Customer Reviews

The Rocket

5 star:		(18)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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-.

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.

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

There are only a handful of sports-related movies that rank among my favorite all-time movies of any genre. The Rocket is among them. It tells the story of "The Rocket," Maurice Richard. There are a couple of levels that should interest virtually anyone, hockey fan or not.

First, the film is nicely directed. There are some angles of Richard's life that were left completely out of this film, but that is understandable since the movie clocks in at a little over two hours. Every scene in the movie has a purpose, which means the movie never drags. Also, the re-creation of some of the scenes are painstakingly faithful to what happened in reality. I have seen a good deal of actual footage from some of the games and events in the movie. It is incredible how accurate the movie version of the scenes parallel the actual footage. It also doesn't hurt that the actor who portrays Richard looks strikingly like the real deal.

Second, the story itself is just plain inspirational and uplifting. Richard transcended sport in becoming a hero to the people of Quebec that went beyond the ice. He helped instill a sense of pride at a time in which French-speaking people in Canada were not having an easy time. Persistence, toughness, patience, and courage are a few of the words that can best describe Maurice Richard. All of these characteristics are brought out well in the film.

The Rocket is the perfect movie to show a young hockey player or athlete to help them understand that a person should never give up on their dreams. It also demonstrates that people should not back down in the face of injustice. I give this movie my highest recommendation.

I just got my copy of The Rocket from when I had pre-ordered it. I watched it again and it's still so good. It just came out to DVD. I love how it really shows what hockey was like during the 50s. The fight scenes with Avery are great and the story of Richard is inspirational. I want to watch it again already.

If you love hockey you will love this movie. If you watch it in English keep in mind that it is dubbed as it is based on the story of a great French Canadian hockey player. I enjoyed it thoroughly.

If you are a true hockey fan, this video is a must see. It tells the story of the Montreal Canadiens Maurice "The Rocket" Richard and his struggle to play the game. It is an inside story. If you think you know the story, you are probably mistaken and should watch and learn. Acting is great, cinemaphotography goes between between classic vintage B & W footage and new footage seemlessly. It is spellbinding.

I bought this DVD for my husband for Christmas because he is a big fan of the Montreal Canadiens. He and my 13-year old son loved the movie and said that they could watch it over and over again.

I am not one at all, and know very little about the history of the NHL. Maurice Richard was a name to me like other vaguely heard names, Bill Tilden or Bronco Nagurski or Babe Zaharias Didrikson. I know all these athletes have interesting and important stories, but I have never investigated them, so they remain basically unknown.

What prompted my wife to pick this film up, I cannot imagine. She has no interest in hockey, and nearly no interest in sports. But fortunately she did, as it is not a film about sport. It is a film about people, and the transformation of one man from suppressed bystander who allows injustice to go unremarked to vocal critic who stands up for right when wrong holds all the cards.

The Maurice Richard in this film is a quiet man, a loner, and a bit fearful. But he is possessed by a burning drive and a hunger that makes him nearly unstoppable as a competitor. We see him rebuffed when he seeks permission to marry, and then we cut to wedding photographs. So though he appears ineffectual, he gets things done.

When he decides to get things done off the rink, his world changes. I was riveted by the action and the story. The few complaints in here seem off target to me; I believed in this man and his life, his wife and his coach. Excellent acting, great photography, bad guys to hate. What more could you want? This is a beautifully made film, exciting and well filmed hockey action wonderfully blended with spot-on recreations of life in this time and place. I was constantly amazed at the detail and look. Athletes may have been loved, but they still lived something like normal lives.

I enjoyed my evening immensely. A story I knew nothing about presented well.

The Rocket is an excellent movie that combines both the story of Maurice Richard and the Montreal Canadiens with the subtext of racial and cultural bias against French Canadians in the 1950's NHL. I really enjoyed the portrayal of Maurice Richard as both star player and firebrand against a system mired in blind injustice. The Rocket is set in a time before mine so I cannot verify it's period correctness, but I enjoyed it nonetheless. The hockey sequences were action packed, the moral was not overbearing, and the characters really looked the part. The movie was neither sappy nor schlocky, but a great mix of sport and history. Richard's approach to standing up for his rights and demanding respect from the NHL is much like his powerful drives to the net: Down the right side and straight in your face. He shoots, he scores!!!