Canada Russia '72

One of the great moments of Canadian sport came when I was in an Ottawa tavern in Sept. 1972 and Paul Henderson scored the winning goal against Russia to redeem Canadian hockey. Everyone in that room let out a burst of joy and relief when that goal came. No one who saw it on the grainy film that came out of Moscow will ever forget it.

A movie can never recapture that moment but I still couldn't tear myself away from the TV when Canada-Russia '72 movie was shown. It brought it all back. Gabriel Hogan as Ken Dryden gives a good portrayal of Mr. Goalie, who had his own ups and downs in the series. Other actors brought a ring of truth to Phil Esposito and Coach Harry Sinden. Esposito was the leader (with all his warts) and Sinden was head and shoulders above the other guys behind the bench. I liked Sonia Laplante in the role of a Canadian diplomatic liaison, trying to walk a tightrope and juggle at the same time. She had to keep them on their best behaviour and at one point, she negotiated the release of a fan stunned and shaken after the Russian authorities arrested him for blowing a horn during the game.

The movie gives depth to what the team was enduring behind the scenes as the national fever mounted during the series. We see their stupidities and their hotel pranks, which made them look like a bunch of bozos until they settled down. The Russians were not blameless and the arrest and humiliation of one Canadian fan was news to me. Was this historical fiction or was it true? Only the players know how accurate this is.

Nevertheless, it is true that the team and all of Canada was in shock after the first game. It should not have been surprising that a group of individualists would not automatically blend into a unit off the bat. We were so naive in our assumptions. With hindsight we see how mistaken the herd instinct can be. This comes through loud and clear in the movie.

I take issue with Canadians not supporting the team. Certainly everyone was cheering them on, despite the disappointments. If it had been a walkover, there would be no drama and Canadians got involved because our international reputation was on the line. Before the series went back to Russia, Canada was down. Along with millions of others I sent postcards of support; in my case, one to Sinden and one to Esposito. Win or lose, I was with them and so were millions of other Canadians who wanted them to win and so they did...in dramatic fashion.

I am not sure the documentary feel worked because they kept cutting to actual footage. The stock did not match. I know they shot it super 16mm instead of 35mm to get closer to what a documentation would have looked like. However, I know they have a VERY tight budget, so were able to accomplish a lot with a little. I do not know if people who did not care about the hockey summit to begin with would get into it. It was a lot of fun to watch them make it. The guy who played Clarke (John Bregar) was pretty nice to the extras. The hardest part was getting the crew off the ice between takes. You throw these guys in a hockey rink and they are kids all over again. I rated it kinda high cause I took a couple of days off work to be an extra in Moscow. It was great that they used some New Brunswick people too. I know Jonathan Collicott was an Assistant Director, Glendon McKinney was working in the Art Department, and Glen Ross was taking pictures. There was also several NB Film Co-op members seen on screen as extras (Nik Mills, Chisholm Pothier, Jeff Combs, Sebastian MacLean just to name a few).

The Canadians did not "blow the Russians away" as the previous uninformed commentary claimed, they were hammered several times in the series by the Russians who were every bit their equal and in the end, Canada won the last game with 34 seconds left. If the Russians were so blown away by multi goal victories, then they wouldn't have been leading on goal difference by the end, would they? Anyways, it accurately shows the sometimes shameful tactics of both sides to gain the advantage. The Canadians started things by mistreating and talking down to the Russians and then attacking them and refusing to shake hands because they were blown out in game 1, the Russians responded by ensuring the Canadians' time in Russia was as difficult as possible by removing conveniences and selecting certain aspects of the games. However, the real defining moments come down to the Canadians' refusal to honour the agreements made months before and demanding official changes or they wouldn't play, sounding like spoiled brats, and then of course Bobby Clarke's famous cheap shot. In Game 6 Clarke's blatant slash on Russia's best player Valery Kharlamov, carried out on Coach Ferguson's orders, was an absolute disgrace and ruined the series, denying people the opportunity to see both teams at their best in the last games as Russia lost them in closely fought battles that their hero was unable to impact thanks to his severely injured ankle.

As good as this series was and as fantastic as both teams were, people like Clarke and Ferguson make it hard to understand just how things like that can be tolerated, as in any other sport an intent to injure like that is roundly condemned. The Canadians won, but they hardly steeped themselves in honour regarding the way they achieved that victory, and this film accurately and fairly portrays this aspect of the teams.

I think many of the 'actors' are gifted hockey players & lookalikes--there's not much on their resumé at IMDB. The photo of the guy playing John Ferguson is more like a Mugshot, which is fitting for the character! (Meant in a good way). Gerry Dee, though, plays an awesome chippy Wayne Cashman.

I am re-watching this amazing CBC production, from which the only thing I recall is 1) the Vancouver fans booed Team Canada from the beginning 2) Ferguson's later response to Bobby Clarke breaking Kharlomov's ankle: 'Hockey is a real tough game.'

A three-Cd set, with tons of insight & anecdotes you won't see on the package that has the 8 full games (yeah, I got that, too).

First, let me say I enjoyed this TV movie more than I thought. Like nearly every other Canadian over 40, I remember the Henderson goal and the drama leading up to it. So, I thought a drama about "the drama" would surely fall short. I was pleasantly surprised. The key characters are all well represented with their most memorable features intact. We have Eagleson the Shyster, Sinden the Skinflint, Espo the Braggart, Ferguson the Vulgar, Cournoyer the Shy, Dryden the Intellectual, and Henderson the Hero (sort of a Canuck 7 dwarfs). The period setting and feel is dead on, reminiscent of the movie TRUDEAU which took place roughly the same time. Like TRUDEAU, the true Canadian soundtrack helps immensely. The Poppy Family's "Evil Grows", Lighthouse's "One Fine Morning", Crowbar's "Oh, What A Feeling", and 2 tunes each from Five Man Electrical Band("Signs","Absolutely Right") and The Guess Who("No Sugar Tonight" and "No Time")punctuate the plot at appropriate times. The film ends with Leonard Cohen's haunting "Avalanche" playing as a sense of relief settles over the players. This 70s soundtrack serves to remind us that we've produced great musicians as well as great athletes. Personally, I prefer watching highlights of the original thing (Cournoyer, the Roadrunner who got the TYING goal was a bigger hero to me than Henderson at the time), but this movie's heart is in the right place and you can't fault them for that. This movie will have limited appeal to non Canadians and non hockey fans, but for the rest of us, it is a pure delight to be reminded of our MIRACLE, our shot heard around the world, at least this part of the world.