Red Army (film)

Red Army
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGabe Polsky
Written byGabe Polsky
Produced by
Cinematography
Edited by
  • Eli B. Despres
  • Kurt Engfehr
Music by
Production
company
Distributed bySony Pictures Classics
Release dates
  • May 16, 2014 (2014-05-16) (Cannes)
  • September 9, 2014 (2014-09-09) (TIFF)
  • January 23, 2015 (2015-01-23) (United States)
Running time
84 minutes[1]
Countries
  • United States
  • Russia
Languages
  • English
  • Russian
Box office$694,600[2]

Red Army is a 2014 American-Russian documentary film directed, produced, and written by Gabe Polsky, executive produced by Jerry Weintraub and Werner Herzog. It premiered at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival[3] and was released in limited theaters by Sony Pictures Classics on January 23, 2015.[4] The film tells the story of the Soviet Union national ice hockey team through the eyes of team captain Slava Fetisov, in particular the famed 1990s five-man unit known as The Russian Five.

The film details the link between sports and politics. The film also narrates how players were wooed by National Hockey League scouts and eventually flooded NHL rosters. The film is particularly harsh on the ruthless tactics of coach Viktor Tikhonov about whom none of the players have a kind word. Tikhonov died in November 2014.[5]

The movie uses rare archival footage,[6] including children singing "No Coward Plays Hockey."[7][8]

  1. ^ "RED ARMY (15)". British Board of Film Classification. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  2. ^ "Red Army (2015)". Box Office Mojo. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "Red Army". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
  4. ^ "Red Army". SonyClassics.com. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  5. ^ Chang, Justin (June 3, 2014). "Film Review: 'Red Army'". Variety. Retrieved November 6, 2016.
  6. ^ Bekreneva, Alexandra (January 26, 2015). "Documentary about legendary Soviet hockey team to hit American movie theatres". Russia Beyond The Headlines. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  7. ^ "Red Army is simply a great story, even without the hockey (IDFA Review)". Cultjer. December 23, 2014. Retrieved September 5, 2017.
  8. ^ "Red Army". Sur La Patinoire. February 8, 2015. Retrieved September 5, 2017.