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| The story follows the US Quad Rugby team beginning with the 2002 world championships in Sweden through the 2004 Paralympic competition in Athens. To give the film a bit of narrative flow, we discover that there is a rivalry developing between the US and Canadian teams. The US has dominated this sport for years. But a former (and disgruntled) US player has gone north to coach Team Canada. To the Americans, this is a betrayal. |
(2005) Film Review |
| This
page was created on August 9, 2005
This page was last updated on
August 9, 2005
—Overview
—Photos
—About this Film
Dial up modems will take a few moments |
| CREDITS |
| Directed by Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro
Cast (in alphabetical order)
Keith Cavill .... Keith Cavill
Joe Soares .... Joe Soares
Mark Zupan .... Mark Zupan
Directed by
Henry Alex Rubin (co-director)
Dana Adam Shapiro (co-director)
Produced by
Sara Alize Cross .... associate producer
Christian Ettinger .... co-producer
Micah Green .... executive producer
Jeffrey V. Mandel .... producer
Randy Manis .... executive producer
Jeff Sackman .... executive producer
Dana Adam Shapiro .... producer
Tony Tamberelli Jr. .... associate producer
Mark Urman .... executive producer
Original Music by Jamie Saft
Cinematography by Henry Alex Rubin
Film Editing by Conor O'Neill and Geoffrey Richman
MPAA: Rated R for language and sexual content.
Runtime: Australia:85 min / USA:88 min
For rating reasons, go to FILMRATINGS.COM, and MPAA.ORG.
Parents, please refer to PARENTALGUIDE.ORG
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| TRAILERS AND CLIPS |
Trailer:
QuickTime, Hi-Res
QuickTime, Med-Res
QuickTime, Lo-Res
'Introduction to the Players':
6 Clips:
Windows Media Player, Various
8-Minute Extended Clip:
Windows Media Player |
| CD |
Murderball
Various Artists
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| POSTER |
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| SYNOPSIS |
 Featuring fierce rivalry, stopwatch suspense, and larger-than-life personalities, MURDERBALL, Winner of the Documentary Audience Award and a Special Jury Prize for Editing at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival, is a film about tough, highly competitive rugby players. Quadriplegic rugby players. Whether by car wreck, fist fight, gun shot, or rogue bacteria, these men were forced to live life sitting down. In their own version of the full-contact sport, they smash the hell out of each other in custom-made gladiator-like wheelchairs. And no, they don't wear helmets.
From the gyms of middle America to the Olympic arena in Athens, Greece, MURDERBALL tells the story of a group of world-class athletes unlike any ever shown on screen. In addition to smashing chairs, it will smash every stereotype you ever had about the disabled. It is a film about family, revenge, honor, sex (yes, they can) and the triumph of love over loss. But most of all, it is a film about standing up, even after your spirit - and your spine - has been crushed. |
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Quad Rugby: put a bunch of testosterone-ridden quadriplegics in custom wheelchairs, give them a ball, and let them get as violent as they can as they move the ball around a basketball court. When the sport got started in Canada, they called it Murderball. In many ways, it is wonderful therapy, but even more, it is great sport.
 We get introduced to the sport in the new documentary, Murderball. But even more important we get introduced to the men who play the game that we discover is more than just an entertaining oddity.
The story follows the US Quad Rugby team beginning with the 2002 world championships in Sweden through the 2004 Paralympic competition in Athens. To give the film a bit of narrative flow, we discover that there is a rivalry developing between the US and Canadian teams. The US has dominated this sport for years. But a former (and disgruntled) US player has gone north to coach Team Canada. To the Americans, this is a betrayal.
 Primarily, the film focuses on three personalities. Mark Zupan is one of the American players. Zupan was injured when thrown out of a truck in an accident. One of his long time friends said that Zupan was an asshole before the accident, so his attitude isn’t the result of being in a wheelchair. Zupan is like just about any jock you have ever met. Even as a quadriplegic, he has a swagger about him. He is focused and looking for gold.
Joe Soares is the former Team USA player now coaching Team Canada. His disability is the result of childhood polio. He participated in 13 consecutive US championships. Although his former teammates like to compare him to Benedict Arnold, for Soares, this is his next step in a sport that his been his love. We don’t see much of him as a player, but he does have the kind of motivational personality that makes good coaches. He too wants gold, but he also wants respect.
 The third focus is Keith Cavill, who we meet four weeks after he was injured doing motocross. Cavill is just beginning the rehab and the adjustment that will allow him to function in the world. Cavill struggles with the simplest of tasks: going from lying down to sitting, undoing the Velcro on his shoes. At this point in his life, Cavill isn’t thinking of gold, just living – and hoping to walk.
The film could have been made about the US and Canadian teams and it would have been interesting – and might have made it to ESPN late at night. But by including Cavill in the film, the filmmakers managed to make a film that isn’t just a quirky sports film. It is a film not so much about the game as it is about its participants. Cavill shows us the base from which all of these athletes started. We discover that in spite of their injuries – which had them all at Cavill’s level – they are capable athletes. It was a long time before they got to the point they are now. In that way they are a sign of hope for those who may feel powerless in the struggles they face.
 But the film is even more than this. The highlight of the film is how it manages to humanize these athletes for us. One of the players, when speaking about meeting girls, says that you’re never sure whether they see you or the chair. For the most part, at the beginning of the film, we see the chair. That is, we note how disabled they all are. We learn how they were injured. We learn about how hard it is to get around. We see a bit of their anger and frustration at their situations. We may even see the rugby as a way of channeling all that anger. We may marvel at what they can do, but we marvel because of how disabled they are.
Slowly, the filmmakers reveal to us the people who are sitting in the chairs. They have girlfriends, they have families, they have jobs, they have problems, and they have dreams. They have lives. They are as normal as anyone you know. They pull sophomoric practical jokes. They party. They have flaws. (Note: the film includes strong language and frank discussions of sex. As I said, these are normal men.)
By the time we watch them in Athens, we are no longer watching the chairs running up and down the court; we are watching our team. We do not see disabled athletes; we see athletes.
Like the game, the film Murderball is powerful experience.
—Comment on the blog
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 Mark Zupan
Months after Zupan's accident, at Jackson Memorial Rehabilitation Hospital, he was introduced to Quad Rugby. He had no interest at that time, believing that he would soon return to the soccer field. Quadriplegic? Me? Nah.
In September of 1994, realizing that his life was in fact forever changed, Mark decided to pursue his engineering education at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. It was here that Mark first suited up and wheeled onto a rugby court. He quickly took to the game's hard-hitting action and, after graduating in 1999, he relocated to Austin, Texas, with hopes of joining the #2-ranked Stampede--and one day, the USA Paralympic Team.
His training paid off. He became one of the most feared players on the Stampede, and was subsequently chosen for three National Teams. In 2002 he was voted Quad Rugby Player of the Year, and in 2004 he was a starter for Team USA at the Paralympics in Athens, Greece, where he led the team to a Bronze medal. He continues to compete and train, preparing for the 2008 summer Olympic games in Beijing.
 Joe Soares
Joe started playing rugby in 1989 and is the only player to have participated in 13 consecutive US National Championships. While a member of the Tampa Generals, his team held a 93-game consecutive winning streak and had 41 consecutive tournament final appearances.
Outside of rugby, Joe enjoys playing tennis and basketball. He was a finalist in singles and a champion in doubles at the 1996 US Open for wheelchair tennis in the Quad "A" Division, and has earned several all-tournament team selections during his 24 years of experience playing basketball. Joe and his wife Patricia have two sons, Joseph, 22 and Robert, 14.
 Keith Cavill
Born and raised in Wayne, NJ, Keith was actively racing Motocross and always into adventurous activities such as snowboarding, street bikes, four wheelers, and ice hockey. While racing Motocross in the summer of 2003, Keith's accident led to a broken neck (C4-C5). He's actively participating in therapy 3 days/week as well research studies associated with physical rehabilitation. He's building up his strength and upper mobility in preparation to tackle Quad Rugby and all of the other extreme Quad sports he can find. He also enjoys talking with other spinal cord injury patients and would love to be a motivational speaker.
During down time Keith has been getting back to hanging with friends, which includes going out to lounges, clubs, and bars in New York City, and looking for someone special.
 Andy Cohn
Andy, a native of Arizona, is moving to Coronada, CA this summer, was an "any and every sport" athlete until he suffered a broken neck and spinal cord injury as a passenger in a car on his way home from school at age 16. Andy struggled with the adjustments and depression from the resulting incomplete quadriplegia until he discovered Quad Rugby. "Murderball" proved to be the perfect competitive outlet that was missing in Andy's life. Having played for nearly ten seasons for the Phoenix Heat and the last four seasons for Team USA, Andy has excelled in the sport he loves even earning the Athlete of the Year award in 2002.
Off the court Andy enjoys volunteering at local hospitals and rehabs as a peer mentor to new patients with spinal cord injuries.
Outside of "Murderball", Andy is obsessed with X-Box and Texas Hold 'Em poker and can always be found listening to music in warm ups - especially Linkin Park and Jack Johnson.
 Scott Hogsett
Scott Hogsett was born in Spokane, WA where he studied sports and partying. At the early age of 19, Scott was involved in an accident that rendered him a C-5/ C-6 quadriplegic. After the accident, Scott wanted to further his education and better himself, so he chose to move to Phoenix, AZ and attend Arizona State University. There he majored in recreational therapy, completing his bachelor's degree in 2000.
Scott now focuses his time playing wheelchair rugby for Team USA and the Phoenix Heat. When he's not playing rugby, he works as a peer-mentor visiting various Phoenix hospitals. He recently married the woman of his dreams in Maui, HI. Scott's hobbies include training (hand-cycling, lifting weights, swimming), playing Texas Hold-em, traveling, and spending as much free-time with his wife as possible.
Although Scott still resides in AZ, he spends the summers training in the beautiful Northwest at Couer d'Alene lake. Scott looks forward to the future and hopes for the chance at winning the Gold in Beijing, China in 2008.
 Bob Lujano
Bob was born in Wichita, Kansas and graduated from University of Texas at Arlington (B.A. in Pre-Law). He holds a M.S. in Sports Management from University of Tennessee. He's also a quadruple amputee. On January 7, 1979, he lost limbs below the elbow and above the knee, due to a rare blood disease called Meningococcemia, which is a rare form of meningitis. On October 4, 1979, he met and was blessed by Pope John Paul II.
In the 10 years of playing quad ruby he has won 5 US Quad Rugby National Championships with the Lakeshore Demolition of Birmingham, Al and won 3 medals playing rugby for team USA. One Gold Medal ('99 World Wheelchair Games in Christchurch New Zealand), One Silver Medal (Wolrd Championships of rugby in Gotenburg, Sweden) and One Bronze Medal (2004 Paralympic Games Athens, Greece).
For 7 years he has worked at the Lakeshore Foundation, an official US Olympic & Paralympic Training Site, as the Coordinator of Athletics. Bob's two mottos in life:
"Seek first the kingdom of God and all his righteousness will be added unto you" (Matt 6:33)
"No arms, no legs, no problem!"
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