Category: Movies

“Borg vs. McEnroe” On the Men and the Match (Short Review)

Borg vs. McEnroe I recall watching the famous 1980 Wimbledon men’s championship game between John McEnroe and Björn Borg. In what may be the most famous tennis match of all time, the two men battled back and forth, highlighted by a tie-breaker in the fourth set that was won by a score of 18-16.  A new film, Borg vs. McEnroe (2018), attempts to capture that drama while also revealing more details about the two tennis players.

Borg vs. McEnroe, with a screenplay by Ronnie Sandahl, provides some backstory about the two men, especially Björn Borg.  We see the Swede as a driven child with a bit of the temperament and lack of emotional control we associate with McEnroe.  But Borg works to establish a more cool and calm persona, while the movie reveals trouble burning beneath the surface.  As Borg, actor Sverrir Gudnason is the highlight of the film, presenting a realistic portrayal while bearing an uncanny resemblance to the tennis player who was attempting to win his fifth consecutive Wimbledon championship.

As the upstart emotional challenger John McEnroe, Shia LaBeouf gives one of his best performances to date.  But partly because the film focuses more on Borg and partly because McEnroe had such a larger-than-life personality, it is more difficult to imagine anyone else as him.

Regarding the drama of the big match, Borg vs. McEnroe does a decent job capturing the back-and-forth of the match and the anguish and joy of the competition.  Still, because tennis is a game of so many points scored and no ticking clock, filmmakers face a challenge to create a great sports movie about tennis.  There is no one key football play as time runs out, there is no game-winning home run, and there is no rally in the final minutes in the boxing ring.

So, in the classic match, the movie version lacks the drama of watching the players in real time in a match where even today the main parties remember every point.  Still, director Janus Metz Pedersen keeps the viewer engaged in the Borg-McEnroe battle until the end, helping explain why the film has a decent 83% critics rating and 72% audience rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Regarding the match and the relationship between the two men, HBO produced an excellent 2011 documentary McEnroe/Borg: Fire & Ice.  I recommend that film, which features extensive interviews with the two key players, for anyone interested in learning more about Borg and McEnroe and their relationship after watching Borg vs. McEnroe.

Overall, Borg vs. McEnroe will not go down as one of the all-time great sport movies and it never quite completely captures one of sports’ all-time great rivalries.  But if you wish to re-live the famous match or do not know anything about it, you may enjoy spending 100 minutes with this well-directed and well-acted film.

Borg vs. McEnroe is available in theaters, pay-per-view, and on Amazon Prime.

Below is video of the actual match from 1980, although you may want to wait to watch it until after you see the movie.  Check it out.



Do you remember the famous Borg-McEnroe match? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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100 Years At the Movies

Movie History Montage

Occasionally, while watching a film on Turner Classic Movies, during the break between movies I’ve caught a wonderful montage of movies throughout history. I am always mesmerized by it.  During the video, I cannot change the channel or turn off the TV. The short montage, called 100 Years At the Movies, takes the viewer through the history of movies up to 1994.

The segment begins with a movie shown in a former shoe store on April 14, 1894. Viewers watched the moving pictures through a slot, making it the first commercial movie in history. With that humble beginning, the motion picture industry has captivated viewers, making us laugh, cry, think, feel, and watch in awe.

The short film 100 Years At the Movies, takes us through that history.  It features short clips from some of the greatest movies during the century. It will remind you of the joy you have received from watching movies. At the same time it will test your memory to try to name as many as you can as they quickly flash by.

Chuck Workman created 100 Years At the Movies for TCM. Check it out.


Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies (Book Review)

    Ann Hornaday Ann Hornaday, who is chief film critic at the Washington Post, recently wrote a book to help viewers understand what they are seeing on the big screen and how to think about what they see.  Her book, Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies (2017), is like a crash college course on appreciating film.

    Hornaday explains in the introduction that the book “Is designed to guide readers through a medium that, as it morphs into an ever more constant presence in our lives, has called upon everyone to be their own most trusted film critics.”

    The book chapters break up various aspects of movies, starting with The Screenplay and Acting all the way through Cinematography, Editing, and Directing.  Each chapter tells the viewer what to watch for to appreciate the good and bad qualities of certain movies.

    Talking Pictures likely will not radically change your understanding of movies.  But Hornaday is not trying to provide the definitive treatise on movie-making.  Instead, Talking Pictures is an easy and enjoyable trip through various aspects of watching and appreciating movies.

    Hornaday writes in an easy-to-understand manner.  One of the best parts of the book is her use of actual movies to illustrate her points.  Most of the films will be familiar to the average movie fan, so the reader will easily understand the examples.  Hornaday also mentions some movies you might not have seen, which will peak your curiosity to seek out those films.  Similarly, at the end of each chapter, Hornaday provides a list of recommended films related to the chapter’s topic.

    If you love movies and want to learn more about how to appreciate and how to talk about film like a movie critic, check out Talking Pictures: How to Watch Movies.

    What is your favorite book about film?  Leave your two cents in the comments.

    Who Was Blaze Foley?

    Blaze Foley If I Could

    Blaze Foley, who was born as Michael David Fuller on December 18, 1949, died less than 40 years later from a gunshot wound on February 1, 1989.  The singer-songwriter never achieved the fame that some of his friends did, but Blaze Foley, as he became known, left us some beauty from his troubled life.

    I ran across Foley’s name recently while reading John Prine: In Spite of Himself by Eddie Huffman. In the book about singer-songwriter John Prine, it mentioned that one of Prine’s recordings I really like was a song written by Blaze Foley.  Prine is quoted about falling in love with the song before realizing that he had known the songwriter many years earlier. The story made me look up more about the man who wrote “Clay Pigeons.”

    Foley also wrote “If I Could Only Fly,” a song Merle Haggard performed for decades before making it the title song on his 2000 album. Foley hung around in that Texas group of songwriters that also included Townes Van Zandt.

    Foley lived an interesting, although short, life.  Townes even wrote a song about Foley (“Blaze’s Blues”) as did Lucinda Williams (“Drunken Angel”).

    Foley was shot dead in 1989 reportedly because he was protecting an old man from being abused by his son.  Foley was only 39.

    Below, Foley performs “If I Could Only Fly” at a friend’s wedding.

    Movies and a Book About Foley

    There are a number of resources to learn more about Foley, such as the book Living in the Woods in a Tree: Remembering Blaze Foley (North Texas Lives of Musician Series), written by Foley’s lover Sybil Rosen about her experiences living with the singer. He wrote “If I Could Only Fly” about her.

    There is a documentary about Foley’s life entitled Duct Tape Messiah (2011 and 2013), with the title referencing Foley’s practice of using duct tape to decorate his clothes. The movie was directed and produced by Kevin Triplett.

    You may find out more about the documentary on the film’s website. There, you may also watch a short version of the film, Duct Tape Messiah.

    Finally, Foley likely will be more well known soon. At the 2018 Sundance Film Festival, a movie about Foley recently garnered significant attention. The movie, Blaze (2018), is directed by and written by Ethan Hawke. Benjamin Dickey stars as Foley. Additionally, Kris Kristofferson plays his father, Alia Shawkat plays Rosen, and singer-songwriter Charlie Sexton plays Townes Van Zandt.

    Although Foley never achieved the fame he deserved during his lifetime, somewhere there is a drunken angel laughing.

    What is your favorite Blaze Foley song? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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    Enrico Caruso on Film

    Caruso MoviesThe great opera singer Enrico Caruso was born in Naples, Italy on February 25, 1873.  Apprenticed to a mechanical engineer when he was 11, Caruso also sang in church, eventually finding his true calling as a great singer.

    Caruso became a popular tenor in Italy before debuting at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City in 1903.  By 1904, he began his American recording career, with records bringing his wonderful voice to more people than could ever see him.

    Before he died in a hotel in Naples on August 2, 1921 at the age of 48, Caruso achieved worldwide fame.  Fortunately, his career coincided with the use of recorded sound so we can still hear his voice today.  The timing was fortunate for Caruso too, as he managed his business affairs well and the recordings made him a wealthy man.

    Below is a recording of Caruso singing “Vesti La Guiba” from Ruggero Leoncavallo’s Pagliacci (1892).

    But it was the early days of movies. So, even though Caruso appeared in the Paramount Pictures film My Cousin (1918).  Unfortunately, it was a silent film. Still, it is kind of cool to see him act. Check it out.

    The Great Caruso

    I have been to the Metropolitan Opera a number of times. My fondness for opera probably resulted from watching another Caruso movie while I was a kid. Growing up far from any place with an opera, my mom unwittingly introduced me to opera with the movie The Great Caruso (1951).

    So, when I picture Caruso, I always think of him looking like Mario Lanza, who did an excellent job portraying Caruso in the movie. Many future opera stars were also inspired by their exposure to Lanza, who also died at a young age (38). In this scene, Lanza sings “La Donna E Mobile” from Giuseppe Verdi’s opera Rigoletto (1851).

    There are a lot of great places to learn about Caruso. His Wikipedia page includes a large number of audio clips of the singer. And, of course, Lanza’s portrayal in The Great Caruso is an entertaining story.

    Photo via public domain. What is your favorite opera? Leave your two cents in the comments.

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