Any Given Sunday [15th Anniversary] [Blu-ray] [1999]

Oliver Stone’s Any Given Sunday is now 15 years old and this newly released Special Edition Blu-ray just bleeds off the screen. Featuring a supremely aggressive audio/visual package, this is totally-in-your-face filmmaking at all times. Hurtling, stylized, frenzied cinematography from Salvatore Totino that shakes the senses. The hyperactive yet still lucid editing is in perfect tandem with the over the top subject material and everything is played at just the right tone and pitch. The eclectic musical score compliments every wild and crazy scene. Al Pacino is at his Shouting-Mad best here, and he gets some seriously good dialogue from John Logan and Stone; his “inches” locker room speech is one for the ages. Stone brought major directorial intensity to each and every scene in this scathing indictment of professional football; in retrospect this film feels very ahead of its time. The cold, cynical message this film purveys is still relevant and topical. The absurdly deep cast all deliver deeply committed performances; standouts are an icy Cameron Diaz, a perfectly weathered Dennis Quaid, sleazy James Woods pushing pain killers on the players, and of course, the flashy and confident work of then-acting-newcomer Jamie Foxx, who holds his own with all of the veteran actors, and does a lot on his own with his arrogant, show-boating character. The sequence where he has dinner with Pacino and the chariot race from Ben-Hur is playing in the background is still one of my favorite scenes in any film. And let’s not forget about the in-credits stinger – so nasty! Great football action, sharp satire, fantastic visuals, and dynamite sound design help make this one of the best sports movies of all time.

I saw Any Given Sunday in the theater when I was 14. I thought it was a very good movie and may have told the future of pro football as we know it today. It is a story of the Miami Sharks coached by Tony D'Amato (Al Pacino) as an aging coach whose time has passed buts want one more shot before retiring. He is constantly at odds with team owner Christina (Cameron Diaz) who inherited the team from her father when he died. Jamie Foxx gives a breakthrough performance as Willie Beemen, the third string QB who gets a chance to play after starter Cap Rooney (Dennis Quaid) receives a devastating injury. Beamen ultimately leads the Sharks to several wins in a row despite the disapproval of his coach and star RB Julian Washington (LL Cool J) angry that Beamen calls his own plays and living a celebrity life off the field. Overall, it has an outstanding supporting cast with former football players Lawrence Taylor, Jim Brown and cameos from football legends. Oliver Stone pulls no punches when it comes to the grittiness of football on and off the field. It examines not only the game itself, but what happens outside the other six days of the week. Interestingly enough, it may have been a future look at the present day with the onset of concussions and other injuries. I have not seen many football movies in my lifetime but the ones I have seen are either silly or so positive that it falls on unrealistic. That said, this is probably my favorite movie about football. It is not a classic but it is a very good movie. Oliver Stone makes a good rebound from his previous movie U-Turn and scores a touchdown.

Any Given Sunday is a 1999 American sports drama film directed by Oliver Stone depicting a fictional professional American football team. The film features an ensemble cast, including Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx, James Woods, LL Cool J, Ann-Margret, Lauren Holly, Matthew Modine, John C. McGinley, Charlton Heston, Bill Bellamy, Lela Rochon, Aaron Eckhart, Elizabeth Berkley, Marty Wright, and NFL players Jim Brown and Lawrence Taylor. It is partly based on the novel On Any Given Sunday by famed NFL defensive end Pat Toomay; the title is derived from a line in the book (also used in the film) that a team can win or lose on "any given Sunday", said by the fictitious coach Tony D'Amato.

This is one of my wife and I's favorite football movies! This is a great depiction of what goes on behind the scenes of America's most popular sport. It's brillianly directed by Oliver Stone and a great performance by Al Pacino, (as usual.) It has a great cast including Jamie Foxx, Dennis Quaid, Cameron Diaz, James Woods, and Jim Brown. (I could've done without LL Cool J.) The film is about the NFL, but the team names are different due to some NFL copyright law. If you're a football fan (who isn't), I highly recommend this film! Also, some other great football movies are The Program, Friday Night Lights, Longest Yard, and We are Marshall.

I think that "Any Given Sunday" was one of the greatest sports films of all-time and it was also one of my favorite sports films of all-time. I have seen and enjoyed this film several times and I have been a fan of Oliver Stone's films including "Nixon" and "JFK". I also think that Oliver Stone is one of the greatest filmmakers of all-time and that "Any Given Sunday" has a lot of entertaining, exciting and enjoyable action and drama and amazing storylines as well.

This is one of the best films about football or sports. It takes a more adult approach and dives into the mind set of the players, coaches and owners. It is a dark film and show the reality of sports. The football scenes are some of the best on film. The only negative is that the editing at times is questionable, especially during the games as there are some continuity issues.

Bottom line is there's enough standard sports-flick action to merit getting this film. A bit low-brow, but fun. Cameron Diaz does a great acting job as an owner - believe it or not. It was Al Pacino who wasn't a convincing manager. The plot was entertaining with homage to the physical price football players pay.

When I first heard that Oliver Stone was doing an insider movie on the NFL using the real team names and logos, I was pretty excited! Instead we got the Miami Sharks instead of the Miami Dolphins. Still a pretty good movie absent real teams and logos. Better than Ballers for sure, even though they got to use the Dolphins and their logos.