''Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis'' is an expanded version of ''Head Games (2012)'', a 2012

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in te ...

that examines the effects of repeated concussions and subconcussive blows, particularly those associated with sports. It focuses on

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wi ...

and hockey, but also covers

boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

, soccer, lacrosse, and professional wrestling. It covers findings that chronic

traumatic brain injury A traumatic brain injury (TBI), also known as an intracranial injury, is an injury to the brain caused by an external force. TBI can be classified based on severity (ranging from mild traumatic brain injury TBI/concussionto severe traumatic br ...

is occurring in female sports. Also covered is physiological evidence of brain injury in adolescent athletes. ''Head Games'' is directed by Steve James, director of the highly acclaimed documentary, ''

Hoop Dreams ''Hoop Dreams'' is a 1994 American documentary film directed by Steve James, and produced by Frederick Marx, James, and Peter Gilbert, with Kartemquin Films. It follows the story of two African-American high school students, William Gates an ...

''. It is a film followup to Christopher Nowinski's book, ''Head Games''. The film features interviews with Nowinski (founder of the Sports Legacy Institute), Dr. Robert Cantu (a professor of neurosurgery at Boston University School of Medicine, Dr.

Ann McKee Ann McKee (born 1953) is a neuropathologist and expert in neurodegenerative disease at the New England Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VISN-1) and is professor of neurology and pathology at Boston University School of Medicine and director of ...

, and Robert Stern, who are experts on

chronic traumatic encephalopathy Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a neurodegenerative disease linked to repeated trauma to the head. The encephalopathy symptoms can include behavioral problems, mood problems, and problems with thinking. The disease often gets worse ...

). In addition to other medical experts, it also extensively interviews athletes, their families, and journalists.

Details

Title

''Head Games'' was inspired by the book ''Head Games'' written by former Ivy League football player and WWE wrestler Christopher Nowinski.

Cast

''Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis'' (2014) *Bob Costas *Brendan Shanahan *Robert Cantu, MD *Ann McKee, MD *Robert Stern, PhD *Hunt Batjer, MD *Gary Dorshimer, MD *Ruben Echemendia, PhD *Douglas Smith, MD *Steven Galetta, MD *Laura Balcer, MD, MSCE *Christina Master, MD *Dr. Willie Stewart *Dr. Barry O'Driscoll *Dr. James Robson *Greg "Diesel" Williams *Dr. Alan Pearce *David Dodick, MD *Dr. Huw Williams ''Head Games (2012)'' *Christopher Nowinski *Alan Schwarz *Keith Primeau *Cindy Parlow Cone *Bob Costas *Isaiah Kacyvenski *Bill Daly *Brendan Shanahan *Robert Cantu, MD *Ann McKee, MD *Robert Stern, PhD *Hunt Batjer, MD *Gary Dorshimer, MD *Ruben Echemendia, PhD *Douglas Smith, MD *Steven Galetta, MD *Laura Balcer, MD, MSCE *Christina Master, MD *Eric Laudano, M.H.S., A.T.C.

Critical and media reception

''Head Games'' was a critical success, winning Best Documentary at the 2012 Boston Film Festival and ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twi ...

'' Best Sports Movie of 2012. ''Head Games'' was also an official selection for both the 2012

International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam The International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam (IDFA) is the world's largest documentary film festival held annually since 1988 in Amsterdam. Over a period of twelve days, it has screened more than 300 films and sold more than 250,000 tic ...

and the 2012 Sprout Film Festival. The films was also noted in iTunes Best of 2012 and

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

Top Movies of 2012. Roger Ebert gave the film three stars noting that "the documentary by Steve James paints a devastating picture of the long-term consequences of head injuries among pro NFL players." Ebert also called ''Head Games'' one of the year's "best documentaries." The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' stated "''Head Games'' gains credibility and power from compassion for athletes and respect for their accomplishments. But it also tries to open the eyes of sports lovers to dangers that have too often been minimized and too seldom fully understood." The '' Pittsburgh Post Gazette'' listed the film as one of the year's best films. In March 2014, UK Distributor

Dogwoof Dogwoof is a film-distribution company based in the United Kingdom. History Dogwoof Pictures Dogwoof was founded in 2003 by Andy Whittaker, and originally concentrated on foreign films, including such titles as ''Don't Move'', '' Fateless'', ' ...

announced that it would be a launching doc-centric digital distribution platform entitled IF365 to help filmmakers get their work on top digital platforms. IF365 will use Dogwoof’s relationship with platforms such as iTunes and

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...

to showcase feature documentaries including ''Head Games: The Global Concussion Crisis''.

References

External links