Slap Shot | | Cast : | Paul Newman, Michael Ontkean | | Director : | George Roy Hill | | Studio : | Universal Studios | | Format : | Color, Closed-captioned, Widescreen | | Released Date : | February 25, 1977 | | DVD Released Date : | May 31, 2005 | | Language : | French (Dubbed), English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | R (Restricted) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | April 30, 2005 | | Summary | Makin' it look mean! | Content
 | Since I grew up playing hockey, and have been a lifetime fan of the game, I have been a Slap Shot fan since I first saw the film. I have never given a link to a review before, but Slap Shot is one of the few movies I have written an on-line review for. If you are so inclined you can read it here: http://www.geocities.com/skywalker77.geo/slapshot.html |
| Rating | | | Date | March 10, 2005 | | Summary | Hilarious hockey high jinks..... | Content
| Psst! Hey sports fans. This film is truly funny stuff. But you certainly do not have to be a hockey (or sports) fan to enjoy "Slapshot" for its off-color, often irreverent humor that holds up as well today as it did when the film was released in 1977. Aging player-coach of the Charleston Chiefs, Reggie Dunlop (Paul Newman) does just about anything to hold his losing team of misfits and malcontents together. It is with the signing of the Hanson brothers, a trio of young hockey phenoms from the frozen ponds of northern nowhere that the fortunes of the Chiefs, on ice at least, are forever changed. Virtually every scene this trio steal are priceless gems of side-splitting low-ball comedy. The ultimate fate of the Chiefs however, is beyond the knowledge or control of Dunlop. Only the secretive team manager (wonderfully played by Strother Martin) knows that secret. Paul Newman displayed a deft touch for comedy in this work and his technique is quite different than his usual style of acting. Newman later confessed his role of Dunlop as among his personal favorites. "Slapshot" is good humored fun but so profane and so bawdy it should not be viewed by children. For obvious reasons it can never be shown in its uncensored entirety on television. When it is aired, it is so heavily edited as to sometimes render its outrageous humor awkwardly ineffective. "Slapshot" uncut is one of the funniest adult comedies, sports genre or not, ever filmed.
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| Rating | | | Date | March 07, 2005 | | Summary | a MUST read for fans of Slap Shot | Content
| No need for another review of Slap Shot (the best movie ever made) but for those fans of Slap Shot not aware of the new book:
"The Rebel League : The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association
by ED WILLES"
stop everything and get this book today! stay home from work and read this book...
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| Rating | | | Date | February 21, 2005 | | Summary | Maybe the greatest sports movie ever | Content
| Ask hardcore hockey fans (the kind that are familiar with the Montreal Maroons or that understand that present-day hockey is virtually figure-skating compared to the seventies) what their favorite sports movie is, or ask hockey pros what their favorite sports movie is; probably more than half the time, you'll hear "Slap Shot". Some "serious" sports films suffer from self-importance or a lack of realism; try watching a good war documentary for actual life-and-death situations. Thankfully, "Slap Shot" doesn't take itself terribly seriously yet still manages to paint an accurate, believable picture.
Sure, the humor is rude and crude, but necessary to paint a somewhat accurate picture of `70's minor league hockey (surely these guys weren't discussing Plato or speaking in blue-blood accents). It may be offensive to uninitiated people (e.g. people who don't watch hockey or team sports in general), but the humor is oft-hilarious for hockey fans.
Paul Newman plays crafty, alternately obnoxious and charming player-coach Reg Dunlop, leader of the mediocre minor league Charlestown Chiefs (though in reality the movie was filmed in Johnstown, PA). Fearful that the team is going to fold (now that the big mill in town is closing), Reg concocts a scheme in which he'll find a way to make the team better and profitable in the hopes that the yet-unknown owner will opt to sell the team rather than disband it.
What eventually generates interest and success in the team is their change to a rough-and-tumble style of play, mercilessly beating on opponents (a la the typical style of play for many `70's teams), largely thanks to the infusion of the three Hanson brothers (who in real life actually were minor-league bruisers), who also provide much of the humor in the film. Michael Ontkean plays Ned Braden, the Ivy Leaguer who is a skilled scorer and naturally is unhappy with the fight-first direction of the team. His dysfunctional relationship with his young alcoholic wife serves as a subplot and also reminds Reg of his own unhappy marriage, largely due to his hockey life.
The film is full of fantastically funny moments: Reg's disbelief upon seeing the Hanson's for the first time ("They brought their f**kin' toys with `em!"), the players being forced to do a fashion show that goes awry when one of the players strips, the great Strother Martin as the cheapskate conniving general manager, the French-Canadian goaltender having hallucinations after being pummeled with shots, the Hansons starting a fight before the national anthem even starts, etc.
This is definitely one of the best sports films ever made (both in terms of comedy, and strangely, realism); don't expect anything highbrow, though, "THIS IS HOCKEY!" as the Chiefs rug-adorned announcer yells as the Chiefs are mercilessly pummeling their opponents.
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| Rating | | | Date | February 03, 2005 | | Summary | Sports Film Classic | Content
| Riotously funny film about a minor-league hockey team that turns it's fortunes around when it gives the people the ultraviolence it wants. Paul Newman in a departure for him plays the profane player-coach of the team. Film is augmented by the prescence of the goofily roughneck Hansen brothers, players so dirty that the cops are waiting for them outside the locker-room after every game. Film was notorious in it's day for it's liberal use of the "F" word(I think they counted 129 uses) that has since been supplanted by three times by "Scarface". Film made a real commentary on the state of professional hockey when it came out because violence was considered a real problem in the sport in 1977. Film really hit close to home in Philadelphia because our team, The Flyers, had the monicker "The Broad Street Bullies" and wore that title proudly. On a final note I'd like to note the presence of one of my favorite character actors, Strother Martin, who plays the team owner. |
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