Any Given Sunday (1999)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Oliver Stone

Writers (WGA):

Daniel Pyne (screen story) and
John Logan (screen story) ...

Release Date:

22 December 1999 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Sport

Tagline:

Life is a contact sport.

Plot:

"Any Given Sunday" is a behind the scenes look at the life and death struggles of modern day gladiators and those who lead them.

Plot Keywords:

Nipples Visible Through Clothing | Title Based On Song | Beautiful Woman | Prescription Drug Abuse | Female Nudity

Awards:

3 wins & 8 nominations

US TV Schedule:

Sat. Oct. 11

4:00 PM

AETV

Cast

Al Pacino	...	Tony D'Amato
Cameron Diaz	...	Christina Pagniacci
Dennis Quaid	...	Jack 'Cap' Rooney
James Woods	...	Dr. Harvey Mandrake
Jamie Foxx	...	Willie Beamen
LL Cool J	...	Julian Washington
Matthew Modine	...	Dr. Ollie Powers
Jim Brown	...	Montezuma Monroe
Lawrence Taylor	...	Luther 'Shark' Lavay
Bill Bellamy	...	Jimmy Sanderson
Andrew Bryniarski	...	Patrick 'Madman' Kelly
Lela Rochon	...	Vanessa Struthers
Lauren Holly	...	Cindy Rooney
Ann-Margret	...	Margaret Pagniacci
Aaron Eckhart	...	Nick Crozier

Also Known As:

Gridiron (USA) (working title)
Monday Night (USA) (working title)
On Any Given Sunday (USA) (working title)
Playing Hurt (USA) (working title)
The League (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language and some nudity/sexuality.

Runtime:

150 min | USA:156 min (director's cut)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Malaysia:18PL (uncut version) | Malaysia:U (cut version) | Canada:13+ (Quebec) | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:14A (Alberta/British Columbia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Chile:14 | Finland:K-12 | France:U | Germany:12 (bw) | Hong Kong:IIB | Iceland:12 (video rating) | Iceland:L (original rating) | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:11 | Portugal:M/12 | South Korea:18 | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #37161) | Philippines:PG-13 | Singapore:R(A) | Singapore:M18 (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Cardozo Hotel - 1300 Ocean Drive, South Beach, Miami Beach, Florida, USA

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

NFL running back Darnell Autry auditioned for the film, but was told that he did not look enough like a football player.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: When Jack Rooney is working out, a crew member is clearly visible in the back of the room as his wife is speaking.

Quotes:

Christina Pagniacci: (Speaking to Tony) Why the hell do you think my father put me in charge you bullheaded moron!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Beef (2003)

Soundtrack:

ROCK THE SHARKS

The Business of Sports

When Oliver Stone isn't flaunting wild conspiracy theories, he actually gets down to the business of making some really good films. And Any Given Sunday is definitely one of those.

It's a difficult perspective for me to write about this movie as my favorite spectator sport is baseball rather than football. But the business end of it is virtually the same. Curiously enough I was in Miami last week and saw the Florida Marlins home opener. They are going through some of the same dealings with the Miami city fathers about a new stadium that you see Cameron Diaz having with Clifton Davis in this film. There's a possibility that Miami will not have its major league baseball franchise soon.

Cameron Diaz is the young owner of the Miami Sharks professional football team who inherited it from her late father who is described as one of the prominent owners in the sport, a kind of combination of Wellington Mara and George Halas. Her father gave Coach Al Pacino complete latitude to deal with his players, but Cameron is taking George Steinbrenner as her role model.

Al Pacino joins the ranks of players who have done outstanding portrayals of athletic coaches. It's an honorable tradition going back to Pat O'Brien as Knute Rockne. I'm not sure how Rockne would have done in the era of seven figure salaries, but Pacino is adapting the best way he can.

When I was a kid in NYC in the fifties following our three major league baseball teams, one of the great constants was Casey Stengel winning that American League pennant for the New York Yankees with Yogi Berra behind the plate. The catcher's job is similar to the quarterback's in football in that he sees the whole game and actually sets the pace in calling the pitches. As Yogi's skills deteriorated over time, Casey could never quite pull the plug on him as the regular catcher. As a result, Elston Howard who would have been a regular on any other team never amassed the statistics that probably would have put him in the Hall of Fame.

Pacino has that kind of dilemma here. A veteran quarterback in Dennis Quaid and an up and coming talent in Jamie Fox. Quaid's skills are deteriorating, but he has the heart of a warrior which Pacino tells him in my favorite moment in the film. And the lesson Fox learns from Pacino and Quaid is that if the team doesn't respect you, you don't lead winners. And winning is the bottom line.

There are a whole lot of good performances here in minor roles, the hallmark of a great film. James Woods as the slimy team doctor, Ann-Margret as Cameron Diaz's mother, LL Cool J as a defensive lineman who may have taken one hit too many. And what a casting coup Oliver Stone pulled off in getting Charlton Heston for a small role as the football commissioner. Who better to run professional football than the guy who brought the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai.

I think even non-sports fans can appreciate this film.