Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (2008)

Director:

Kevin Rafferty

Release Date:

19 November 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | Biography | Sport | War

Plot:

On November 23, 1968, Yale and Harvard's undefeated football teams met in Cambridge, with Yale heavily favored...

Plot Keywords:

Interview | Aristocracy | Political Activist | Yale University | Memory

Cast

Tommy Lee Jones	...	Himself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
George Bass	...	Himself - Yale Tackle
Rick Berne	...	Himself - Harvard Defensive Tackle
Mike Bouscaren	...	Himself - Yale Linebacker
Kingman Brewster	...	Himself - Yale University President (archive footage)
Frank Champi	...	Himself - Harvard Quarterback
Pat Conway	...	Himself - Harvard Defensive Back
Nick Davidson	...	Himself - Yale Halfback
Brian Dowling	...	Himself - Yale Captain and Quarterback
Gary Farneti	...	Himself - Harvard Linebacker
Bruce Freeman	...	Himself - Harvard End
Rick Frisbie	...	Himself - Harvard Cornerback
Vic Gatto	...	Himself - Harvard Captain
Kyle Gee	...	Himself - Yale Tackle
Don Gillis	...	Himself - Sportscaster (voice)
J.P. Goldsmith	...	Himself - Yale Safety
Calvin Hill	...	Himself - Yale Halfback (archive footage)
John Ignacio	...	Himself - Harvard Cornerback
Ron Kell	...	Himself - Yale Defensive Back
Mick Kleber	...	Himself - Yale Defensive Guard
George Lalich	...	Himself - Harvard Quarterback
Bob Levin	...	Himself - Yale Fullback
Ted Livingston	...	Himself - Yale Tackle
Alex MacLean	...	Himself - Harvard Middle Guard
Del Marting	...	Himself - Yale End
Rich Mattas	...	Himself - Yale Tackle
Joe McKinney	...	Himself - Harvard Defensive End
Fred Morris	...	Himself - Yale Center
Dale Neal	...	Himself - Harvard Linebacker
Tom Peacock	...	Himself - Yale Tackle
Jack Perkowski	...	Himself - Yale Guard
Jim Reynolds	...	Himself - Harvard Halfback
Ted Skowronski	...	Himself - Harvard Center
Meryl Streep	...	Herself (archive footage)
Bruce Weinstein	...	Himself - Yale End
Dick Williams	...	Himself - Yale Middle Guard
John Yovicsin	...	Himself - Harvard Coach (archive footage)

Runtime:

105 min | Canada:105 min (Toronto International Film Festival)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color | Color (HDCAM)

Certification:

USA:PG

Company:

Kevin Rafferty Productions

Trivia:

Yale Fullback Bobby Levin reminisces about his campus Vietnam War protests with girlfriend Meryl Streep.

Give This Football Film One Big Pass...........

This was about one of the most boring documentaries I can recall ever seeing. Despite being a Yale Grad during that vintage decade, I could barely muster enough interest to watch the entire film. I had hoped for more than a bunch of aging males reveling in their past football exploits. To be sure, the game was dramatic and close, quite obviously by the final score. Despite an occasional foray into other topical issues of the era, the seemingly endless mechanics recounted by team members from both sides left one wishing for more depth and intelligent commentary by those having attended such august universities. And to see one of the Yale team gloating over his attempts to injure a key player to get him out of the game only gave this viewer a sour taste in his mouth rather than any admiration for such macho antics. In addition, one of the key celebrity participants looked like he had come off a month long drunk, pitching comments like some sort of arrogant poseur. The final puzzle of the film was the title. Am I missing something? A tie is a tie. Games are all about points and you're not a winner unless you score more points than your opponent. Notwithstanding some cutesy philosophical point that the director Kevin Rafferty might be trying to make, the title seems to fall flat as any kind of sophisticated summation of the movie's content.