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MOVIES / ON DVD / MURDERBALL
Murderball

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Murderball (2005)

98%
100%
93%
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98 %
Reviews Counted: 126 Fresh: 123  Rotten:3 Average Rating: 8.4/10
 
Consensus: An entertaining and gripping documentary that shows being confined to a wheelchair doesn't mean the fun has to end. An entertaining and gripping documentary that shows being confined to a wheelchair doesn't mean the fun has to end. more
 
Rated: 15
Runtime: 86 mins
Theatrical Release: 04-11-2005
Synopsis:
The Game Quad rugby is played on a basketball court with four eight-minute quarters, during which players wheel nimbly, collide brutally, pass strategically, and sometimes knock each other over, chairs and all, to get the ball past the melee and into the end zone. More mobile players... [More]
The Game Quad rugby is played on a basketball court with four eight-minute quarters, during which players wheel nimbly, collide brutally, pass strategically, and sometimes knock each other over, chairs and all, to get the ball past the melee and into the end zone. More mobile players handle the ball, while more impaired ones can excel at defensive blocking. Each player is assigned a ranking, from .5 to 3.5, according to his upperbody mobility; team mobility rankings cannot exceed a total of 8. 2002 World Championship MURDERBALL begins at the 2002 World Championship in Sweden. Top-ranked Team USA has dominated the sport for 10 years, and every national team would like to push them from their pedestal. The rivalry between USA and Canada, though, is especially personal. Canada’s coach is JOE SOARES, a former American all-star. When Joe (who is in his forties and is much older than most of the players) was cut from the 2000 USA team, he went north to coach, many say to exact revenge on his former teammates. "How does it feel to betray your country?" one USA player taunts him. When Canada wins by a point in the final seconds, the USA team is humbled and despondent. Coach Joe vs. Zupan The bad blood between Team USA and Team Canada is personified by the intense rivalry between Joe and USA team spokesman Mark Zupan—MURDERBALL's chief protagonists. Joe, unlike most of the other players, grew up with his disability as a result of childhood polio. The combative, competitive drive that makes Joe such an exceptional coach can turn inward at home. Himself the son of a driven and demanding father, Joe struggles to connect with his sensitive 12-year-old son Robert, even though Robert clearly longs for Joe's attention and approval. Mark Zupan is an equally domineering personality — macho tough, but also funny and philosophical. A good-looking star athlete before the freak accident that injured him, Zupan has worked his way through suicidal rage and physical devastation to become a focused competitor. His best friend, Chris Igoe, who drove the car that caused the accident, and who was physically unhurt, bears a load of guilt. Sex, Fate, and a Lucky Heart Attack As Zupan's relationship with his punk rock girlfriend makes clear, impaired limbs do not necessarily result in an impaired sex life. MURDERBALL lets us in on the athletes' pleasant discovery that, for many women, their injuries are hardly a turn-off. The trash-talking, testosterone-fueled atmosphere of the players' pick-up scenes and poker games are full of familiar jock bravado, but the sobering reality is that each of the men is coming to terms with overwhelming obstacles, both physical and emotional. Taking their hard-won experience and quad wisdom with them, Zupan and members of his team visit patients in rehab, men still in the early stages of recovery and adjustment. One such character is KEITH CAVILL whose passion for motocross racing paralyzed him. Keith's eyes light up when Zupan offers him a spin on his tricked-out rugby chair. A murderball player is born. Meanwhile, a heart attack strikes Coach Joe. We see a man transformed by this wake-up call—the drive to prove himself is tempered, and the reactions of his wife, team, and especially his son demonstrate how much Joe is really loved. 2004 Paralympics Games, Athens The hard work and training culminate at the Paralympics in Athens. Zupan's old friend Chris, who drove the car that caused Zupan's accident and has shied away ever since, will be there to watch him play for the first time. Friends and family of all the players gather in Greece to see whether Team USA takes the gold, cedes their dominance in the sport to Canada, or loses to yet another team. Whatever happens, these men have taken the game of "Murderball" — and themselves — as far as they can go, and beyond. [Less]

Genre: Education/General Interest

Director: Dana Adam Shapiro, Henry Alex Rubin
Screenwriter: Dana Adam Shapiro
Producer: Dana Adam Shapiro, Jeffrey Mandel

DVD Info

Release:

May 11, 2007

[DVD Details]

DVD Features:

  • Keep Case

Additional Release Material:

  • Deleted Scenes
  • Featurette - 1. MTV JACKASS WITH ZUPAN
  • 2. GREATEST HITS
  • 3. KIDS QUESTION PERIOD
  • 4. KEITH GETTING HIS CHAIR
  • 5. Update On Players
  • 6. LIFE ACCORDING TO ZUPAN
  • 7. Charlie Rose Special
  • 8. MURDERBALL: BEHIND THE GAME
  • 9. CNN Exclusive LARRY KING LIVE
  • 10. Sundance Footage

Reviews

 
T-Meter Critics
 
 
Top Critics
 
 
RT Community
 
 
My Critics
 
 
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1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
Text View | 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Arrange By: Name | Fresh | Rotten | Date | Source
 
 
Ratings Image

A leftfield sports documentary that’s as insightful and thought-provoking as it is fast and furious.

Full Review | Comment
04/01/06 03:55 AM
Steve O'Hagan
Empire Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

A deftly crafted window into a sport few know much about.

Full Review | Comment
11/11/05 03:51 PM
Joe Utichi
FilmFocus
Ratings Image

Most importantly, Murderball isn't afraid to depict its characters in a less than flattering light, so we really get a good feel for what each of the individuals are like.

Full Review | Comment
10/29/05 03:43 AM
Matthew Turner
ViewLondon
Ratings Image

One of 2005's very best documentaries.

Full Review | Comment
10/25/05 03:15 AM
Matthew Leyland
BBC
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
Ratings Image

An honest, down-to-earth account of how life goes on for people with disabilities.

Full Review | Comment
03/26/07 01:41 PM
J. R. Jones
Chicago Reader
Ratings Image

Most entertaining when it is being honest and unflinching in its portrait of the film’s central figures.

Full Review | Comment
10/30/06 03:18 AM
Dan Jardine
Apollo Guide
Ratings Image

a triumph of filmmaking: of structure, character development, and pacing

Full Review | Comment
09/06/06 01:31 PM
Jay Antani
Perihelion Journal
Ratings Image

What emerges is more interesting, thankfully, than a linear offering of sporting triumph in the face of adversity.

Full Review | Comment
06/24/06 03:47 AM
Dave Calhoun
Time Out New York
Ratings Image

All of the men are striking examples of the indomitable human spirit.

Full Review | Comment
05/12/06 03:15 AM
Jim Lane
Sacramento News & Review
Ratings Image

Além de revelador e interessante, sua inteligente montagem prende a atenção do espectador através do desenvolvimento de seus "personagens" e do conflito entre os dois times principais.

| Comment
01/09/06 08:30 PM
Pablo Villaca
Cinema em Cena
Ratings Image

It's an ode to the indomitable stubbornness of people, really, to pursue what gets them off, no matter what it takes.

Full Review | Comment
12/15/05 10:25 PM
Jeffrey Chen
Window to the Movies
Ratings Image

Murderball doesn't want you to feel sorry for anyone. It wants the viewer to see them for who they are, not what they aren't. They're athletes with the same drive and passion for their sport as other athletes.

Full Review | Comment
11/26/05 10:43 AM
Ryan Cracknell
Movie Views
Ratings Image

Murderball is the best documentary I have seen in some time.

Full Review | Comment
10/22/05 03:50 AM
Robert Roten
Laramie Movie Scope
Ratings Image

tough, touching, exciting and surprisingly hilarious. The men profiled... take competition seriously, talk like jocks and don't shy away from partying or romance.

Full Review | Comment
10/19/05 01:48 PM
James Sanford
Kalamazoo Gazette
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Murderball and everyone portrayed in it are winners.

Full Review | Comment
10/07/05 04:41 PM
Forrest Hartman
Reno Gazette-Journal
Ratings Image

We are all so fragile. And we are all so strong.

Full Review | Comment
10/07/05 08:59 AM
Linda Cook
KWQC-TV (Iowa)
Ratings Image

Few sports movies with a premise this powerful ever bother to dig this deep.

Full Review | Comment
09/26/05 03:16 AM
Tasha Robinson
Onion AV Club
Ratings Image

With all the summer movies disappointing audiences, here's one that's sure to give you your thrills.

Full Review | Comment
09/23/05 03:03 PM
Fred Topel
IGN Movies
Ratings Image

Simple, brutal, wild and emotionally charged.

Full Review | Comment
09/09/05 06:33 PM
Urban Cinefile Critics
Urban Cinefile
Ratings Image

This offbeat documentary is inspiring and jaw-droppingly original.

Full Review | Comment
08/26/05 01:55 PM
Roger Moore
Orlando Sentinel
1 - 20 (sorted by date; UK critics are listed first)
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