Canada Russia '72

First-rate cast and script! David Miller (Paul Henderson) was a stand-out, as was Judah Katz (Eagleson) Keep up the excellent work, CBC! I especially appreciated the accuracy of this account I felt the job was particularly good in view of the iconic nature of this project. The writers and director resisted the temptation to emotionally overload the story with a lot of false rhetoric. I appreciated the script's subtlety, the sense of duality felt by team-members, wanting to play their very best, yet under intense pressure to succumb to the 'win at all costs' mentality, perfectly exemplified by Henderson/Miller and Esposito on one hand, and 'The Eagle', Fergie and Clarke on the other. Like many Canadians I'm sure, as the series progressed, I felt I really just wanted my guys to "pull it together", and win the series- no matter how Hard-Assed they had to be to win it! Thanks again CBC! A very classy product! Mike Fullerton

One of the great moments of Canadian sport came when I was in an Ottawa tavern in Sept. 1972 and Paul Henderson scored the winning goal against Russia to redeem Canadian hockey. Everyone in that room let out a burst of joy and relief when that goal came. No one who saw it on the grainy film that came out of Moscow will ever forget it.

A movie can never recapture that moment but I still couldn't tear myself away from the TV when Canada-Russia '72 movie was shown. It brought it all back. Gabriel Hogan as Ken Dryden gives a good portrayal of Mr. Goalie, who had his own ups and downs in the series. Other actors brought a ring of truth to Phil Esposito and Coach Harry Sinden. Esposito was the leader (with all his warts) and Sinden was head and shoulders above the other guys behind the bench. I liked Sonia Laplante in the role of a Canadian diplomatic liaison, trying to walk a tightrope and juggle at the same time. She had to keep them on their best behaviour and at one point, she negotiated the release of a fan stunned and shaken after the Russian authorities arrested him for blowing a horn during the game.

The movie gives depth to what the team was enduring behind the scenes as the national fever mounted during the series. We see their stupidities and their hotel pranks, which made them look like a bunch of bozos until they settled down. The Russians were not blameless and the arrest and humiliation of one Canadian fan was news to me. Was this historical fiction or was it true? Only the players know how accurate this is.

Nevertheless, it is true that the team and all of Canada was in shock after the first game. It should not have been surprising that a group of individualists would not automatically blend into a unit off the bat. We were so naive in our assumptions. With hindsight we see how mistaken the herd instinct can be. This comes through loud and clear in the movie.

I take issue with Canadians not supporting the team. Certainly everyone was cheering them on, despite the disappointments. If it had been a walkover, there would be no drama and Canadians got involved because our international reputation was on the line. Before the series went back to Russia, Canada was down. Along with millions of others I sent postcards of support; in my case, one to Sinden and one to Esposito. Win or lose, I was with them and so were millions of other Canadians who wanted them to win and so they did...in dramatic fashion.

Watching this movie was difficult because of the shooting style used. Far too jumpy and with some pretty strange camera angles. I know they were trying to use a documentary style but the jumpiness of the cameras and the editing make it harder to watch and get a feel for what is going on. There wasn't a lot of flow, especially in the first of the two parts. The best parts of the film were the behind the scenes looks. The thoughts and actions of the players, coaches, politicians behind the scenes were definitely interesting. Unfortunately we don't know how much of it was accurate and how much of it was dramatised but hopefully they kept it as accurate as possible. Was The Big M (that's Frank Mahovlich) really that paranoid? Did Paul Henderson really just call Peter Mahovlich off and jump on the ice to score the winning goal in game 8? It would have been good if they had given some time to some of the other players who didn't play. There was no mention, for example, of Bobby Orr, yet he practised and travelled with the team but couldn't play because he was coming off knee surgery and didn't have medical clearance. Getting some insight into what he was thinking and how difficult it must have been to watch would have been interesting.

First, let me say I enjoyed this TV movie more than I thought. Like nearly every other Canadian over 40, I remember the Henderson goal and the drama leading up to it. So, I thought a drama about "the drama" would surely fall short. I was pleasantly surprised. The key characters are all well represented with their most memorable features intact. We have Eagleson the Shyster, Sinden the Skinflint, Espo the Braggart, Ferguson the Vulgar, Cournoyer the Shy, Dryden the Intellectual, and Henderson the Hero (sort of a Canuck 7 dwarfs). The period setting and feel is dead on, reminiscent of the movie TRUDEAU which took place roughly the same time. Like TRUDEAU, the true Canadian soundtrack helps immensely. The Poppy Family's "Evil Grows", Lighthouse's "One Fine Morning", Crowbar's "Oh, What A Feeling", and 2 tunes each from Five Man Electrical Band("Signs","Absolutely Right") and The Guess Who("No Sugar Tonight" and "No Time")punctuate the plot at appropriate times. The film ends with Leonard Cohen's haunting "Avalanche" playing as a sense of relief settles over the players. This 70s soundtrack serves to remind us that we've produced great musicians as well as great athletes. Personally, I prefer watching highlights of the original thing (Cournoyer, the Roadrunner who got the TYING goal was a bigger hero to me than Henderson at the time), but this movie's heart is in the right place and you can't fault them for that. This movie will have limited appeal to non Canadians and non hockey fans, but for the rest of us, it is a pure delight to be reminded of our MIRACLE, our shot heard around the world, at least this part of the world.

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.