The Game of Their Lives (2005 film)

The Game of Their Lives

Original poster
Directed by David Anspaugh
Produced by Howard Baldwin
Karen Elise Baldwin
Greg Johnson
Peter Newman
Ginger T. Perkins
Written by Angelo Pizzo
Based on the book by Geoffrey Douglas
Starring Gerard Butler
Wes Bentley
Jay Rodan
Gavin Rossdale
Costas Mandylor
Louis Mandylor
Zachery Ty Bryan
Jimmy Jean-Louis
Richard Jenik
Nelson Vargas
Craig Hawksey
Bill Smitrovich
with Patrick Stewart
with Terry Kinney
as 'Dent McSkimming'
and John Rhys-Davies
as 'Bill Jeffrey'
Music by William Ross
Cinematography Johnny E. Jensen
Edited by Ian Crafford
Lee Grubin
Bud S. Smith
M. Scott Smith
Jeff Williams
Distributed by IFC Films
Release dates
  • April 22, 2005 (2005-04-22)
Running time
101 minutes
Country United States
Language English
Budget $13,000,000
Box office $388,998 (Worldwide)

The Game of Their Lives (released on DVD as The Miracle Match) is a 2005 American drama film directed by David Anspaugh. The screenplay by Angelo Pizzo is based on the book of the same title by Geoffrey Douglas.

Plot

The film details the true story of the 1950 US soccer team which, against all odds, beat England 1–0 in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil during the 1950 FIFA World Cup. The story is about the family traditions and passions that shaped the players who made up this team of underdogs. One group of teammates were from The Hill neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. Another group came from the Corky Row district of Fall River, Massachusetts.

Cast

Production

In September 1996, Douglas' book was published. In November 1996, the film rights to it were purchased by producer Peter Newman. Newman was unable to secure financing for production, however, and finally sold the rights to Philip Anschutz, one of the founders of Major League Soccer. Anschutz wanted to generate interest in the fledgling soccer league, and hired Pizzo to write the screenplay and Anspaugh to direct.[1]

Anspaugh was initially hesitant, thinking that the success of his previous sports films (Hoosiers and Rudy) would be difficult to top and that a film about soccer would not be warmly received in the U.S. Coincidentally, the same day that Anspaugh was approached about the film, Pizzo was discussing the 1950 match with Indiana Hoosiers men's soccer coach Jerry Yeagley.[2]

Casting began in September 2002. The actors were chosen mostly for their soccer skills. Scotsman Gerard Butler, for example, grew up playing the game, although he portrayed a goalkeeper in the film. Wes Bentley was the only major exception. American international soccer player Eric Wynalda served as a technical consultant, and another American player, John Harkes, appeared in the film.

The film only had an initial budget of $13 million, which meant that they were unable to film many scenes about the players' back-stories.[2] Principal photography took place in St. Louis, Missouri, and several of the surviving members of the U.S. 1950 World Cup frequently visited the set. Gino Pariani's son appeared in a bit role.[3]

Release

Theatrical run

The film was distributed by IFC Films and was released on April 22, 2005. It only grossed $388,998 worldwide, with nearly 97% of that coming from the U.S.[4]

Reception

The Game of Their Lives received mostly negative reviews from critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 26% based on reviews from 35 critics, and reports an average rating of 4.6 out of 10.[5] At Metacritic, which assigns a weighted average score out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film received an average score of 47% based on 13 reviews.[6]

Roger Ebert awarded the film one-and-a-half out of four stars and said, "This is a sluggish and dutiful film that plays more like a eulogy than an adventure."[7]

Historical inaccuracies

Further reading

References

  1. Kellem, Craig (2003). "Interview with author Geoffrey Douglas". Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  2. 1 2 Turner, Miki (21 April 2005). "U.S. vs. England: 'Game of Their Lives'". ESPN. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  3. Lange, David (5 August 2011). "USA 1, England 0: The epitaph". Soccer Made in St. Louis. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  4. "The Game of Their Lives (2005)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  5. "The Game of Their Lives (2005)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  6. "The Game of Their Lives". Metacritic. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  7. Ebert, Robert (22 April 2005). "The Game of Their Lives". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  8. Smith, David (21 April 2005). "The American dream". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2010-06-13.
  9. Schaerlaeckens, Leander (February 26, 2010). "Chasing Gaetjens". ESPNsoccernet. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  10. 1 2 3 "The Real Story About the 1950 U.S. World Cup Team". National Soccer Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  11. Douglas, p. 5
  12. "USA v England". Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  13. "Mexico v USA". Retrieved 2010-06-10.
  14. Beauchesne, Jill. "Frank Borghi". Where Are They Now?. National Soccer Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2010-06-20.
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