The Last Gladiators
Directed by Alex Gibney
2011, USA, 94 minutes
This documentary is for hockey fans only, and by God, will hockey fans love it. The enforcer is a controversial role in hockey, beloved by fans but derided by the evening news. “Gretzky never punches anyone,” they cluck. They forget. For Gretzky to score goals, guys like Dave “Cementhead” Semenko needed to watch his back. Park biography, part history, part psychological profile, and part love letter, The Last Gladiators is the documentary NHL enforcers have been waiting for.
Director Alex Gibney does two things: he explains the role of enforcer using coaches, sports journalists, managers, and players (such as Tony Twist, Marty McSorley, and Donald Bashear), and he follows the life of storied NHL enforcer Chris Nilan. The former is a tall order, but he pulls it off. Through the words of the people who love the game, the documentary explains the role of the enforcer,...
Directed by Alex Gibney
2011, USA, 94 minutes
This documentary is for hockey fans only, and by God, will hockey fans love it. The enforcer is a controversial role in hockey, beloved by fans but derided by the evening news. “Gretzky never punches anyone,” they cluck. They forget. For Gretzky to score goals, guys like Dave “Cementhead” Semenko needed to watch his back. Park biography, part history, part psychological profile, and part love letter, The Last Gladiators is the documentary NHL enforcers have been waiting for.
Director Alex Gibney does two things: he explains the role of enforcer using coaches, sports journalists, managers, and players (such as Tony Twist, Marty McSorley, and Donald Bashear), and he follows the life of storied NHL enforcer Chris Nilan. The former is a tall order, but he pulls it off. Through the words of the people who love the game, the documentary explains the role of the enforcer,...
- 9/19/2011
- by Dave Robson
- SoundOnSight
I had a big day on Saturday with big plans to get home early and rest up for the push through the meaty part of Tiff. That sounds unpleasant. One thing I forgot to mention on the Day 2 blog was that after The Last Gladiators, I spotted Chris Nilan in the lobby. Being a big Habs fan and remembering him being pretty awesome, I went up and spoke to him, shook his hand and survived not getting punched square in the face. He's much shorter than I thought he would be. I started off Saturday meeting my brother for brunch at a place called Allen's over on the Danforth. A couple of eggs with smoked salmon and some sweet potatoes. Pretty damn good. The coffee, however, was amazeballs. Organic coffee is delicious. Ranking the places I've had coffee up here...it goes Allen's at number 1, then Starbucks, and then Tim Horton's.
- 9/11/2011
- by Greg
- FilmJunk
It's looking like hockey night in Canada at the Toronto International Film Festival.
One of the country's national sports, hockey is the subject of three films at the prestigious cinema showcase, which opened Thursday and runs through next weekend.
The Last Gladiators from Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) premiered Friday, offering a portrait of punch-throwing hockey enforcers such as former Montreal Canadiens brawler Chris Nilan.
Premiering Saturday were Michael Dowse's Goon, featuring co-writer Jay Baruchel, Seann William Scott and Liv Schreiber in a the tale of a gentle-spirited hockey enforcer, and Robert Lieberman's Breakaway, whose cast includes Rob Lowe as coach of a misfit team of Sikh-Canadians trying to make their mark in Toronto hockey circles.
"We're trying to single-handedly create the hockey movie as a genre to match the Western," said festival co-director Cameron Bailey. "We haven't had a lot of hockey movies in Canadian filmmaking,...
One of the country's national sports, hockey is the subject of three films at the prestigious cinema showcase, which opened Thursday and runs through next weekend.
The Last Gladiators from Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker Alex Gibney (Taxi to the Dark Side) premiered Friday, offering a portrait of punch-throwing hockey enforcers such as former Montreal Canadiens brawler Chris Nilan.
Premiering Saturday were Michael Dowse's Goon, featuring co-writer Jay Baruchel, Seann William Scott and Liv Schreiber in a the tale of a gentle-spirited hockey enforcer, and Robert Lieberman's Breakaway, whose cast includes Rob Lowe as coach of a misfit team of Sikh-Canadians trying to make their mark in Toronto hockey circles.
"We're trying to single-handedly create the hockey movie as a genre to match the Western," said festival co-director Cameron Bailey. "We haven't had a lot of hockey movies in Canadian filmmaking,...
- 9/11/2011
- by Cineplex.com and contributors
- Cineplex
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