Saturday's Hero

When movies about sports are thought of, no masterpiece comes to mind. But don't ignore completely this flick about college football and the often nasty business behind it. Lee Garmes' cinematography, for a start, is outstanding. A flat, but sobering and amusing movie, this approach to college sports' dark side captures John Derek in his new life. He's about to betray his acquired values. As always in Hollywood sports stories, the pattern is as follows: young man joins the fray, succeeds, and then begins to question his traditional values. There are plenty of subplots which flow well and keep the interest. It's when Aldo Ray says to Derek "this IS a racket! Did you think the fans got in here for free?" that you realize you are in 2019 and therefore wondering how global those rackets have really become. Aren't players yet recruited and used not exactly for the sake of football?