The "Ultimate" "Sports" "Film" A Documentary

The course, a seminar in critical writing, surveyed a number of pivotal sports films such as Leni Riefenstahl's controversial Olympia and Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull. Students composed critical essays exploring the questions raised by these films and their relevance to contemporary culture. At the end of the semester, students were placed into random groups, asked to reflect on the course, and create "the ultimate sports film." While it is no surprise that the group could not agree on "the ultimate sport," what is surprising is their creative and clever use of that disagreement. The film ultimately reveals as much about "composition" (cinematic and writerly) as about sports.