I just read Ali Adair’s article about sports movies, “From Rocky to Rudy” and enjoyed it.

She said she could not think of any wrestling movies. There are a handful of amateur wrestling movies… though most are not well-known outside the real wrestling community.

Perhaps the most famous is “VisionQuest”, the mid 1980s film starring Matthew Modine as a high school wrestler focused on beating the unbeatable state champ. The movie has a great 80s soundtrack, and featured the first film appearance of Madonna (playing a singer).

A couple years ago, there was “Reversal: The Movie” about a high school kid who feels the pressures to succeed on the mat. In the late 70s, there was “Take Down” with Lorenzo Lamas as the misunderstood kid trying to find redemption on the mat, with a rookie coach played by Edward Herrmann. (Yep, Richard Gilmore from “The Gilmore Girls.”) The late Robert Urich played a wrestling coach in “Spooner” (Jane Kaczmareck from “Malcolm in the Middle” was his girlfriend.) Oh, and there’s “One More Shot”, forgettable despite the appearance of two legendary wrestlers, John Smith and Dan Hodge.

As for pro rasslin’ movies, there are a handful, most of them pretty sad. The one that stands above the rest is the 1940s film noir classic “Night and the City” with Richard Widmark.

None of these are in the same class as “Million Dollar Baby” or “Raging Bull” but they are movies.

Hope this helps,Mark