The Rocket (Maurice Richard) | |
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Film poster
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Directed by | Charles Binamé |
Produced by |
Daniel Louis Denise Robert |
Written by | Ken Scott |
Starring |
Roy Dupuis Julie Le Breton Stephen McHattie |
Cinematography | Pierre Gill |
Edited by | Michel Arcand |
Distributed by | Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm, Universal Pictures |
Release date
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Running time
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124 mins |
Country | Canada |
Language | French, English |
Budget | 8,000,000 |
The Rocket (Canadian French: Maurice Richard, also known as The Rocket: The Legend of Rocket Richard and The Rocket: The Maurice Richard Story) is a French-Canadian biopic about the ice hockey player Maurice "The Rocket" Richard. It stars Roy Dupuis and was directed by Charles Binamé. It features appearances by National Hockey League players Mike Ricci, Sean Avery, Vincent Lecavalier, Philippe Sauvé, Stéphane Quintal, Ian Laperrière, and Pascal Dupuis.
The film depicts an era widely considered a cornerstone of the NHL's history. It shows the life of 'The Rocket' beginning with his years as a teenager, his ascension to the Montreal Canadiens, up to the Richard Riot, showing a full spectrum of Richard's career. It ends the year before Richard brought Montréal to an unrivaled record of five Stanley Cup Championships in a row.
The film begins as the Canadiens coach argues for continuing the hockey game even though the Richard Riot is occurring. The film then rolls to Maurice laboring as a teenager. Maurice later plays hockey for a minor league and soon tries out for the Canadiens. He tries out and makes it on the team. Maurice scores several goals but is injured early in his first season. People begin to call Maurice a lemon and a waste of money. Maurice recovers from his injury but is asked to sit out. Later he and his wife receive a baby girl who weighs 9 pounds (4 kg). Maurice goes to his coach and asks to exchange the number 15 for the number 9. Maurice will continue to play and breaks the record of 44 goals in one season. In a game with the New York Rangers, he encounters Bob Dill, a player sent out to attack Maurice to prevent him from beating the record. Maurice however, takes out Dill.