ccthemovieman-1 Many sports fans today recognize the nickname "The Rocket" and probably only think of Major League pitcher Roger Clemens. However, long before Clemens was "The Rocket" from Montreal.This movie is a nice tribute to him - Maurice "Rocket" Richard - one of the greatest professional hockey players of all time. A lot of people - especially in Quebec - still think he's THE greatest of all time. Those kind of things are always up for debate and there is no answer who is the greatest, but Richard's career numbers certainly rank him as a leading candidate for that honor. For many years, the National Hockey Leauge had just six teams and played 50 regular season games. Richard was the first to score 50 goals in 50 games. He also was on eight Stanley Cup championship teams, including five in a row.His statistics go on and on but it was Richard's heart, his determination to succeed under adverse conditions and, finally, his stance in sticking up against the bias against French-Canadians in the NHL, that brought him "icon" status in Quebec. He is truly a "legend" in his country and probably will be revered forever in Montreal.How much of this movie is fact, and how is fiction, I can't say. If you know movies, you know that many times a lot of it is made up for dramatic purposes. Yet, I think most of it here is pretty much on the money. I'm not sure about the riot scene because I think the movie infers that people rioted because of Maurice's big suspension.but, according to the report below, the riot occurred thanks to the league president attending a playoff game in Montreal following his disciplinary action.This is from the Wikopedia: "On March 13, 1955, Richard was given a match penalty for engaging in a fight with Hal Laycoe in a game against the Boston Bruins. He flattened Linesman Cliff Thompson in the resulting mêlée, and as that was his second attack on an official that season alone, a hearing was held: Richard was suspended for the balance of that season and the playoffs, which was at the time, the longest suspension for an on-ice incident in NHL history. Public outrage from Montreal soon poured in, but NHL President Clarence Campbell did not budge, and announced that he would be attending the Canadians' next home game against the Detroit Red Wings in four days.Midway into the first period, Campbell arrived with his fiancée. Outraged Canadians fans immediately began pelting them with eggs, vegetables, and various debris, with more being thrown at him each time the Red Wings scored as they built up a 4-1 lead. The continuous pelting of various objects stopped when a tear gas bomb was set off inside the Forum not far from where Campbell was sitting. The Forum was ordered evacuated and Campbell ruled the game forfeited to the Red Wings. A riot ensued outside the Forum, causing $500,000 in damage to the neighborhood and the Forum itself. Hundreds of stores were looted and vandalized within a 15-block radius of the Forum. Twelve police and 25 civilians were injured, and scores of people were arrested. The riot was over at 3 a.m., and left Montreal's Rue Ste-Catherine a mess."Whatever, the movie overall is entertaining and gives a good insight on what Richard and his peers went through in a biased NHL at that time. The film is as much about the prejudice as it is a biography of Richard. The only drawbacks I saw were wooden acting in some spots, too much dumb dialog and some of the action scenes which didn't look as real as it could have been. However, this wasn't a mega-bucks production, so I didn't expect it to look as such. I was very impressed, however, with the wonderful photography in here. That looks big-budget, all the way. Kudos to the cinematographer.It was fun to see hockey players playing the game as they did in the "old days," wearing no helmets and face-masks and not a whole lot of padding. If you think hockey is a rough sport now, you should have seen it back in Richard's day. You can an idea watching this movie. There are some brutal scenes on the ice. Seeing Richard punching the referee was worth the price of the rental alone! If you're a hockey fan, or a sports fan who loves history, you have to check this film out. Why it took several years to hit the video shelves, I don't know.

animal_8_5 I have been a hockey fan for almost 40 years and have collected almost every dramatic film ever made about the sport. But, I'd have to say that "The Rocket" is far and away, the best one ever made. The cinematography is stunning, the acting spellbinding and the story gripping. It tells the story of a simple and tortured man who drives himself to excel at the sport he loves. It leads him to become the reluctant hero of French-Canadian culture, self-perceived as being held back and oppressed by the anglophones.Roy Dupuis, who portrayed Maurice in no less than two other cinematic projects, perfectly captures the fire and intensity of the man in a most fitting, if not THE crowning tribute, to the legend of Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. Biname goes to great lengths to duplicate the look and feel of the late-30s, on into the mid-50s and certainly captures the collective agony and anger of early-to-mid 20th century French Canada.Julie LeBreton is beautiful and amazing as Richard's wife, Lucille. Notable also are the cameo appearances made by NHLers Sean Avery (Bob Dill), Vincent Lecavalier (Jean Beliveau); Mike Ricci (Elmer Lach), Ian Laperierre (Boom Boom Geoffrion) and Stephane Quintal (Dollard St. Laurent). What "Slap Shot" proved, "The Rocket" confirms. Pro hockey players are damn good actors!I realize funding for this movie was brought up in the infamous "Sponsorship Scandal" that dissolved former Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's Liberal government in 2006, but you can't fault it at any level. It was worth every cent used to make it and it will be hard for Canadian cinema to duplicate this level of quality ever again.

hansgrossmann622 First off, i can't really say that i am really a hockey fan, but living in Canada, a hockey dominated country, i saw myself forced into watching this movie. My first reaction was -- sports movie? probably just another Rudi or Coach Carter. However there was much more to this movie than winning the game. In fact, unlike the typical Hollywood sports movie, the protagonist always saw things negatively, never seeing himself as the greatest player or anything. The essence of the story too, is beautifully presented. I have the feeling that there is more of a racist theme than a sports theme here. The most powerful moment is possibly the one where the coach makes a speech in terrible french, but tries to connect with his players, and putting himself on the same level with them.On the film making aspects, there is just one thing to say -- beautiful! The arts department did an amazing job at recreating Quebec in the WWII era, and the cinematography was, well... amazing. The different colors used for different settings, the camera work, it was all a little different from other movies of its kind, it was truly a pleasure to watch!! So my final verdict is this...even if you don't care whatsoever about hockey, if you want to see a great movie, watch Maurice Richard: The Rocket!

f-jeanbart This is a true biopic, depicting events that could be considered as corner stones of NHL's History as well as Hockey History. it exposes the life of the Rocket since he was a teenager. All facts are historical : the depression just before WW2, the social divisions (as those cages that surrounded an area reserved for francophones in the Forum). Most dialogs in hockey scenes are in English, as well as all those involving the team, coaches and so on, which is "by respect of historical facts" in the original french version. Actually, many dialogs are recreated as they took place (and can be verified in many biography about The Rocket), even the coach's (Irvin) "pep talks". Hockey scenes are true to reality, as the scenarios were matched with game descriptions and old clips, were reviewed by Richard himself before dying and also his wife, his children, as by Irvin sun's written and recorded testimonies and memories from his father (he was the first Mr. "Hockey Night in Canada" on CBC), reporters, and so on.About the cast, my discovery is STEPHEN McHATTIE! HE IS JUST SUPERB IN IRVIN'S ROLE. Now that's a coach!! WOW. Actually the most credible I've seen in all sports movies around. Some of you who don't know about the Rocket, could find in Roy Dupuis some kind of weird acting... But actually, he played his role to the perfection, magnificently displaying the same kind of personality and behavior the Rocket had (he had the chance to study the guy's "attitude" in person for several years). The movie also adds historical drama, like the year when the Rocket broke Malone's record, a record that most considered as impossible to surpass, and which brought some sense of Victory to the people, just month before D-Day in Normandy (feb. 1945).What you'll see in this movie, is what made such a man a true Canadian Hero, as it really was and took place during those days. It is also a true love story, about the couple Richard.