The Game of Their Lives (2005 film)
| The Game of Their Lives | |
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Original poster
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| 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 |
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Release date
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Running time
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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.
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.
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.
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.
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