The Deadliest Season

I would love to get a copy of the Deadliest Season. It was filmed at the Hartford Civic Center, Hartford, Ct in Nov 1976. I was the guy who was getting checked all the time and took all the slap shots My friends and I who were playing semi pro hockey in the area were the hockey players in this movie. We were paid 50 bucks a day which started at 6am and ended at 6pm for 10 days. When not being used for a scene the rest of the guys would sit in the locker room and drink beer from the keg that was supplied by the people in charge. With my 400.00 pay I bought a table saw from Sears, which I still use today. If anyone knows where I can get a copy, I would be eternally grateful.

Joe Tonelli

Pretty eclectic video fare... that is if the rightsholders had made it available as such. Better than average for a 1977 made-for-television movie. High-brow cast too, with Michael Moriarty joined by Meryl Streep, Jill Eikenberry, Kevin Conway and Mason Adams.

The film explores violence in pro hockey through the eyes of an American who learned it as a game, not a blood sport. Bobby Hull clone, Paul D'Amato plays his talented Canadian teammate who provokes a moment of passion that changes their friendship, not to mention the game, forever.

I'm sorry. Twenty-four years later, I still can't feel any revulse over seeing the guy who played Tim "Dr. Hook" McCracken ("Slap Shot") get skewered by Michael Moriarty.

In "The Deadliest Season", we have yet another example of a fine film which is sadly missing from the home video market. Made-for-TV movies are so often under-rehearsed, undistinguished productions wherein the characters portrayed are rarely striking or memorable. All the lead players in this film deliver standout performances which give their characterizations the feel of real, highly distinctive individuals. The cinematography, lacking the slick, glossy quality of so many big-budget features, is nonetheless effective in conveying an almost "documentary" feeling which seems to add to the feeling that one is viewing a slice of reality. Michael Moriarty digs deep for his scenes of high emotion which climax the film, far deeper than one ever expects in the TV-movie genre. One is mesmerized by the fine details of his portrayal of a hockey player, without much education, a simple kind of guy but with much decency and no will to harm anyone. The central issue of violence in professional sports remains an important concern today. Such films as this one intensify my frustration that there is no way to ferret out information as to who holds the rights to such titles. One wants so badly to appeal directly to such parties, begging them to release a decent DVD version of the movie.

This movie was true professionalism, and one does not need to be a hockey fan to enjoy it. It ranks right up there with the best of its genre, movies such as "Rich Man, Poor Man", "The Jericho Mile", "Dead Ahead: The Exxon Valdez Disaster", "Heart of Steel" and "The Day After". Kevin Conway gives perhaps the best performance of his career, and Merly Streep lights up the screen with her beauty and grace. If this movie is available on video, give it a shot.

I remember seeing this movie many years ago and it still sticks with me. Every time I see Michael Moriarty, I think of this movie. While I don't remember many of the details, Moriarty spearing his friend (on an opposing team) remains indelibly imprinted in my mind because I was just beginning youth hockey. A must see for parents of youngsters starting out in hockey as to what NOT to do when on the ice....