Maurice Richard (film)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Maurice Richard

Maurice Richard poster
Directed by Charles Binamé
Produced by Daniel Louis
Denise Robert
Written by Ken Scott
Starring Roy Dupuis
Julie LeBreton
Stephen McHattie
Cinematography Pierre Gill
Editing by Michel Arcand
Distributed by Alliance Atlantis
Release date(s) 25 November 2005 (Québec)
Running time 124 mins
Country Canada
Language French, English
Budget 8,000,000
IMDb profile

Maurice Richard is a French language Canadian biopic about legendary ice hockey player Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. It was released in English Canada as The Rocket: The Maurice Richard Story. It was released in the United States as The Rocket: The Legend of Rocket Richard and was distributed by Palm Pictures. It stars Roy Dupuis in the title role and was directed by Charles Binamé. It features appearances by National Hockey League players Vincent Lecavalier, Mike Ricci, Sean Avery, Philippe Sauvé, Stéphane Quintal, Ian Laperrière and Pascal Dupuis.

Contents

[edit] Synopsis

The film depicts an era widely considered as a corner-stone of the NHL's history. It shows the life of The Rocket beginning with his years as a teenager, his ascension to the Canadiens, up to The Richard Riot, showing a full spectrum of Richard's career. It ends the year before Richard brought Montréal to an unrivalled record of five Stanley Cup Championships in a row.

[edit] Production

The dialogue and hockey scenes were produced to be as true to reality as possible; they were reviewed by Richard himself before he died and also by his wife, his children, and Dick Irvin Jr's written and recorded testimonies and memories about his father and reporters from the era. The events presented as facts and the dialogue have been researched thoroughly to present the most factually accurate film possible. Many sources were consulted for facts within the movie, including family, friends, the public, and the media recording those events, various journalists reporting on the events of that time, Richard's barber, previous teams in the juvenile league (he played for five different teams in different leagues).

The film was shot in Québec by Cinémaginaire for a budget of (CAD) $8,000,000 and distributed by Alliance Atlantis and Odeon.

[edit] Cast

Maurice Richard Roy Dupuis
Lucille Richard Julie LeBreton
Mr. Norchet Michel Barette
Dick Irvin Stephen McHattie
Elmer Lach Mike Ricci
Jean Beliveau Vincent Lecavalier
Bernie Geoffrion Ian Laperriere
Toe Blake Randy Thomas
Tommy Gorman Phillip Craig
Bob Dill Sean Avery
Frank Selke Tony Calabretta
Clarence Campbell Tedd Dillon
Milt Schmidt Pascal Dupuis
Dollard St. Laurent Stephane Quintal
Jim Henry Philippe Sauvé

[edit] Distribution

Maurice Richard was first released in French throughout Québec in November 2005, then throughout Canada with English subtitles in April 2006. The distribution rights were marketed at the Cannes Film Festival by Telefilm Canada, whose press release of 30 May 2006, reports that "Cinémaginaire producer Denise Robert inked deals for The Rocket (Maurice Richard) with five Scandinavian countries: Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Denmark." It was released in the United States as The Rocket: The Legend of Rocket Richard and was distributed by Palm Pictures.

[edit] Awards and recognition

The film was nominated in 13 categories for the 27th Genie Awards in 2007 and won nine of the 22 awards handed out (the wins are in bold below):

It was also nominated for a Jutra Award in 14 categories, including Best Actor for Roy Dupuis; but it did not receive the award.

[edit] References

[edit] External links