Kukla's Korner Hockey

Kukla's Korner Hockey

Is Slava Fetisov ready for his close-up?

04/24/2014 at 12:18am EDT

George here: I posted this little tidbit in my Red Wings-Bruins Game 3 tailings post, but I gather that not all of you read TMR, and something tells me that more than just Red Wings fans will be interested in this little ditty.

"Rope of Silicon's" Brad Brevet reported that a documentary titled Red Army--a film chronicling the creation, dominance, persistance and downfall of the mighty Soviet Red Army hockey team and its players--will make its debut at the Cannes Film Festival.

Is main character is a certain former Red Wing, New Jersey Devil, Russian Minister of Sport and current senator from Vladivostok, one Vyacheslav "Slava" Fetisov, who captained the team through the "Miracle on Ice" years and was part of the famous "Green Unit" (a.k.a. KLM line).

From Brevet:

Here's the official synopsis:

Following the Soviet Union during the height of the Cold War, Red Army tells the story of the nation's famed Red Army hockey team through the eyes of its captain Slava Fetisov. Whether he was pitted against enemies in the political arena or on the ice, Fetisov's story provides a rare glimpse behind the Iron Curtain of the 1970s and '80s by mirroring the social and political forces at work in the world around him. While helping pave the way for his nation to cross over into the next century, this one man demonstrated how sports could not only be an avenue for creative expression in a world determined to suppress it, but also be something so inextricably intertwined with a nation's cultural and political identity.

Fetisov would eventually play for the New Jersey Devils and won back-to-back Stanley Cup championships with the '97 and '98 Detroit Red Wings. After winning in '97 he took the Cup home to Moscow, which was the first time it had ever appeared in Russia.

We've always heard the story of the Russian hockey team from the U.S. perspective, largely when it comes to the 1980 U.S. men's team that, against all odds, beat Russia before going on to win the gold medal by defeating Finland. Red Army looks to give us the story from a different perspective.

Now Variety Magazine's Dave McNary (via RedWingsFeed) is reporting that Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the film

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all North American, Eastern European and Asian rights to “Red Army,” on the heels of the sports documentary being tapped for the Cannes Film Festival’s Special Screening Section.

The film, directed by Gabe Polsky, centers on the Red Army hockey team from the perspective of its captain Slava Fetisov and his transformation from national hero to political enemy.

“We can’t wait to present this film to audiences everywhere,” said Sony Classics toppers Tom Bernard and Michael Barker. “This is Russian history as seen from the perspective of professional ice hockey.”

The film was executive produced by Jerry Weintraub, Werner Herzog, and Liam Satre-Meloy.

Bob Lange of Kleinberg Lange represented the producers of “Red Army” in the distribution deal with Sony.

The film looks fantastic...

And we loved Papa Bear in Detroit, as we loved Sergei Fedorov, Slava Kozlov, Igor Larionov and of course Vladimir Konstantinov--and now Pavel Datsyuk.

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About Kukla's Korner Hockey

Paul Kukla founded Kukla’s Korner in 2005 and the site has since become the must-read site on the ‘net for all the latest happenings around the NHL.

From breaking news to in-depth stories around the league, KK Hockey is updated with fresh stories all day long and will bring you the latest news as quickly as possible.

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