Murderball (2005)

User Rating:

7.9/10   

Directors:

Henry Alex Rubin
Dana Adam Shapiro

Release Date:

22 July 2005 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Plot:

A film about paraplegics who play full-contact rugby in Mad Max-style wheelchairs - overcoming unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Plot Keywords:

Rugby | Paralympics | Wheelchair | Paralympic Games | Greece

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 14 wins & 7 nominations

Cast

Joe Bishop	...	Himself
Keith Cavill	...	Himself
Andy Cohn	...	Himself
Scott Hogsett	...	Himself
Christopher Igoe	...	Himself
Bob Lujano	...	Himself
Kevin Orr	...	Himself
Joe Soares	...	Himself
Dave Willsie	...	Himself
Mark Zupan	...	Himself

Directed by
Henry Alex Rubin
Dana Adam Shapiro

Produced by
Sara Alize Cross	....	associate producer
Christian Ettinger	....	co-producer
Micah Green	....	executive producer
Jeffrey V. Mandel	....	producer
Randy Manis	....	executive producer
Jeff Sackman	....	executive producer
Dana Adam Shapiro	....	producer
Tony Tamberelli Jr.	....	associate producer
Mark Urman	....	executive producer

Original Music by
Jamie Saft

Cinematography by
Henry Alex Rubin

Film Editing by
Conor O'Neill
Geoffrey Richman

Production Management
Jason Stoff	....	post-production supervisor

Sound Department
Patrick Donahue	....	sound re-recording mixer (as Pat Donahue)
Patrick Donahue	....	supervising sound editor
Matthew Haasch	....	sound effects editor
Jeff Rowe	....	foley artist

Camera and Electrical Department
Mitch Fowler	....	camera operator
David A. Rodriguez	....	director of photography: second unit

Animation Department
Damon Ciarelli	....	animator
David Egan	....	animator

Editorial Department
Brice Bishop-Pullan	....	post-production assistant
Will Cox	....	supervising on-line editor
David Egan	....	assistant editor
Tim Goodwin	....	colorist
Tim Goodwin	....	on-line editor
Jamie Gross	....	assistant editor
J. Matthew Jacob	....	assistant on-line editor
Stephen Walker	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Tracy McKnight	....	executive soundtrack producer
Tracy McKnight	....	music supervisor
Jon Solomon	....	assistant to music supervisor

Other crew
Carl Deal	....	archival consultant
Ilana Gordon	....	office assistant
Lori D. Greendorfer	....	consultant
Nina Gilden Seavey	....	production consultant

Thanks
Rob Blackie	....	special thanks
Lori D. Greendorfer	....	special thanks
Winona Ryder	....	special thanks
Rodney Whittenberg	....	special thanks

Production Companies

• Paramount Pictures
• MTV Films
• Participant Productions
• A&E IndieFilms
• EAT Films

Distributors

• MTV Films (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• THINKFilm (2005) (USA) (theatrical)
• 1More Film (2005) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Cathay-Keris Films (2006) (Singapore) (theatrical)
• Eurozoom (2007) (France) (theatrical)
• Divisa Home Video (2007) (Spain) (DVD)
• Epix Media (2007) (Germany) (DVD)
• Total Film Home Entertainment (2006) (Netherlands) (DVD)
• VPRO Television (2007) (Netherlands) (TV) (premiere)

Other Companies

• Cinetic Media  sales
• Commotion Records  soundtrack released by
• Film Effects  digital to 35 mm transfer
• Postworks New York  post-production sound services

MPAA:

Rated R for language and sexual content; Rated PG-13 for sexual references and language. (edited version)

Runtime:

Australia:85 min | USA:88 min | UK:85 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:15 | USA:PG-13 | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:NC-16 | Sweden:7 | Iceland:12 | Finland:K-11 | Malaysia:U | USA:R | Australia:M | Canada:14A (British Columbia)

Filming Locations:

Alexandria, Virginia, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

Christopher Igoe originally refused to appear in the movie. After more than a year of filming he was persuaded by the need to put his side of the story, rather than have it "mis-told" by others.

Quotes:

Reporter: Tell us about Wheelchair Rugby.
Mark Zupan: We had been calling it Murderball, but you can't market Murderball to corporate sponsors.

Movie Connections:

References Ocean's Eleven (2001)

Soundtrack:

The F**ked Jam

Clearly one of the best films of the year

I had the good fortune to see Murderball at the 2005 Roger Ebert Overlooked Film Festival. It is quite possibly the greatest sports movie ever made, but it goes way beyond that. This documentary about Quadrapelic Soccer and the people who play the game works on so many levels. It's about friends, enemies, family and coping with and surviving personal tragedy.

The movie will make you laugh one minute and cry the next. It is having its official release in July of 2005. Whatever you do in your life, DON'T MISS THIS FILM. It will change you forever. This movie is incredible.

I will predict right now that MURDERBALL will be nominated for an Oscar in the Documentary category and I can't imagine it losing.