Maurice Richard (2005)

Director:

Charles Binamé

Writer:

Ken Scott (writer)

Release Date:

30 November 2007 (USA)

Genre:

Biography | Drama | Sport

Plot:

A story about Quebec's most famous hockey player, Maurice "The Rocket" Richard, focusing on the struggles of a French Canadian in the National Hockey League dominated by Anglophones.

Plot Keywords:

Hockey | Quebec | Montreal Canadiens | Ice Hockey | Suspension

Awards:

12 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

Sean Avery	...	Bob Dill
Michel Barrette	...	Père Norchet
Pat Bragoli	...	Hockey player
Rick Bramucci	...	Bodyguard
Tony Calabretta	...	Frank Selke
Normand Chouinard	...	Michel Normandin
Philip Craig	...	Tommy Gorman
Larry Day	...	Boston Cop #1
Christian De Blois	...	Hockey player
Simon Deblois	...	Hockey player
Tedd Dillon	...	Clarence Campbell
André-Sébastien Dorion	...	Referee
Paul Doucet	...	Camil Desroches
Pascal Dupuis	...	Milt Schmidt
Roy Dupuis	...	Maurice Richard
René Gagnon
Benoît Girard	...	Paul St-Georges
Rémy Girard	...	Tony Bergeron
Terry Haig	...	Dr. Walter McKay
Tyler Hall	...	Murph Chamberlain
Jason Hamilton	...	Hockey player
Serge Houde	...	Conn Smythe
Dany Hubert	...	New-York Rangers / Boston Bruins player
Mario Jean	...	Paul Stuart
François Langlois-Vallières	...	Maurice Richard à 16 ans
Ian Laperrière	...	Bernard 'Boom Boom' Geoffrion
Diane Lavallée	...	Alice Norchet
Julie LeBreton	...	Lucille Richard
Vincent Lecavalier	...	Jean Beliveau
Pierre-François Legendre	...	Georges Norchet
John Maclaren	...	Anglophone Journalist
Stephen McHattie	...	Dick Irvin
Mathieu Morin	...	Referee
Noel Olivier	...	New-York Rangers / Boston Bruins player
Bruno Ouellet-Fillion
Steve Petitpas	...	Referee
Stéphane Quintal	...	Dollard St-Laurent
Mike Ricci	...	Elmer Lach
Amélie Richer	...	Lucille Norchet
Sebastien Roberts	...	Bob Fillion
Patrice Robitaille	...	Émile "Butch" Bouchard
Charles Rooke	...	New York Rangers player (James "Kilby" MacDonald
Howard Rosenstein	...	Ken Reardon
Philippe Sauvé	...	Jim Henry
Olivier St-Cyr	...	Hockey player
Mylène St-Sauveur	...	Irma Daigle
Marc Tanguay	...	Referee
Randy Thomas	...	Hector "Toe" Blake
Eric Vignault	...	Montreal Canadiens hockey player
Allen Zarnett	...	Henchman

Also Known As:

The Rocket (Canada: English title) (new title)

MPAA:

Rated PG for rough sports action including fighting, some bloody images, some language and historical smoking throughout.

Runtime:

124 min | Canada:124 min (Québec)

Country:

Canada

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Certification:

Finland:K-11 | Canada:G (Quebec) | USA:PG

Filming Locations:

Colisée Pepsi, Québec City, Québec, Canada

Company:

Cinémaginaire Inc.

Trivia:

Roy Dupuis also played the part of Maurice Richard in an episode of Heritage Minutes - a series of short sixty-second films depicting events or characters from Canadian history.

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: During the scene where N.Y. Rangers Bob Dill (Sean Avery), challenges the Rocket to a fight, a skater wearing headphones and a modern-looking black/orange/white hockey jersey labeled "Big Dog", briefly appears in the foreground of a shot where Dill makes his approach.

Quotes:

Dick Irvin: I need players who hate to lose!
Hockey player: I hate to lose, Mr. Irvin.
Dick Irvin: No, you don't.

Movie Connections:

Features The Sweater (1980)

Re: Henri Richard

In one of the comments on the film, the writer asks why there's no mention of Henri Richard, the "Pocket Rocket." The film really takes us up to it's climax, the Richard Riot, and Henri, fifteen years younger than Maurice, was starring with the Junior Canadians. Although he came up to play with his brother in the last years of Maurice's career, Henri was not on the team for the period covered by this film. The line of Henri at centre, Dickie Moore on left wing, and Maurice on right wing was called by the Rocket's great rival, Gordie Howe, the best line he ever played against. In a sense the movie stops at the point when Richard was the most popular player in Québec, that is before he became the greatest star in the rest of Canada too. When he received the Stanley Cup in Toronto after the Canadians swept the Leafs in four games straight to win their fifth championship in a row, everybody sensed it could be his last game, and he received a standing ovation in Maple Leaf Gardens, a rare honour for any visiting player, especially when he'd been throughout his career the Leafs' greatest rival. The film beautifully evokes the period when players were ordinary guys working for a living. The clothing and lighting are magnificent in capturing the feel of the forties and fifties, and the hockey sequences are amazing in that, having seen the Rocket play so many times, I lost sight that it was Roy Dupuis, not the Rocket, on the screen. And the sequence in which he kayos Bob Dill (Sean Avery in a piece of type casting if there ever was one!) is a dandy. That happened in New York and the Daily News, the tabloid famous for its great headlines, featured a full-page image of the Rocket standing over his fallen rival with a huge headline, "DILL PICKLED". I wish they'd put that in the film. Richard had a unique skating style and was unusual in those days because there were few left-hand shots playing right wing. And they were able to recreate one of the greatest goals in detail when the Rocket, after being knocked out by Boston's Leo Labine in the play-offs, returned in overtime and went end to end to score the winning goal against "Sugar Jim" Henry. Dupuis and the film magicians capture Richard's swooping, darting style beautifully. Richard may not have been the best player who ever played, but he was the greatest star the game will ever see. See this film and you'll be as close to seeing the real Rocket as it's possible to be.