Canada Russia '72

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).

First of all, know this. My most vivid childhood memory is of classes being suspended on September 28, 1972 and everyone going to watch Game #8 of the Summit Series in the high school library. When Cournoyer scored the goal that tied things at five, I heard myself say aloud "They're gonna win" before several witnesses. Later, with 34 seconds left, Paul Henderson saved my hide and made me a seer.

I have always thought the '72 Summit Series was tailor-made for a movie, or TV mini-series. At last we have developed enough confidence in our Canadian film-making prowess to attempt something. The casting in this program is dead-on, with Booth Savage 'being' Harry Sinden, akin to Kurt Russell 'being' Herb Brooks in MIRACLE. I am reminded of Sinden's book 'Hockey Showdown' whenever Savage and Mark Owen (John Ferguson) perform together.

The interesting sub-plot about Frank Mahovlich's obsessive disdain for the Russians is something past documentaries have seen fit to gloss over. Does the storyline appear in this TV drama because Frank was appointed to the Senate and his life is now public domain? Alan Eagleson is portrayed with surprising sympathy despite his present incarceration for misappropriating NHL pension funds.

The kid who plays Esposito seems almost too handsome and clean for the role (Espo was exponentially more greasy, not to mention more arrogant and vulgar), although he did a great job with Phil's "speech" after Game #4 in Vancouver. The original play-by-play by Foster Hewitt and Brian Conacher still gives me goosebumps today - I'm glad they kept it in, particularly Hewitt's call of the historic climax.

The show isn't perfect, but it is a project that took kahunas to tackle and everyone involved should be proud to have been part of it.

This was on TV twice, both times I missed it. Luckily, my dad and brother were there watching it, without missing a minute. It was then that we knew this would be one of those movies that was calling our name to be in our DVD collection. This movie was extremely close to the real thing, from what I've heard from my knowlegdable dad and seen from real life footage. I guess anyone who was actually watching the series in '72 would know I mean, better than I do. Anyways, the acting was breathtaking, the sets were amazing, everything was just great. The atmosphere was believable and intense. Unforetunately, I wasn't alive in 1972 to see the real thing. Lucky for me, this movie came into being. It's the next best thing. If you're Canadian, be proud.

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.

This is a very curious film. AT times it looks amateurish, at times it looks documentary like and at times it looks like a typical Candian TV Movie. The feel of the movie is greats with the music, clothing and equipment but if anything the film should have been longer and some of the roles expanded. Some characters never talk. I kept thinking it had something to do with the actors getting paid more for having speaking roles.

However the film was very entertaining. I only wish some roles had been expanded and the office activities elaborated on. The role of Canadian fans and their reaction seem to be minimized and we never did see that guy eat - i think he said hat. It would have been interesting to have seen his reaction. What was Vic Hatfield's reaction after the win? Did he applaud or hold his head in his hands in shame? There were a lot of unanswered questions.