Best hockey movie ever

[ArgoRavi]

I know that most people would say that Slap Shot was the best hockey movie ever but IMO it is the 1971 classic Face-Off. How many of you have seen that one? I am just watching it again now on one of The Movie Networks. It is the classic about the young Toronto Maple Leaf Billy Duke (played by the great Art Hindle with Jim McKenny standing in for him in the game footage) who meets a singer who distracts him from his game. If the story doesn't grab you, the classic footage of the Leafs of that era playing the likes of Montreal (at the old Forum), Detroit (at the old Olympia), Boston, the New York Rangers and the California Golden Seals will. The captain of the Leafs at that time, George Armstrong, has a speaking part and we also get cameos from the likes of Harold Ballard and even the sports reporters of that time such as George Gross and Fergie Olver. John Vernon, who would become much better known for his role as Dean Vernon Wormer in Animal House several years later, plays the hard-nosed coach of the Leafs who has to face the pressures of coaching in Toronto and putting up with an unhappy wife. There is a scene in this film which makes it appear as though it was him, and not Roger Neilson, who should have been known as Captain Video. There is also a wonderful scene where Derek Sanderson tries to talk some sense into an enraged Duke on the ice. This movie has it all!

[Will]

I vaguely know of that film, Ravi.

Slap Shot is awesome though! My generation always has a nostalgic spot for the Mighty Ducks as well.

[ArgoGabe22]

Other than Might Ducks the only hockey film I ever watched was The Rocket.

[argonaut11xx]

wow...i'd forgotten about that movie....

here is a link to the original trailer, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ig9aeTrfZSQ

It was good,but the original Slap Shot is iconic...

[argonaut11xx]

Even better than the "Original Face Off"....is the SCTV spoof, called "Power Play"...John Candy is HILARIOUS

if you have 10 mins , watch it here.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmV_tyYYp0g

(also starring Donald Sutherland, Al Waxman, and Darryl Sittler,hehehe)

The Toronto Bay Leafs...hahaha

[Ron]

That's a good one Ravi. As you said it has it all. Better than Slapshot for sure but it's also more of a real movie.

[ArgoRavi]

Even better than the "Original Face Off"....is the SCTV spoof, called "Power Play"...John Candy is HILARIOUS

if you have 10 mins , watch it here.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmV_tyYYp0g

(also starring Donald Sutherland, Al Waxman, and Darryl Sittler,hehehe)

The Toronto Bay Leafs...hahaha

This spoof along with the one for Goin' Down The Road were always two of the best that SCTV did. BTW, you have to love the inclusion of Dick "Bedloe" in the Face Off spoof.

[Ron]

This spoof along with the one for Goin' Down The Road were always two of the best that SCTV did.

The SCTV name for "going down the road" was Yonge Street. May fav.

[Wobbler]

Goon. I don't like sports movies, but... this is actually quite good.

[294life]

it's a french movie but 'Les Boys' is quite good also.

[Argo57]

Even better than the "Original Face Off"....is the SCTV spoof, called "Power Play"...John Candy is HILARIOUS

if you have 10 mins , watch it here.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PmV_tyYYp0g

(also starring Donald Sutherland, Al Waxman, and Darryl Sittler,hehehe)

The Toronto Bay Leafs...hahaha

A classic!!
Hands down the winner!!!!

[LLB997]

anyone remember a movie from about 1o yrs ago about the 72 summit series? Not the one about the team but the movie that took the fans perspective of what happened in 72. I think CBC aired it. been looking for the title for a while.

[ArgoRavi]

anyone remember a movie from about 1o yrs ago about the 72 summit series? Not the one about the team but the movie that took the fans perspective of what happened in 72. I think CBC aired it. been looking for the title for a while.

The only thing I can think of is "Pray for me, Paul Henderson" about some high schoolers in the Reach For The Top competition at the same time that the Summit Series was taking place. I think that ran back in the 1990s on CBC.

[ArgoZ]

I think "Youngblood" is the best hockey movie for all the wrong reasons. Such a classic, LOL.

[Will]

The actor who played the coach (Ed Lauter) in Youngblood recently passed away.

[rdavies]

The only thing I can think of is "Pray for me, Paul Henderson" about some high schoolers in the Reach For The Top competition at the same time that the Summit Series was taking place. I think that ran back in the 1990s on CBC.

Wow, not too many people know about that one, I was able to tape it for my collection and it has probably only aired a couple of times. Good ol Detective Murdoch (Yannick Bisson) played Mike Stanoulis the stoner who ends up on the RFTP team and wins it at the final buzzer answering a question about LSD (IIRC) A really cute coming of age movie. Classic line by the black kid who goes to the bible interpretation meeting to meet chicks. The lead woman of the meeting asks him what island he's from, and he says "Halifax... Nova Scotia" and she responds "No, before that" and he says "Cape Breton...err Nova Scotia... err Canada"

Face Off is classic and frankly George Armstrong is the best part, especially the scene where he buys stranger Les Rubie a beer in the tavern and leaves with the classic line something to the effect of "I'd like to have a beer with ya buddy but I just found out they don't serve Indians in here"

Anybody remember the hockey movie they played in serials during the intermission of HNIC in the 70s. (A hockey star goes blind and has to fight for a new life in King of Hockey (1936).

Of course, I hate to mention it, but it was done very well, (along with several documentaries) was Miracle. Also interesting was the first movie Miracle on Ice with Karl Malden as Herb Brooks. That hasn't been aired too often since it's original airing.

But in my mind the best hockey movie was and is The Hounds of Notre Dame about Pere Athol Murray and the beginnings of Notre Dame College in Wilcox Saskatchewan. The kid actors are very natural and give good performances. You might even try to hide a little tear in your eye from this one.

I have all the Canada/Russia 72 docs in my collection and one of the best is one of the most recent Cold War on Ice which was the first documentary seen on the NBC Sports Network. You can see the whole thing here on Youtube - Cold War on Ice Summit Series '72 HD. Also worth watching is the sports segment in the documentary series Red Files Soviet Sports Wars seen in its entirety here.

Some rare recorded games from the overall 72 series

Sweden vs Canada Sept 17 1972 The layover in Sweden (where it all changed)
Czechoslovakia vs Canada Sept 30 1972 Canadian players still hungover

[ArgoRavi]

Those are great finds, rdavies! There are lots of full international games on YouTube now.

[rdavies]

For what it's worth

Ram-30's Top 40 Hockey Movies
ram-30 IMDB 07 Mar 2011
A list of my favourite films about the great game of hockey

Interesting list, his rankings differ from mine but he has posted a pretty perceptive collection. At three, he has the CanCon classic Last of the Big Guns (1973) better known as Paperback Hero.

There's also tons of great docs at nfb.ca

[ArgoRavi]

There's also tons of great docs at nfb.ca

I liked this one myself: https://www.nfb.ca/film/just_another_job

[rdavies]

Yeah, that's a good one, another is Thunderbirds in China, about the UBC hockey team touring China in 1973.