Red Army (2014)

Directed by

Gabe Polsky

Genre

documentary film, biographical film, sport film

Country

Russia, United States

Runtime

1h 25m

Rated

PG

Rating

7.4 of 10 from 154 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary follows Slava Fetisov and the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. It shows how the players dealt with strict coaching and political pressures before some of them moved to the NHL.

informativereflectivenostalgictenseinspiringeye-openingbittersweetfast-paced

What happens

Red Army is a 2014 American-Russian documentary film directed, produced, and written by Gabe Polsky, executive produced by Jerry Weintraub and Werner Herzog. It premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival and was released in limited theaters by Sony Pictures Classics on January 23, 2015. The film tells the story of the Soviet Union national ice hockey team through the eyes of team captain Slava Fetisov, in particular the famed 1990s five-man unit known as The Russian Five. The film details the link between sports and politics. The film also narrates how players were wooed by National Hockey League scouts and eventually flooded NHL rosters. The film is particularly harsh on the ruthless tactics of coach Viktor Tikhonov about whom none of the players have a kind word. Tikhonov died in November 2014. The movie uses rare archival footage, including children singing "No Coward Plays Hockey." (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

More like this

• The Russian Five (2018)
• Слава
• Sport, Sport, Sport (1970)
• People who made the earth round (2014)
• Puck! Puck!! (1964)
• Fedya. Narodnyy futbolist (2024)
• Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
• The Champions (2014)