Which movies have the most and least accurate portrayal of track and field?

I've never seen a running movie where the actor looked like they could actually run. It's like actors pretending to be boxers or to play musical instruments - but even worse.

Ya, that is the one I thought of too. Not because of the "running knowledge" of the film, but the overall story arc is cringy.

I never got the sense he was a "star".

Weight lifting was not much a thing in those days for track guys. Training ideas were very different in those days so maybe that reflected the approach at the time? I have read about milers training through Bannister and it looks nothing like what milers train like today.

In the live action Fat Albert from the 2000s, the "real" girl who the cartoon characters come out of the TV to visit was on the track team and there are a few meet scenes as I recall. 5/10 for realism, they had cheerleaders at the meet (unrealistic) but the general look and feel of a high school meet wasn't too inaccurate. They showed a pole vaulter clearing what looked like about a 6-foot bar, so points docked for that I guess.

Most realistic, The Loneliest Runner, an autobiographical movie written by Michael Landon. The kid in the movie is a bedwetter and his mother shames him by hanging the sheet that he peed on outdoors. He runs home from school every day as fast as he can in order to remove the sheet before others see it. From this he gets good at running. When he grows up he's an Olympian, played by Michael Landon. That ending isn't realistic, as Landon wasn't an Olympian, but he actually was quite athletic before he was in TV.

Least realistic, Running, starring Michael Douglas. He's a contender in the Montreal Olympics in 1976 but falls sometime during the race. No one checks on him and he comes to, several hours later and finishes the race by himself. Traffic in the city has resumed but people starting noticing him, know who he is, and cheer like mad for him as he goes to the finish.

Best scene

The British one is “Run Fatboy Run”. Good movie

Prior to the early 20th Century, track was largely perceived to be a proper gentleman's sport and a fun pastime. The notion of specific training, not to mention a year-round focus on training, was viewed as unsportsmanlike, low class, and akin to how we perceive doping today. The Olympics changed that as national prestige became tied to sports.

American audiences overemphasize the importance of "realism" in movies.

Stories like St. Ralph and Jericho Mile exist outside our own reality, where the impossible of our reality can be possible within their reality. I don't know why the rules of their reality would piss you off as long as its effective in conveying the themes and emotions of the story.

Just like basic laws of physics of our reality can be ignored when one watches a movie like Avengers or RRR, the basic rules of likely outcomes of a marathon and training can be ignored when watching a movie like St. Ralph or Juno. In the reality of Juno, one obviously doesn't need muscle definition to be a district champion in the 800m. For proper movie watching experience, you should learn to separate the realities and rules of the universe when viewing a fictional movie. It's how the movies are intended to be viewed.

This is actually true. Liddell trained with long runs and hikes in the Scotland hills.

How is Prefontaine not mentioned?

Tris Prior in the Divergent series. Her face looks like Katelyn Tuohy.

Without a doubt Bruce Dern's "On The Edge" 1986.

"Just like basic laws of physics of our reality can be ignored when one watches a movie like Avengers or RRR,"

I'm sure all superheroes laugh at how they are portrayed in movies.

So what its a fantasy with the same rules as our universe, except ninth graders can win the boston marathon by training really hard.

James Bond is a fantasy where its just like our universe but with different rules of physics and anatomy.

Etc.

That is a weak excuse. A better one would be that these were budget films, or were trying to appeal to a nonsporting audience. Something like Rocky succeeds whereas I can't even find these 2 films without trying fairly hard.

There's a Sabrina movie that came out in the 1990s before the old show with some of the same actors. It's on Peacock. Sabrina Spellman was Sabrina Sawyer and ran track

Yes, that's pretty much it. I think in St. Ralph he doesn't actually win, but takes second, which back in the 50s would be in the 2:20s. Heck the race was won in 2:31 in 1952.

The movie itself is about miracles. The themes and messages wouldn't work if the movie were about a runner achieving something expected, ordinary, and well short of miraculous. It only works if the attempt is nothing short of being a miracle. The story exists in the universe where miracles do happen, including the mother waking up from the coma upon receiving the silver medal. Through the catholic teachings in the film, Ralph is taught what it takes for a miracle to occur. So we have two miracles occur in the movie, through means explained by the movie itself. Miracles happen in the reality of the St. Ralph story, that's a fact of the story's reality. The question for the viewer is, how can miracles be achieved in our own reality, in our own lives? Each viewer will probably have very different answers to that question. Some may feel more connected to the spirituality aspect, some more connected to the hard work. I think for all the message of St. Ralph is that miracles aren't going to happen on their own, but through your own actions/prayers/etc.

If you are just watching St. Ralph for the training and racing aspects and feel the realism is a problem, then you are missing the entire point of the movie.