Maurice Richard

There are many great sports films and The Rocket belongs among the best of the best. If you liked Cinderella Man i would hazard to say that you might like The Rocket even more, especially hockey fans. I, myself am a fan of the Montreal Canadians and took two friends who were not and they both said that it was a great, great movie.

I went into the theatre with modest expectations, as it was a Canadian made film without a huge budget and yet when i left i felt like i had to wipe the grime from the factory that the rocket worked off of my clothes. I have no doubt that this film will be nominated for best foreign film at the Oscars next year, you don't need to know who the rocket is to really enjoy this film.

Bravo!

I have been a hockey fan for almost 40 years and have collected almost every dramatic film ever made about the sport. But, I'd have to say that "The Rocket" is far and away, the best one ever made. The cinematography is stunning, the acting spellbinding and the story gripping. It tells the story of a simple and tortured man who drives himself to excel at the sport he loves. It leads him to become the reluctant hero of French-Canadian culture, self-perceived as being held back and oppressed by the anglophones.

Roy Dupuis, who portrayed Maurice in no less than two other cinematic projects, perfectly captures the fire and intensity of the man in a most fitting, if not THE crowning tribute, to the legend of Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. Biname goes to great lengths to duplicate the look and feel of the late-30s, on into the mid-50s and certainly captures the collective agony and anger of early-to-mid 20th century French Canada.

Julie LeBreton is beautiful and amazing as Richard's wife, Lucille. Notable also are the cameo appearances made by NHLers Sean Avery (Bob Dill), Vincent Lecavalier (Jean Beliveau); Mike Ricci (Elmer Lach), Ian Laperierre (Boom Boom Geoffrion) and Stephane Quintal (Dollard St. Laurent). What "Slap Shot" proved, "The Rocket" confirms. Pro hockey players are damn good actors!

I realize funding for this movie was brought up in the infamous "Sponsorship Scandal" that dissolved former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal government in 2006, but you can't fault it at any level. It was worth every cent used to make it and it will be hard for Canadian cinema to duplicate this level of quality ever again.

This is a true biopic, depicting events that could be considered as corner stones of NHL's History as well as Hockey History. it exposes the life of the Rocket since he was a teenager. All facts are historical : the depression just before WW2, the social divisions (as those cages that surrounded an area reserved for francophones in the Forum). Most dialogs in hockey scenes are in English, as well as all those involving the team, coaches and so on, which is "by respect of historical facts" in the original french version. Actually, many dialogs are recreated as they took place (and can be verified in many biography about The Rocket), even the coach's (Irvin) "pep talks". Hockey scenes are true to reality, as the scenarios were matched with game descriptions and old clips, were reviewed by Richard himself before dying and also his wife, his children, as by Irvin sun's written and recorded testimonies and memories from his father (he was the first Mr. "Hockey Night in Canada" on CBC), reporters, and so on.

About the cast, my discovery is STEPHEN McHATTIE! HE IS JUST SUPERB IN IRVIN'S ROLE. Now that's a coach!! WOW. Actually the most credible I've seen in all sports movies around. Some of you who don't know about the Rocket, could find in Roy Dupuis some kind of weird acting... But actually, he played his role to the perfection, magnificently displaying the same kind of personality and behavior the Rocket had (he had the chance to study the guy's "attitude" in person for several years). The movie also adds historical drama, like the year when the Rocket broke Malone's record, a record that most considered as impossible to surpass, and which brought some sense of Victory to the people, just month before D-Day in Normandy (feb. 1945).

What you'll see in this movie, is what made such a man a true Canadian Hero, as it really was and took place during those days. It is also a true love story, about the couple Richard.

This is an excellent film. I think that thing that I enjoyed most about this film is its humility. Despite his passion and brilliance on the ice, Maurice Richard was a humble man who never wore the mantle of greatness easily. Many of his accomplishments are depicted in this movie, but in a way that reflects this humble, yet utterly brilliant and great man. I was fortunate to be at the last game played in the Montreal Forum, almost 40 years after Richard last played for the team. The sixteen minute standing ovation and outpouring of emotion for this man when he was brought to centre ice is one of the most amazing things I've ever seen.

If you're not from Quebec, and more specifically from Montreal, then it may be hard to understand the impact that this man had on the province. He was, during his playing days, literally seen as a religious icon. This movie does an amazing job at telling the story of the Rocket's lasting social impact upon Quebec, and it does so in a very quiet and compelling fashion.

I should also point out the incredible detail that has gone into this film. As well as being an excellent actor, Roy Dupuis is a dead-ringer for the rocket. Mike Ricci is a carbon copy of Elmer Lach, and Vincent Lecavalier is a ringer for Jean Beliveau. The cages separating standing room from the seats were an actual feature of the forum through the 40s, and very much a symbol of French-Canadian working class discontent in Montreal at the time. The photograph sequence of Sugar Henry the Boston goalie who shakes Richard's hand after his game/series winning goal in the playoffs is lifted right out of the hockey history books--an amazing detail.

In one of the comments on the film, the writer asks why there's no mention of Henri Richard, the "Pocket Rocket." The film really takes us up to it's climax, the Richard Riot, and Henri, fifteen years younger than Maurice, was starring with the Junior Canadians. Although he came up to play with his brother in the last years of Maurice's career, Henri was not on the team for the period covered by this film. The line of Henri at centre, Dickie Moore on left wing, and Maurice on right wing was called by the Rocket's great rival, Gordie Howe, the best line he ever played against. In a sense the movie stops at the point when Richard was the most popular player in Québec, that is before he became the greatest star in the rest of Canada too. When he received the Stanley Cup in Toronto after the Canadians swept the Leafs in four games straight to win their fifth championship in a row, everybody sensed it could be his last game, and he received a standing ovation in Maple Leaf Gardens, a rare honour for any visiting player, especially when he'd been throughout his career the Leafs' greatest rival. The film beautifully evokes the period when players were ordinary guys working for a living. The clothing and lighting are magnificent in capturing the feel of the forties and fifties, and the hockey sequences are amazing in that, having seen the Rocket play so many times, I lost sight that it was Roy Dupuis, not the Rocket, on the screen. And the sequence in which he kayos Bob Dill (Sean Avery in a piece of type casting if there ever was one!) is a dandy. That happened in New York and the Daily News, the tabloid famous for its great headlines, featured a full-page image of the Rocket standing over his fallen rival with a huge headline, "DILL PICKLED". I wish they'd put that in the film. Richard had a unique skating style and was unusual in those days because there were few left-hand shots playing right wing. And they were able to recreate one of the greatest goals in detail when the Rocket, after being knocked out by Boston's Leo Labine in the play-offs, returned in overtime and went end to end to score the winning goal against "Sugar Jim" Henry. Dupuis and the film magicians capture Richard's swooping, darting style beautifully. Richard may not have been the best player who ever played, but he was the greatest star the game will ever see. See this film and you'll be as close to seeing the real Rocket as it's possible to be.