Menu
Media

"Red Army" Film On Soviet Hockey Teams Of '70s, '80s Debuts To Positive Reviews

Filmmaker Gabe Polsky's documentary on Soviet hockey -- "Red Army" -- hits theaters nationwide Friday, with SI's Ben Reiter noting the film is "kinetic and enthralling," documenting teams of the late '70s and early '80s. Polsky "wisely sets clips" of the teams' "weaving attacks to the classical music that partly inspired them." The movie "showcases the men who fulfilled" the vision of Soviet coach Anatoli Tarasov, "bringing them into focus not as robots but as individuals." In the film, the players' "relentless brilliance becomes not a display of Communist might but a rebuke of it." The ice was the "only place where they were truly free." Polsky’s documentary shows how late Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov "made his players pay for their loss." He forced them to "stay in a remote training camp, where he commanded them to work out up to four times a day." He allowed them "just 36 nights a year at home with their families" (SI, 1/26 issue). In L.A., Jeffrey Fleishman wrote "Red Army" is as "much an intriguing glimpse at the Cold War as it is a reminder that the ill will between Moscow and Washington lives on." Polsky's focus is on a "band of men who trained like boxers and skated like ballerinas on what was considered the best hockey team in the world." The film captures "an era when sports were extensions of politics" (L.A. TIMES, 1/21). MCCLATCHY's Roger Moore wrote "Red Army" is a "delightful eye-opener, an entertaining history lesson that allows Cold Warriors, given the gift of time, to appreciate just how magical those dominant Red Army Club teams were in the '70s and '80s." Polsky "wisely builds the film" around interviews with former NHLer Slava Fetisov. Moore: "If you don't know his story, you will be drawn in to his battles with authorities, his betrayal by teammates, his pride and his difficult adjustment to the North American version of the game he has loved since birth" (MCCLATCHY-TRIBUNE NEWS SERVICE, 1/19). 

SEEING RED: ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY's Chris Nashawaty writes, "We finally get to see these athletes for who they really were." The film "humanizes a group of men who were cast by history in the role of villains." The documentary "really comes to life whenever Fetisov is on camera." Occasionally "flipping the bird to a line of questioning, Fetisov gets choked up recalling the brotherly bond between his teammates and how they felt like pawns of the state, ripped away from their families for the glory of Mother Russia" (ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, 1/30 issue). The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Joe Morgenstern writes Fetisov "reveals himself to be a knight of honor, a prince among men, and one of the most likable, soulful sports heroes you could ever hope to meet." “Red Army” is "much more than a biography of a great athlete." It is the "story of a sport that became a symbol of international power for a nation that abused its stars while extolling them, along with a portrait of a virtuoso who played for love of the game, then quit the Soviet team and the country of his birth for love of freedom" (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 1/23). In N.Y., Pat Leonard wrote every story "is told honestly, even if harshly, to present fascinating insight into the lives of many great hockey players who most Americans probably know only from the names on the backs of their NHL jerseys" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 1/21). In L.A., Kenneth Turan writes "Red Army" is a "charming documentary," and viewers will "be surprised by its sociopolitical and personal content and the engaging way it tells its story." The Soviet players "may have been miserable, but this film's narrative could charm even a grumpy ice-skating bear" (L.A. TIMES, 1/23).

SBJ Morning Buzzcast: March 18, 2024

Sports Business Awards nominees unveiled; NWSL's historic opening weekend and takeaways from CFP deal

ESPN’s Jay Bilas, BTN’s Meghan McKeown, and a deep dive into AppleTV+’s The Dynasty

On this week’s Sports Media Podcast from the New York Post and Sports Business Journal, ESPN’s Jay Bilas talks all things NCAA. Big Ten Network’s Meghan McKeown shares her insight into the Caitlin Clark craze. The Boston Globe’s Chad Finn chats all things Bean Town. And SBJ’s Xavier Hunter drops in to share his findings on how the NWSL is making a social media push.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

SBJ I Factor: Nana-Yaw Asamoah

SBJ I Factor features an interview with AMB Sports and Entertainment Chief Commercial Office Nana-Yaw Asamoah. Asamoah, who moved over to AMBSE last year after 14 years at the NFL, talks with SBJ’s Ben Fischer about how his role model parents and older sisters pushed him to shrive, how the power of lifelong learning fuels successful people, and why AMBSE was an opportunity he could not pass up. Asamoah is 2021 SBJ Forty Under 40 honoree. SBJ I Factor is a monthly podcast offering interviews with sports executives who have been recipients of one of the magazine’s awards.

Shareable URL copied to clipboard!

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2015/01/23/Media/Red-Army.aspx

Sorry, something went wrong with the copy but here is the link for you.

https://www.sportsbusinessjournal.com/Daily/Issues/2015/01/23/Media/Red-Army.aspx

CLOSE