The Miracle Match
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| The Game of Their Lives | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | David Anspaugh |
| Produced by | Howard Baldwin Karen Elise Baldwin Greg Johnson Peter Newman |
| Written by | Geoffrey Douglas (book) Angelo Pizzo |
| Starring | Gerard Butler Wes Bentley Zachery Ty Bryan Jimmy Jean-Louis |
| Distributed by | IFC Films |
| Release date(s) | April 22, 2005 |
| Running time | 101 minutes |
| Language | English |
| Budget | ~ US$20,000,000 |
| IMDb profile | |
The Miracle Match is a 2005 drama film, directed by David Anspaugh. The movie's title was "The Game of Their Lives" in theaters and was renamed when it was released on DVD.
It is based on the book of the The Game of Their Lives by Geoffrey Douglas (ISBN 0-8050-3875-2), which details the true story of the U.S. soccer team who, against all odds, beat England 1-0 in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil during the 1950 FIFA World Cup. For details of the match, see England v United States (1950).
The story is about the family traditions and passions that shaped the players who made up this team of underdogs. Many of the teammates were from The Hill neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri.
The cast includes Gerard Butler, Zachery Ty Bryan, and Wes Bentley, among others. It opened for limited release in the U.S. on April 22, 2005.
Among other historical inaccuracies in the film, Scotsman Ed McIlvenny (played by U.S. soccer player John Harkes) was edited out of the captaincy he held in the match against England. McIlvenny moved to the United States in 1948, but returned to Britain in 1950 and played professional football for Manchester United. McIlvenny captained the U.S. side to their 1-0 victory, but the producers of the film decided to give the position of captain to American-born Walter Bahr.
Walter Bahr commented, "I was captain for about 10 years including the 1950 World Cup. But when we got to Brazil the first game was against Spain and since my teammate Harry Keough spoke Spanish, they made him captain. Against England, our coach Bill Jeffrey, who was also Scottish-born, thought it would be a big feather in Eddie's cap to be captain. It was an honor for him and I think that was the proper thing to do. I was then captain for the last game against Chile and for years to come. Yet in the film I'm captain, and that's wrong. I know Eddie's widow lives in East Sussex, and it is important she should know that an error has been made and Eddie really was the captain against England."
McIlvenny's widow, Sheila, was reported as saying: "It's disappointing, but what do you expect from Hollywood?...It is not the true story, not at all. I think he [McIlvenny] would have accepted it, but I don't think he would have been happy with it because it wasn't the truth".
