Sick Product of a Sick System

Instant Favorite.

Good story, Not enough for a whole film

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Many sports fans today recognize the nickname "The Rocket" and probably only think of Major League pitcher Roger Clemens. However, long before Clemens was "The Rocket" from Montreal.This movie is a nice tribute to him - Maurice "Rocket" Richard - one of the greatest professional hockey players of all time. A lot of people - especially in Quebec - still think he's THE greatest of all time. Those kind of things are always up for debate and there is no answer who is the greatest, but Richard's career numbers certainly rank him as a leading candidate for that honor. For many years, the National Hockey Leauge had just six teams and played 50 regular season games. Richard was the first to score 50 goals in 50 games. He also was on eight Stanley Cup championship teams, including five in a row.His statistics go on and on but it was Richard's heart, his determination to succeed under adverse conditions and, finally, his stance in sticking up against the bias against French-Canadians in the NHL, that brought him "icon" status in Quebec. He is truly a "legend" in his country and probably will be revered forever in Montreal.How much of this movie is fact, and how is fiction, I can't say. If you know movies, you know that many times a lot of it is made up for dramatic purposes. Yet, I think most of it here is pretty much on the money. I'm not sure about the riot scene because I think the movie infers that people rioted because of Maurice's big suspension.but, according to the report below, the riot occurred thanks to the league president attending a playoff game in Montreal following his disciplinary action.This is from the Wikopedia: "On March 13, 1955, Richard was given a match penalty for engaging in a fight with Hal Laycoe in a game against the Boston Bruins. He flattened Linesman Cliff Thompson in the resulting mêlée, and as that was his second attack on an official that season alone, a hearing was held: Richard was suspended for the balance of that season and the playoffs, which was at the time, the longest suspension for an on-ice incident in NHL history. Public outrage from Montreal soon poured in, but NHL President Clarence Campbell did not budge, and announced that he would be attending the Canadians' next home game against the Detroit Red Wings in four days.Midway into the first period, Campbell arrived with his fiancée. Outraged Canadians fans immediately began pelting them with eggs, vegetables, and various debris, with more being thrown at him each time the Red Wings scored as they built up a 4-1 lead. The continuous pelting of various objects stopped when a tear gas bomb was set off inside the Forum not far from where Campbell was sitting. The Forum was ordered evacuated and Campbell ruled the game forfeited to the Red Wings. A riot ensued outside the Forum, causing $500,000 in damage to the neighborhood and the Forum itself. Hundreds of stores were looted and vandalized within a 15-block radius of the Forum. Twelve police and 25 civilians were injured, and scores of people were arrested. The riot was over at 3 a.m., and left Montreal's Rue Ste-Catherine a mess."Whatever, the movie overall is entertaining and gives a good insight on what Richard and his peers went through in a biased NHL at that time. The film is as much about the prejudice as it is a biography of Richard. The only drawbacks I saw were wooden acting in some spots, too much dumb dialog and some of the action scenes which didn't look as real as it could have been. However, this wasn't a mega-bucks production, so I didn't expect it to look as such. I was very impressed, however, with the wonderful photography in here. That looks big-budget, all the way. Kudos to the cinematographer.It was fun to see hockey players playing the game as they did in the "old days," wearing no helmets and face-masks and not a whole lot of padding. If you think hockey is a rough sport now, you should have seen it back in Richard's day. You can an idea watching this movie. There are some brutal scenes on the ice. Seeing Richard punching the referee was worth the price of the rental alone! If you're a hockey fan, or a sports fan who loves history, you have to check this film out. Why it took several years to hit the video shelves, I don't know.

Roy Dupuis stars as "The Rocket" Maurice Richard in this epic hockey film. It is one of the best hockey movies I have ever seen, even better than Miracle. It doesn't matter if it's in French or if you don't even know who Maurice Richard was. You will get to know him during this film and want to know even more once the film has ended. It's an inspiring tale of one man overcoming hardships to prevail and show everyone how wrong they all were. 1950's hockey is portrayed with a gritty reality. Some of the most intense hockey fighting appears throughout this film. Dupuis really shines in Richard's relationship with his coach and his wife. Whether, you're a hockey fan or not, this movie is a must see.

(Sorry if I made some mistakes, English isn't my first language) I have already seen Québécois film before this one and I found only the comedic ones were good. But then I had some good surprises with Québécois drama films (C.R.A.Z.Y. and Aurore) and then there was MAURICE RICHARD.Maurice Richard is one of this movie that has the ability to get me in because of the acting (other films that gets me in because of that are Schindler's List, V for Vendetta, Casino Royale and The Departed). I especially like Stephen McHattie's performance as Dick Irvin. He is one of those actors (with Jack Nicholson and Mads Mikkelsen) that have all the qualities : a wonderful look, a great voice and precise facial expressions.Other great elements about this movie are the choreographies. The hockey scenes in this movie are definitively the greatest one ever made in cinema (wich is surprising for a no-American film).One of the plots element of the film is how a simple member of the proletariat who lives in an impossible situation will become a Canadian-french hero.

Transported into 50's Quebec culture with tremendous ease. This movie is intelligent, witty and thought provoking. Ohhh, and not a bad hockey movie either. When entering the theatre I expected a relatively entertaining couple of hours. Instead, I got a magical experience that all movies should be. If you want to go and see a mediocre movie, this is not for you. This is the Rocky of Canadian culture! If it was American, it would easily be up for a few golden statues. It made me think about why I like movies so much. How many movies do that these days? The acting, directing and writing is superb. This movie has bite! You can see the fire in the eyes of the lens!