Bartlett
Daily Press writer

Whether it’s the scrappy underdog overcoming all obstacles or the one-time great brushing aside the consensus of being washed up, win or lose, sports films often move audiences by their sheer power to invoke the thrill of victory or the agony of defeat within moviegoers.

Santa Monica resident Randy Williams explores the world of sports films in his recently released book, “Sports Cinema Movies: The Best of Hollywood’s Athletic Heroes, Losers, Myths and Misfits.” The book counts down the greatest sports films of all time, according to Williams’ standards. To make his list, a sports-themed movie must be more than flashy effects, it needs heart and power.

“The better sports movies are about bigger subjects, beyond the sport,” said Williams, “It doesn’t matter if it’s football, baseball or boxing, there is still larger themes. Some of the better ones are about redemption or personal transformation ... or a popular American theme is self-reliance. You can see sports as really the backdrop for bigger issues.”

His pick for number one is not a typical sports film, putting atop his list a drama that explores the gritty underbelly of the world of pool sharks — “The Hustler,” starring Paul Newman.

“’The Hustler’ was all-star filmmakers at their height. From cinematography, to the writing, to the editing, to the performances ... you had simply brilliant filmmaking,” said Williams.

ESPN.com’s “Page 2’s Top 20 Sport’s Movies of All-Time” had their own ranking for sports movies, listing “Bull Durham,” starring Kevin Costner and Susan Sarandon, as their champion. “Bull Durham” claimed the No. 2 spot on Williams’ list, but his top pick’ “The Hustler’” only made it as high as No. 9 on ESPN’s rankings.

When it comes to sports films, everyone seems to have their own opinion about what should be in the top slot.

Amir Bouda, the shift manager at Blockbuster on Montana Avenue, said the football drama “Remember the Titans” was his favorite sports film.

Lisa McDonald, who works at the Adidas store on the Third Street Promenade, said, “It’s probably a popular one, but I’d go with ‘Any Given Sunday.’”

On Wednesday, celluloid’s ultimate boxing hero took to the big screen once again in “Rocky Balboa.” An older, but still physically fit Sylvester Stallone returns as the “Italian Stallion” in the sixth installment of the “Rocky” series.

In this one, Balboa returns from retirement to the ring in an attempt for some financial gain. Once back behind the gloves, Balboa is faced with the opportunity to step up to the reigning heavyweight champ, Mason “The Line” Dixon.

Although the holiday release will surely boast prize-winning box office numbers, Williams doesn’t have his hopes too high for ‘Balboa.’

“One of the problems is that there are so few good remakes or sequels. I mean, how many ‘Godfather II’s are there out there in any genre? But for Sylvester Stallone to play this iconic character, he’s just coming full circle and to go out on his terms, but I don’t have high expectations that it will exceed the original,” said Williams.

According to Bouda, the previous “Rocky” films have been a favorite rental leading up to the latest release with “almost all the copies checked out.”

This weekend, a football drama based on actual events called “We are Marshall” hits theaters for the holidays. Matthew McConaughey and Matthew Fox star in the film about a small town in West Virginia who lost 75 of its college football players in an airplane crash. The team struggles to pick up the pieces and regain strength under a new coach with a new team.

lorib@smdp.com