Canada Russia '72 (TV 2006)

CANADA RUSSIA '72 is shot in a fluid documentary style that effectively captures all the immediacy of the '72 hockey summit's intrigues.

Director:

T.W. Peacocke

Writers:

Barrie Dunn (head writer), Malcolm MacRury

Stars:

Booth Savage, Judah Katz, Walter Learning

3 wins & 3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Booth Savage	...	Harry Sinden
Judah Katz	...	Alan Eagleson
Walter Learning	...	Charlie Hay
Mark A. Owen	...	John Ferguson (as Mark Owen)
Sonia Laplante	...	Gabrielle Fournier
David Berni	...	Phil Esposito
Gabriel Hogan	...	Ken Dryden
Mike Dopud	...	Vic Hadfield
Sebastien Roberts	...	Rod Gilbert
Louis Philippe Dandenault	...	Yvan Cournoyer (as Louis-Philip Dandenault)
Jeff Roop	...	Frank Mahovlich
Hugh Thompson	...	Gary Bergman
David Alexander Miller	...	Paul Henderson (as David Miller)
Gerry Dee	...	Wayne Cashman
Chris Szarka	...	Peter Mahovlich

Storyline

In 1972, a historical ice hockey game series is arranged where the cream of Canadian's professional star players of the National Hockey League against the best of the Soviet Union. Although Canada and the USSR have faced off repeatedly on the amateur level before, most of Canada is smugly convinced that the Soviets will be no match for the pros. However, that assumption is forcefully shot down when Team Canada is soundly trounced in the first game by the skilled Soviet Union team. What follows is a bitter struggle as Team Canada fights to recover in a series that would change Canadian hockey's self-image and history forever.

---

Plot Keywords:

canada | hockey | team | soviet union | ice hockey | 

---

Genres:

Drama | History | Sport

---

Details

Official Sites:

CBC [ca]

Country:

Canada

Language:

English Russian French

Release Date:

9 April 2006 (Canada)

Filming Locations:

Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada

Company Credits

Production Co:

Dream Street Pictures, Trailer Park Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

180 min 180 min (2 parts)

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Gord Downey auditioned for the role of Ken Dryden. In real life, Harry Sinden (coach of Team Canada) is Gord's godfather. Also, Mike Smith and John Paul Tremblay, both famous for playing Bubbles and Julian on the hit Canadian TV show "Trailer Park Boys", auditioned for members of the team as well.

---

Quotes

Gabrielle Fournier: What Bobby Clarke did tonight was vicious.
John Ferguson: Ms. Fournier, hockey's a rough game. It gets tough out there. I don't care how we win, just as long as we win.

User Reviews

Low budget or just incompetence?

The 4 is for the dramatic content, historical accuracy, etc. The rest (i.e. : nil) is for the technical aspect of the production. We were very disappointed with the sound and the picture. (Doesn't leave much, does it?)Why the "Blair Witch Project" cinematography? All it accomplished was to create tired, blurry eyes. The sound levels were very uneven, and there were subtitles missing (for those of us who don't speak Russian!). Many scene transitions were very amateurish. In fact, my wife and I thought we were watching somebody's High School project. If the poor quality of the production was an attempt to provide authenticity, let's err on the "Hollywood" side, and come up with something more watchable. Low budget or not, if CBC wants to stay in business, they need to come out with much better material.