← Back to Reviews
in
Red Army (2014)
Director/Writer: Gabe Polsky
Cast: Viacheslav Fetisov, Scotty Bowman, Mark Deakins
Genre: Documentary, Biography, History, Sports
Length: 1hour 24min
I love that movie poster, it's very Soviet retro. But you can't judge a movie by it's cover...or poster. Red Army is a documentary about the famed Soviet era Red Army hockey team. The film consist of rare archival Soviet footage (though I wish there was more of it)...and interviews of the surviving members of the team. Now they're older but their memories of living under a Soviet controlled sports program is still fresh in their minds. And if you watch this you will know their story.
It ain't pretty, the life these Soviet sports heroes lead was harsh. They were actual members of the Soviet army but played hockey and were literally held captive in training camps and forced to train around the clock, until they pissed blood...that's what they said! I took that to me their training was so hard it damaged their kidneys. It certainly damaged their souls. The team leader after having promises broken to him by an abusive couch, quit. He told a high ranking Soviet offical to ****, later he was beaten to a pulp for it.
Not for sports fans, oh sure, those photos I montaged make it look like this is a sports doc for sports fans, it's not. It's part Soviet history and part Western history as events in the USA & Canada played a big part in how the Red Army hockey players lives unfolded. But mostly this is a human story and it's rather shocking at times just how brutally harsh life was in the Soviet Union in the 70s-80s.
Director/Writer: Gabe Polsky
Cast: Viacheslav Fetisov, Scotty Bowman, Mark Deakins
Genre: Documentary, Biography, History, Sports
Length: 1hour 24min
I love that movie poster, it's very Soviet retro. But you can't judge a movie by it's cover...or poster. Red Army is a documentary about the famed Soviet era Red Army hockey team. The film consist of rare archival Soviet footage (though I wish there was more of it)...and interviews of the surviving members of the team. Now they're older but their memories of living under a Soviet controlled sports program is still fresh in their minds. And if you watch this you will know their story.
It ain't pretty, the life these Soviet sports heroes lead was harsh. They were actual members of the Soviet army but played hockey and were literally held captive in training camps and forced to train around the clock, until they pissed blood...that's what they said! I took that to me their training was so hard it damaged their kidneys. It certainly damaged their souls. The team leader after having promises broken to him by an abusive couch, quit. He told a high ranking Soviet offical to ****, later he was beaten to a pulp for it.
Not for sports fans, oh sure, those photos I montaged make it look like this is a sports doc for sports fans, it's not. It's part Soviet history and part Western history as events in the USA & Canada played a big part in how the Red Army hockey players lives unfolded. But mostly this is a human story and it's rather shocking at times just how brutally harsh life was in the Soviet Union in the 70s-80s.
The five man team that made up the heart of the winning Red Army team. These five were more than team mates, they were best friends.
Four of the Red Army team and their notorious coach, all decked out in the military uniforms.
There's so much more I could say about this film...but know this: I'm not a hockey fan, I've never even seen a game, but I did really enjoy Red Army.
.
.