Freedom's Fury (2006)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Directors:

Colin K. Gray
Megan Raney

Writer:

Colin K. Gray (writer)

Release Date:

7 September 2006 (Hungary)

Genre:

Documentary | Sport

Tagline:

One team. One country. One chance for revenge.

Plot:

A documentary on the 1956 Olympic semifinal water polo match between Hungary and Russia. Held in Australia, the match occurred as Russian forces were in Budapest, stomping out a popular revolt. |

Plot Keywords:

Cold War | Hungary | Interview | Olympic Athlete | Water Polo

Cast

Viktor Ageyev	...	Himself
Antal Bolvari	...	Himself
János Bük	...	Himself
Sándor Csoóri	...	Himself
Dwight D. Eisenhower	...	Himself (archive footage)
Mikhail Gorbachev	...	Himself (archive footage)
James Green	...	Himself
Dezso Gyarmati	...	Himself
Judith Gyenes	...	Herself
István Hevesi	...	Himself
Adolf Hitler	...	Himself (archive footage)
Richard Holbrooke	...	Himself
Bob Horn	...	Himself
Laszlo Jenei	...	Himself
János Kádár	...	Himself (archive footage)
Janos Kapcsos	...	Himself
György Kárpáti	...	Himself
Nikita Khrushchev	...	Himself (archive footage)
Sergei Khrushchev	...	Himself
Béla Király	...	Himself
Ferenc Kósa	...	Himself (as Ferenc Kosa)
Bela Liptak	...	Himself
Pál Maléter	...	Himself (archive footage)
Boris Markarov	...	Himself
Kalman Markovits	...	Himself
Nick Martin	...	Himself
Kati Marton	...	Herself
Joseph McCarthy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Imre Mécs	...	Himself (as Imre Mecs)
Adam Meir	...	Voice of S. Racz / I. Hevesi / Y. Shalyapin / J. Kapcsos
Joseph Miko	...	Himself
Pyotr Mshvenieradze	...	Himself
Imre Nagy	...	Himself (archive footage)
Jozsef Nagy	...	Himself
Karoly Nagy	...	Himself
Laszlo Papp	...	Himself
Bela Pomogats	...	Himself
Imre Pozsgay	...	Himself
Sándor Rácz	...	Himself (as Sandor Racz)
Mátyás Rákosi	...	Himself (archive footage)
Yuri Shlyapin	...	Himself
Mark Spitz	...	Narrator
Joseph Stalin	...	Himself (archive footage)
Alex Tarics	...	Himself
Peter Ueberroth	...	Himself
Edith Vasarhelyi	...	Herself
Mickey Watkins	...	Herself
Mária Wittner	...	Herself (as Maria Wittner)
Ervin Zádor	...	Himself (as Ervin Zador)

Runtime:

Germany:90 min (European Film Market)

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Hungarian

Company:

WOLO Entertainment

Hugely impressive; surpassed all expectations

I'll admit I had misgivings. Was this going to be a hackneyed, pathos-dripping American documentary with a naïve voice-over commentary, relegating the "local talent" to the role of extras and curiosities? Within two or three minutes it was obvious it was not - there is a sensitivity and an unhurried feel (though there is action enough for anyone, in and out of the water) to the making of this film that could teach many a lesson. The protagonists are given room to tell their story, and - particularly in the case of those who lived the Uprising and several very articulate and immensely likable members of the Hungarian Olympic side - they grab it with both hands and effectively take things over.

The history, and the tragedy of what went down in the fall of 1956, is also presented in detail and not in sound-bites for the attention-deficient, and you are left with a feeling that everyone involved knew that they were dealing with a subject that deserved their full attention, and that they had amazing picture material that should be allowed to speak for itself. Gripping, heartwarming, uplifting, some seamless blending of archive footage and modern recreations, and worthy of a much larger audience.

Kudos to Mark Spitz, too, for a job well done, but then again, when you read the final credits you know why - how could he have DARED to let his old schoolboy coach down?

As a side observation, it was good to see the members of the defeated Soviet water polo team in good cheer. When the Soviet Union's football team was defeated by Yugoslavia at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, just four years after Tito had humiliated Stalin politically, the players did not fare quite so well. Stalin had expected much more out of the country's first appearance at the Olympics. He immediately disbanded CSKA Moscow, who had provided most of the national side, the result of the game was not published in the USSR until 1954 (a year after his death), and many of the unfortunate players (let's face it, they only had the bad luck to come up against a very very good Yugoslav team, who took the silver medals behind the magnificent Hungarians and Ferenc Puskas) allegedly wound up in labour camps. At least Nikita Khrushchev did not stoop THAT low in 1956. There is also quite a good TV-documentary about this particularly ugly footnote in footballing history, but I cannot for the life of me find it now...