In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, here is a list of five of the best football movies of the last four


In honor of Super Bowl Sunday, here is a list of five of the best football movies of the last four decades, as chosen by comedian and sports talk-show host Robert Wuhl:

v“North Dallas Forty” (1979): A film that nestles between comedy and tragedy. Ted Kotcheff directed real-life Dallas Cowboy Peter Gent’s story about the “real world” of pro football, including drugs, sex, greed, competition and self-preservation.

v“Brian’s Song” (1971): The movie that made men cry as much as women. The relationship between Gale Sayers (Billy Dee Williams) and the doomed Brian Piccolo (James Caan) is the stuff classics are made of. Plus, you’ve got the great Jack Warden as Coach George Halas, and that Michele LeGrand score.

v“Everybody’s All-American” (1988): Based on Frank DeFord’s best-seller, this underrated film scores because of Dennis Quaid’s performance as a celebrated college football star whose career path goes from the heights of adulation to the depths of being like the rest of us.

v“The Longest Yard,” (1974): Arguably the best Burt Reynolds comedy, this is the standard all hard-core guy sports comedies have to compete against. To prove how much this film works, not only has there been an American remake with Adam Sandler, but also a British one, changing the sport to soccer in 2001’s “The Mean Machine.”

v“Heaven Can Wait” (1978): Warren Beatty’s remake of “Here Comes Mr. Jordan” is not just the best football romantic comedy but one of the best romantic comedies, period.

SUPER BOWL XLV (6:30 P.M., FOX): It’s time once again to rev up the gridiron gluttony — a day when we shovel thousands of calories into our faces, bounce off the walls and pretend to be diehard football fans. This year, the big game pits the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Green Bay Packers in a matchup of two of the NFL’s most storied franchises. Oh, but the day is about more than football. There’s the commercials and, of course, the halftime show, which this year has the Black Eyed Peas bringing the “Boom Boom Pow” to Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

“Glee” (approximately 10:30 P.M., AFTER THE SUPER BOWL, FOX): Even if you’re not hip to “Glee,” you’ll want to stick around after the game for the show’s razzle-dazzle play — an elaborate take on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”

“Brick City” (8 p.m., Sundance Channel): The inspiring Peabody Award-winning “Brick City” returns for a six-episode second season. The documentary series follows the citizens of Newark, N.J., and Mayor Cory Booker as they struggle to lift the city out of violence and poverty.

“Californication” (9 p.m., Showtime): Don’t you hate it when this happens? On “Californication, Charlie (Evan Handler) is shocked to learn that his vasectomy was botched, which means he could be Marcy’s (Pamela Adlon) baby daddy.

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‘Shrek’ at the Palace

CLEVELAND

“Shrek the Musical” comes to the Palace Theater March 1-13. Tickets range from $10 to $75 and are available by calling 216-241-6000 or at playhousesquare.org.