Main Cast: Gerard Butler, Wes Bentley, Jay Rodan, Gavin Rossdale, Costas Mandylor
Release Year: 2005
Country: US
Run Time: 96 minutes
MPAA Rating: PG
Plot
In 1950, most Americans had only a passing familiarity with the game of soccer, even though it was the world's most popular sport, and few athletes in the United States played the game with any particular degree of expertise. However, when an invitation was extended to the United States to participate in the World Cup tournament in Brazil -- the international soccer championship held every four years -- Bill Jeffrey was determined that America participate. In less than two weeks, Jeffrey assembled a team comprised mostly of players from St. Louis (where soccer had developed a small but loyal following) and the East Coast (where the game gained a foothold on college campuses), with immigrants from Haiti, Portugal, and Scotland filling out the ranks. Against all odds, the Americans not only made it to the World Cup games, but defeated the British team (favored by many to win the championship) in the greatest upset of the 1950 games. The Game of Their Lives is a sports drama based on the remarkable true story of the 1950 United States team, featuring John Rhys-Davies as Bill Jeffrey, Wes Bentley as team leader Walter Bahr, Gerard Butler as goalie Frank Borghi, Jimmy Jean-Louis as Joe Gaetiens, a dishwasher born in Haiti who found his way onto the team, and Patrick Stewart as a journalist covering the games. David Anspaugh, who made the acclaimed basketball drama Hoosiers, directed. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
Louis Mandylor - Gino Pariani; Zachery Ty Bryan - Harry Keough; Jimmy Jean-Louis - Joe Gaetjens; Patrick Stewart - Older Dent McSkimming; Terry Kinney - Dent McSkimming; John Rhys-Davies - Bill Jeffrey; Tim Vickery; Pat Noonan; Ben Olsen; Eddie Pope; Jason Kreis; Freddy Adu; Chris Albright; Clint Dempsey; Landon Donovan; Alecko Eskandarian; John Harkes - Ed McIvenny; Chris Klein; Damani Ralph; Nelson Vargas - Clarkie Sousa
Credit
Michael Atwell - Art Director, Amanda Mackey-Johnson - Casting, Cathy Sandrich Gelfond - Casting, Molly McBride - Choreography, Eric Wynalda - Consultant/advisor, Ira Deutchman - Co-producer, Angelo Pizzo - Co-producer, Nick Morton - Co-producer, Jane Anderson - Costume Designer, Christopher Stoia - First Assistant Director, David Anspaugh - Director, Ian Crafford - Editor, Bud Smith - Editor, Scott Smith - Editor, Lee Grubin - Editor, William J. Immerman - Executive Producer, Greg Johnson - Executive Producer, Billy Higgins - Line Producer, William Ross - Composer (Music Score), Chris Parker - Musical Direction/Supervision, Linda Burton - Production Designer, Johnny E. Jensen - Cinematographer, Karen Baldwin - Producer, Howard Baldwin - Producer, Peter Newman - Producer, Harold Baldwin - Producer, Ginger T. Perkins - Producer, Bob Eber - Sound/Sound Designer, Tim A. Davison - Stunts Coordinator, Angelo Pizzo - Screenwriter, Dave Stump - Visual Effects Supervisor, Michael Chock - Supervising Sound Editor, Bob Shelley - Visual Effects, Mauricio Bevilacqua - Visual Effects, David Smith - Set Decorator, Geoffrey Douglas - Book Author
The Game of Their Lives (released on DVD as The Miracle Match) is a 2005Americandrama 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 England1-0 in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil during the 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.
Production
Among other historical inaccuracies in the film, Scotsman Ed McIlvenny (played by U.S. soccer player John Harkes) was edited out of the captaincy he held in the match against England. McIlvenny moved to the United States in 1948, but returned to Britain in 1950 and played professional football for Manchester United. McIlvenny captained the U.S. side to their 1-0 victory, but the producers of the film decided to give the position of captain to American-born Walter Bahr.
Walter Bahr commented, "I was captain for about 10 years including the 1950 World Cup. But when we got to Brazil the first game was against Spain and since my teammate Harry Keough spoke Spanish, they made him captain. Against England, our coach Bill Jeffrey, who was also Scottish-born, thought it would be a big feather in Eddie's cap to be captain. It was an honor for him and I think that was the proper thing to do. I was then captain for the last game against Chile and for years to come. Yet in the film I'm captain, and that's wrong. I know Eddie's widow lives in East Sussex, and it is important she should know that an error has been made and Eddie really was the captain against England."[citation needed]
McIlvenny's widow, Sheila, was reported as saying: "It's disappointing, but what do you expect from Hollywood?...It is not the true story, not at all. I think he [McIlvenny] would have accepted it, but I don't think he would have been happy with it because it wasn't the truth".[citation needed]
