Barnes & Noble

Football, arguably the most spectacle-oriented of sports, is given the highly stylized, seedy-underside presidential treatment by Oliver Stone in Any Given Sunday, a lengthy, star-studded drama with the most graphic gridiron sequences ever lensed. This is the anti-Brian's Song -- as certain to make you cringe as James Caan and Billy Dee Williams make you cry. As depicted by Stone, the average football game becomes a clash of titans, an epic undertaking of Homeric scope. His players achieve almost mythic proportions, crunching bones and straining sinews in slow motion as an angry sky hurls lightning down at them. Off the field, they become mere mortals with very real faults and frailties. Not unexpectedly, top-billed Al Pacino dominates this three-hour spectacle with his portrayal of the weary, cynical coach of the fictitious Miami Sharks, desperate for one more championship. Very unexpectedly, though, Jamie Foxx, previously a minor sitcom star, is quite convincing (albeit undersized) as the Sharks' upstart quarterback who goes from third string to superstar in a matter of minutes. Those two receive admirable support from Cameron Diaz as the team's ruthless co-owner, Dennis Quaid as the aging, injury-prone quarterback, and especially James Woods as the unethical team doctor. This is another in the string of smarmy, detestable roles that Woods has perfected for Stone movies (including Salvador and Nixon). Despite frequent lapses into over-the-top melodrama, Any Given Sunday is an unusually brutal examination of pro football and its tawdry ties to the media and big business. And as such, it makes for a much more explosive outing than your typical Sunday afternoon at the stadium. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

Oliver Stone takes on professional football, a sport whose grace and delicacy are a good match for his filmmaking style. Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino), the head coach of the Miami Sharks, won back-to-back championships four years ago. But new team owner Christina Pagniacci (Cameron Diaz) has little enthusiasm for the finer points of the game and is concerned only with the bottom line. The longtime strongman of Tony's team has been "Cap" Rooney (Dennis Quaid), a 39-year-old quarterback, but Christina balks at renewing his contract. When Cap is injured during a game, third-string rookie quarterback Willie Beaman (Jamie Foxx) goes on in his place and becomes a major star. But Beaman is mostly interested in fame and money, and he has little regard for Tony and his teammates. Any Given Sunday also stars James Woods as the team's doctor, LL Cool J as a star running back, Jim Brown as a former football great turned Sharks' defensive coordinator, Ann-Margret as Christina's alcoholic mother, Bill Bellamy as a wide receiver, Elizabeth Berkley as Tony's favorite prostitute, and Charlton Heston as the football commissioner. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 883929035175
• Source: WARNER HOME VIDEO
• Presentation: Wide Screen
• Sound: Dolby AC-3 Surround Sound
• Time: 2:37:00
• Sales Rank: 25,126

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