Dirty Games: The Dark Side of Sports

Jun 2, 2016

1h 33m

★ 8.8

Overview

An expedition to the dirty abyss of professional sports. The award winning investigative journalist Benjamin Best (CNN Journalist of the Year 2011) takes a global look behind the scenes at the colourful world of sports and exposes the bitter taste behind the multi-billion sports business.

Genres

Documentary

Production Companies

Benjamin Best Produktions GmbH

Dirty Games: The Dark Side of Sports Trailers

Cast

Tim Donaghy

Charles Farrell

Bonita Mersiades

Christopher Gaffney

Senol Guenes

New Jersey, June 18, 1994. Giants Stadium is awash with green as Irish soccer fans arrive to watch Ireland's opening World Cup match against the mighty Italy. The sense of optimism is infectious. The Celtic Tiger is in its infancy. Bill Clinton's decision a few months earlier to grant a visa to Irish Republican leader Gerry Adams has added momentum to an embryonic peace process. Jack Charlton's team walks onto the pitch before 75,000 fervent spectators who've traveled from across the globe for this game.

7.5

Mysteries of the Jules Rimet Trophy

May 6, 2014

Starting with a Nazi plan to steal the Rimet Trophy from Italy during World War II, the story unfolds like a great caper film. Our hero, Ottorino Barassi, a mild-mannered Italian soccer official, tries to protect a valued treasure.

5.0

Piché Returns to the Ring

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At 64, Bruno resumes training in order to return to the boxing ring one last time.

6.8

Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations

Apr 21, 1938

Starting with a long and lyrical overture, evoking the origins of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, Riefenstahl covers twenty-one athletic events in the first half of this two-part love letter to the human body and spirit, culminating with the marathon, where Jesse Owens became the first track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.

6.7

Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty

Jun 2, 1938

Part two of Leni Riefenstahl's monumental examination of the 1938 Olympic Games, the cameras leave the main stadium and venture into the many halls and fields deployed for such sports as fencing, polo, cycling, and the modern pentathlon, which was won by American Glenn Morris.

5.5

Everton: Howard's Way

Nov 11, 2019

After a decade of struggle and misfortune Everton became the best side in the land. Even better than their all-conquering neighbours, Liverpool! They won the FA Cup, thrashed Man Utd 5-0, beat Liverpool, home and away, and then strolled to the league title with a record amount of points. They steamrollered the great Bayern Munich and won a first ever European trophy and, for a time, were probably the best side in Europe. We will never know for sure - because they couldn't prove it... This is the tale of a man with Everton in his blood, a team intent on greatness and a city united in defiance. A story told by all the heroes of the day - the men that made history.

6.0

13 Days in France

Sep 27, 1968

This colorful documentary chronicles the events of the 1968 Winter Olympics in France. The events made international celebrities of skater Peggy Fleming and skier Jean-Claude Killy for their gold-medal performances. The camera accurately catches the speed of bobsleds and downhill racers and ski jumpers as they race for the gold. President Charles DeGaulle is shown observing the action over 13 days, which saw France earn the best performance to date in the winter games.

0.0

Gasoline Family

Jan 4, 2023

Documentary film that tells the story of Toninho and Cristiano da Matta, father and son who dedicated their lives to one big passion: Motorsport. Going though thier battles, comebacks, tragedies and glories in one of the world's most competitive and dangerous sports.

0.0

Gift of the Game

Aug 1, 2002

Acclaimed Florida novelist Randy Wayne White travels to Cuba with former pitchers Bill "Spaceman" Lee (Boston Red Sox) and Jon Warden (Detroit Tigers), and a band of baseball enthusiasts to find and revive the children's baseball league founded by American writer Ernest Hemingway in the days before Fidel Castro came to power.

6.5

Counterpunch

Jun 16, 2017

As boxing's popularity wanes, three fighters at different stages of their career make sacrifices to pursue their dreams of becoming champions.

10.0

The Big Boys' Playground

Nov 16, 2016

Stéphane and Alizée, two rock-climbers looking for a breakthrough, spend their winter in Catalonia—the perfect place for climbing hard. Their projects lie in the sector called “El Pati” (the playground). Success, more than a physical achievement, seems to be a state of mind.

0.0

Touched by Gold: '72 Lakers

Jan 1, 2012

Many consider the 1971-72 World Champion Los Angeles Lakers one of the greatest teams in the history of the NBA. But despite a remarkable run to the title that included a record 33-game winning streak, this group was the unlikeliest of champions.

0.0

Men In Sync

Apr 28, 2022

A short documentary exploring the gender inequality that male artistic swimmers are facing in the Olympics, including intimate interviews with Spanish mixed duet Pau Ribes and Emma Garcia, and legendary American male artistic swimmer Bill May.

6.3

Maradona by Kusturica

May 28, 2008

A documentary on Argentinean soccer star Diego Maradona, regarded by many as the world's greatest modern player.

0.0

The Coach

Dec 6, 2019

Oleg Kirillov - coach of the intuitive football team. It's hard to believe, but his wards are members of the national football team of the Republic of Belarus among the blind. Each of them appeared on the field for various reasons, but today they face a common task - to maintain their champion status in the national competition. Kirillov himself grew up in a disabled family and knows well how to communicate with his wards. He is not only a mentor, but also a friend of each of the athletes. An important element of the film is work with sound, it completely restored the sound environment that is natural for players, in which they focus on the noise made by the ball and the clear instructions of the coach.

6.3

Football Under Cover

Feb 10, 2008

David Asmmann's Football Under Cover documents the hard work involved in setting up an exhibition soccer match, known as a "friendly," between a German girls squad and Iranian women's team. In addition to showing how the two groups come from very different cultures, the documentary showcases what playing the game means to the members of both teams, and displays how passionate the fans of these two squads are.

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7.3

Stars in Brazil

Jun 4, 2014

The ultimate guide to the players on the road to Rio. Ahead of the world football tournament in June & July, Stars in Brazil celebrates ten of the world’s most talented players on the road to Rio. From Cristiano Ronaldo’s breathtaking skills to the brillance of Wayne Rooney, Stars in Brazil offers detailed player profiles, fantastic footage and exclusive interviews with football experts.

8.3

The Giants

Jul 1, 2021

We follow the epic lives of sumo legends who made it from humble beginnings in Hawaii, to becoming the first foreigners to rise to the highest ranks in sumo. Starting with Takamiyama who paved the path for Konishiki, Akebono, and Musashimaru who soon followed and ignited sumo fandom around the world. As diplomats for the sport and Japanese culture, these 600 pound outsiders share their hero’s journey from a small Hawaiian village, to having God-like adulation from fans across the world.

0.0

The Argentine Miracle of Tennis

Oct 28, 2016

No overview available.

Dirty Games: The Dark Side of Sports

Overview

Genres

Production Companies

Dirty Games: The Dark Side of Sports Trailers