Product Details

• Actors: Roy Dupuis, Rmy Girard, Stephen McHattie, Philip Craig, Diane Lavallee
• Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English, French
• Subtitles: English, French
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Palm Pictures / Umvd
• DVD Release Date: December 11, 2007
• Run Time: 124 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000W04RWK
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #18,923 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

As a young boy from blue collar Quebec, Maurice Richard had a dream to play in the National Hockey League. Beneath his soft spoken, working class exterior burned a tenacity and passion that transformed this young factory worker into The Rocket.In the 1950’s pre helmet days of hockey, The Rocket played with a finesse, speed and conviction which made him a legend. A man of the people, denied equal rights in a culturally divided nation and ridiculed by critics as too frail to play hockey, Maurice Richard defied all odds to become the first player to ever score 50 goals in 50 games. This is the extraordinary true story of the man whose tireless fight on and off the ice ignited and forever changed a generation.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Maurice! Maurice! Maurice! ~ I Need Players Who Hate To Lose", December 24, 2007

By 

Brian E. Erland "Rainbow Sphinx" (Brea, CA - USA) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Rocket (DVD)

Note: French and English with English subtitles.

The '05 film `The Rocket' is a long overdue cinematic biography of the greatest hockey player and icon in NHL history. More than just a sports film, the story of Maurice Richard is a story exposing the corruption and brutality of the sport as it was in the "Golden Age" of hockey and the overt bias throughout the league against the French speaking players in general and the Montreal Canadiens specifically. In the forties and fifties it was literally Montreal against the world and Maurice was the one player with the ability and fierce tenacity to take on all the inequities thrown his way and become a legend in his own time.

I found the film to be absolutely riveting. The production values and acting is excellent and the dialogue insightful and realistic. Roy Dupuis was perfect in the role of Maurice as was Lucille LeBreton as his adoring and supportive wife Lucille. Even if you're not a hockey fan the film has much to teach about the era and more than hints to the reasons as to why there is so much internal strife between French and English speaking Canada to this day.

My highest recommendation: -5 Stars-.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Rocket scores BIG, December 3, 2007

By 

Romans 13:4 (Midwest, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Rocket (DVD)

Bought this last summer through a Canadian outlet since it wasn't released in the States. Great movie if you don't mind the subtitles. The actor almost looks like Maurice too. Little cameos by Mike Ricci, Sean Avery and Ian Laperriere. If you're even a little bit of a hockey fan I would recommend this movie.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE BABE RUTH OF HOCKEY!!, December 22, 2007

By 

Loves To Read "Lu" (Twin Cities, MN USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Rocket (DVD)

It may be hard to imagine today but in 1937 the NHL consisted of 6 teams and was on the verge of folding. It desperately needed a hero. Working as a machinist in a factory was a young French-Canadian named Maurice Richard with dreams of playing in the NHL. When he finally earned a tryout with the Montreal Canadiens, he had already suffered one serious injury, and despite an impressive tryout, the owners did not want to take a chance. The coach took a hard line stance in favor of the young Maurice and got him on the team. He soon proved the owners right by getting injured again. It took some incredibly hard rehabilitation as well as enduring some brutal attacks by teammates who were testing him to convince the owners to give him another chance. So began the career of, arguably, the most loved and well known Montreal Canadien ever. He has been called the 'Babe Ruth of hockey'. In some ways, he was more like Jackie Robinson. French-Canadians had about the same status as African-Americans in the U.S. Although not the first F-C to play in the NHL, his success and popularity threatened the status quo. Despite scoring 50 goals in 50 games, he didn't win the scorng title because the teams conspired against him to the point of awarding assists to players not even on the ice to build up their point totals. As an aside, F-C fans even had to sit in a segregated section of the arena which was enclosed by a chain link fence. Not only is this an entertaining and inspiring hockey movie but it's a great education for someone not familiar with the history of Quebec and the fight for equality by the French Canadians. WWW.LUSREVIEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM