"Electrifying! Illuminating and hugely entertaining. An eye-opener." -Peter Travers, Rolling Stone
"Critics Pick! Good sports movies are always about more than sports. Touches on themes of friendship and perseverance, and also offers a compact and vivid summary of recent Russian history." -A.O. Scott, The New York Times
"Grade A! Enthralling!" -Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly
During the Cold War, battles between East and West played out in sports as much as international politics. RED ARMY reveals one of the most colorful chapters of this history, focusing on the Soviet hockey team and its rivalries with Canada and the USA. At the center of the story is Slava Fetisov. He stood up to a powerful system and paved the way for Russian players to change their circumstances. As Soviet communism gave way to global capitalism, the lure of NHL money unravelled the legendary team known as the Red Army.
You don't need to be a hockey fan to get swept up in this story of friendship and divided loyalties. Director Gabe Polsky makes dazzling use of archival material from both sides of the Iron Curtain. He draws poignant interviews from key figures of the era, including Fetisov, his teammates, and NHL coach Scotty Bowman. Polsky documents an interchange across the historical East-West divide that shows we still have a lot to learn about each other. Reopening this history makes for one of the most widely appealing documentaries of the year.