Red army is a new movie about the history of the soviet union hockey team. The film tells the story of the soviet union national ice hockey team through the eyes of. Lingering shots of a silent fetisov his expression varying from pensive to irritated are interspersed with. It premiered at the 2014 cannes film festival and was released in limited theaters by sony pictures classics on january 23, 2015. Red army spotlights iconic russian team by evan sporer staff writer the documentary red army traces the roots of one of the most dominant teams in russian hockey history. So begins red army, a new documentary about the soviet union and the grand sweep of history. With viacheslav fetisov, vladislav tretiak, scotty bowman, vladimir pozner. How soviet hockey ruled the world and then fell apart. Red army statistics and history russia leagues russia red army. The wonderful new documentary red army, on a limited run in new.
Inducted into the hockey hall of fame earlier this month, the former detroit red wings star is the alltime nhl points leader among russianborn. The red army russian five, alex kasatanov from left, viktor tikhonov, vladislav tretiak, igor larionov, and slava fetisov, are seen in a clip from the documentary red army, directed by gabe. Konstaninovs story, and its effect on the team, were both painful to read and enlightening. Red army moves at the frantic pace of a russian hockey game. In the late 1980s, the detroit red wings worked to finally break their decades long stanley cup drought by extracting players from the soviet union, and in the process, changed the way north american hockey is played.
This story was originally published in the daily news on january 11, 1976, when the flyers beat the soviet central army team at the spectrum and essentially salvaged. The soviet weave offense was incredibly hard to defend every member of the team posed a scoring threat. Red army soviet hockey movie sports illustrated story. All those who oppose red army will perish under the iron fist. Red army hockey team russia statistics and history at. Red army is a feature documentary about the soviet union, the cold war that played out on the ice rink and the red army hockey team. Among many things that distinguish the documentary red army about the decline and fall of the red army hockey team, and of the soviet system itself is that theres scarcely a mention of.
This was the height of the cold war and prestigious sporting victories were seen as validation of the system. With jeff daniels, jim devellano, sergei fedorov, viacheslav fetisov. When the soviets sent their team to play the best players in americas national hockey league in 1979, the soviet team handily won the three. Denault has put together a gem of a book that tells the story of hockey from both a canadian and soviet perspective. Historical facts and data about the red army russia hockey team of the russia, including players, standings, logos, and game program images. Learning from russias red army hockey team bloomberg. The montreal canadiens, the red army, and the night. The other side of the miracle on ice the new york times. Red army hockey documentary a fascinating look at team. Red army attempts to present the other side of the story, but falls short. The first time i tuned in to the fact that the russians might be hockey geniuses was new years eve, in 1975, when the moscow red army hockey club played the montreal canadiens at.
Red army is a 2014 americanrussian documentary film directed, produced, and written by. The famed red army soviet hockey team of the 1980s. Cska won more soviet championships and european cups than any other team in history. Soviet unions red army hockey team was a microcosm of their.
Red army charts rise and fall of a soviet hockey team. The club is a member of the tarasov division in the kontinental hockey league. The new years eve game between the montreal canadiens and the soviet red army is the feature, but after finishing the book i gained a better appreciation for the way the soviets developed the game of hockey in their own special way. The five players were sergei fedorov, slava fetisov, slava kozlov, igor larionov and vladimir konstantinov three of the players fedorov, konstantinov, and kozlov were drafted by the red wings in 1989 and 1990, and their defections. The name red army was abandoned in 1946 the russian imperial army and navy, together with other imperial institutions of tsarist russia, disintegrated after the outbreak of the russian revolution of 1917. It was considered a major sporting, and more importantly political embarrassment for the ussr. Published on mar 31, 2018 in 1976 the cold war was going stronger than ever. The red army hockey teams top line it might annoy hardcore capitalists, but an impartial observer has got to admit that soviet ice hockey must rank as one of. When the flyers beat the red army the philadelphia inquirer. Viacheslav fetisov, far right, with members of the soviet national hockey team. Tarasov, anatoly training, strength world of sports.
The ussr ice hockey team in military uniform fetisov, far right. The soviet red army was welcomed to philadelphia by ed van impe decking valeri kharlamov, dave schultz and andre dupont jawing with two soviets and dave sign man leonardi. Soviet unions red army hockey team was a microcosm of their society and its mentality is echoed in todays russia. The us hockey teams victory over the soviet union during these olympics the miracle on ice is an iconic moment in american sports history. Setbacks can suddenly slip into opportunity, and vice versa. Central red army teams nhl hockey highlight video central red army team hockey cards grab theese cards on ebay now. Red army documentary facts soviet union hockey trivia. Red army charts rise and fall of a soviet hockey team the new. The story of the soviet unions famed red army hockey team through the eyes of. A film that offers a new perspective on the cold war, soviet russia, and the power. Red army director delves into soviet hockey legends.
How did the russians react to the usa vs ussr hockey game. Tarasovs colleague arkady chernyshev also played an influential role in the development of soviet hockey. Read how ties to the miracle on ice, the dominating red army hockey machine, incredible skill and personal perseverance together with extraordinary leadership enabled the russian five to help bring the stanley cup to detroit in the late 1990s. Red army explores how hockey was political in cold war russia.
It is owned by russias largest oil company, rosneft, which is in turn majorityowned by the russian govern. The tale of the hockey players for whom 1980 was no. How iconic red wings changed hockey forever the russian five changed the nhl from the moment the stepped on the ice. Officially, the players were members of the soviet military, but that was just a fiction. Tarasov began coaching in the russian club leagues in the late 1940s, at. In eric zweigs book, twenty greatest hockey goals, fetisov said the 1980 team was probably the best team ever put together in the soviet union. Red army is a 2014 americanrussian documentary film directed, produced, and written by gabe polsky, executive produced by jerry weintraub and werner herzog. Keith gave spent six years in the united states army as a russian linguist working. Documentary tells gripping story of soviet red army hockey. Team usas epic win over russia is moststreamed hockey game in nbc sports history red army could also use some more nuance.
Red army was stacked too, as in those days the moscow club siphoned off the best talent from voskresensk to vladivostok and dominated the national team. Red army explores how hockey was political in cold war. Nothing could have better prepared him for a career as a sports writer covering hockey for the detroit free press. If you like this movie, go for a doublefeature with red army, which focuses on the now disbanded soviet red army team that was released a few year before russian five. Nicknamed the russian rocket for his speed, bure played for 12 seasons in the national hockey league nhl with the vancouver canucks, the florida panthers and the new york rangers. The soviet hockey program was recognized as the premier in the world and earned the nickname the big red machine. The untold story of a coach, a dream, and the 1980 u. From the ussr to russia, the film examines how sport mirrors social. Red army explores how the cold war played out on ice. Red army pg the story of the cold war is reflected in the life of hockey player slava fetisov, who became part of the best hockey team on earth and forged the way for foreign players in. It is referred to in the west as central red army or the red army team for its past affiliation with the soviet army, popularly known as the red army. Sony pictures classics cleveland, ohio members of the 1980 u. The film tells the story of the soviet union national ice hockey team through the eyes of team captain slava.
Red army, gabe polskys lively documentary about the famous soviet hockey team of the 1970s and 80s, is, in a sense, about all three. Red army tells the story of the russian hockey dynasty of the 1980s and early 1990s, focusing on the story of defenseman slava fetisov pictured top right. Red army is a feature documentary about the soviet union and the most successful dynasty in sports history. Informative site about the red army hockey club with pictures, statistics and news about one of the greatest ice hockey teams of all time. One of the ways in which the hockey analytics community can enrich the discourse is to deepen our analysis of the game. Red army traces the rise and fall of the soviet hockey team of the 1970s and 80s, whose grace and skill were unmatched, even as the players. Tarasov also coached the central sports club of the army cska, to seventeen league championships from 1947 to 1974.
As a detroit red wings and hockey fanatic, i inhaled this book. I recently broke down one incredibly famous historical teams passing data. Red army documentary facts soviet union hockey trivia esquire. Anatoly tarasov is widely regarded as the father of modern russian ice hockey russian ice hockey also describes the sport as played in the soviet union, or ussr, until 1989. How the detroit red wings russian five changed hockey forever. The russian five, which played for the club cska moscow and the red army soviet national hockey team in the 80s, consisted of defenders viacheslav slava fetisov and alexei kasatonov, as. Scott of the new york times called the film a stirring, crazy storya russian novel of tolstoyan sweep and goglesque absurdity. Red army, russian krasnaya armiya, soviet army created by the communist government after the bolshevik revolution of 1917. Red army is a lively documentary about the famous soviet. The soviet red army team would face the 2 time defending stanley cup champion philadelphia flyers in an epic hockey. Discover delightful childrens books with prime book box, a subscription that. Red army urges hockey fanseven those on a quest to measure the individuals contribution to victoryto think creatively about the team, to. The red army were a european elite hockey team based in moscow, russia playing in the russian elite league from 1998 to 1999.
How soviet hockey ruled the world and then fell apart vox. The soviet red army team would face the 2 time defending stanley cup champion philadelphia flyers in an epic hockey battle for the ages. His 15 years with the newspaper were the highlight of a career spanning nearly four decades in the news industry. Red army hockey documentary a fascinating look at team chemistry gabe polskys red army, a very good documentary about the soviet hockey. Keith gave spent six years in the united states army as a russian linguist working for the national security agency during the cold war. Trained in the soviet union, he played three seasons with the central red army team before his nhl career. The russian five was the nickname given to the unit of five russian ice hockey players from the soviet union that played for the detroit red wings in the 1990s. Red army succeeds not only in telling the story of the soviet hockey team and. Hc cska moscow is a russian professional ice hockey club based in moscow. Told from the perspective of its captain slava fetisov, the story portrays his transformation from national hero to political enemy.
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