Al Pacino's Fast-Paced Football Movie Is A Classic That Sports Fans Can't Miss

Stone ultimately argues that there are good people in the money-choked game of professional football. But the tragedy is that the world is too aggressive for anyone to notice, and players' values have altered to fit what the world provides. And nothing will be undone by the end, making "Any Given Sunday" feel like a small glimpse — a "Sunday in the life of" drama that peers — into a world that will continue to evolve out of control. It's poetic. One can also see Stone's well-documented interest in combat all over "Any Given Sunday." There is a lot of war-like language used on football fields, and many parallels drawn between soldiers and players. There are several shots throughout the film of players miming throwing hand grenades, being blown up in explosions, or being mowed down by automatic weapons fire. The players are miming combat for fun, but Stone, in his inimitable style, also adds explosion and gunshot sound effects, blending them with the cheers of the crowds. Football is the pop version of war — it's secular combat. It's not lost on Stone that football is an outlet for humanity's warlike tendencies. And because "Any Given Sunday" is so widely ambivalent about modern football, one can argue as to whether or not war-like outlets are healthy. The film was released during awards season, but it didn't snag any Oscar nominations. Indeed, many critics bristled at how over-wrought, melodramatic, and long "Any Given Sunday" was. Many felt that the film was reduced to abstract platitudes about individualism without ever cohering into anything meaningful or emotional. Eventually, Stone recut the movie, removing 12 minutes, but adding six others, producing a slightly tighter 156-minute version. It's not dramatically different, but it is better.