'Red Army' trailer captures the essence of hockey and politics

Posted Thursday, September 18, 2014 at 5:18 PM Central

by John Couture

If you were alive in 1980, there's a pretty good chance you remember Al Michaels famous call as the waning seconds of a simple hockey game expired.

Eleven seconds, you've got ten seconds, the countdown going on right now! Morrow, up to Silk. Five seconds left in the game. Do you believe in miracles?! YES!!!

The truth of the matter is that this wasn't just another hockey game. The testament to this fact is that I have a collectible from that game that sits on my desk that plays that iconic call when you push a button.

If ever there was a hockey game that transcended the sport and, even, the politics of the moment, the "Miracle on Ice" game was it. Heck, they even made a film about it. Of course, being from the United States, we mostly only got one side of the story. There's a reason that the Soviet Union team was painted as the enemy and the forthcoming documentary Red Army will attempt to fill in the gaps.

Of course being a life-long fan of the sport, I'm biased, but I'm pretty sure that this film will interest both hockey fans and non-fans alike. It seemingly delves deeper into the politics of the era and how a simple game may have signaled the end of the Cold War as we know.

Oh, did I mention that it features real bears playing hockey?

The film played at Cannes and the Toronto International Film Festivals this year, but no word from Sony Picture Classics when we can expect to see it either in theaters or on DVD/Blu-ray.