''Murderball'' is a 2005 American

documentary film A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...

about athletes who are physically disabled who play

wheelchair rugby Wheelchair rugby (originally murderball, and known as quad rugby in the United States) is a team sport for athletes with a disability. It is practised in over twenty-five countries around the world and is a summer Paralympic sport. The US name ...

. It centres on the rivalry between the

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

and U.S. teams leading up to the 2004 Paralympic Games. It was directed by

Henry Alex Rubin Henry-Alex Rubin is an Academy Award-nominated American filmmaker and Emmy Award-winning commercial director. Early life and education Henry-Alex Rubin grew up in New York City as the son of a French mother and noted art historian James H. Rubin ...

and

Dana Adam Shapiro Dana Adam Shapiro is an American film director, best known for his directorial work on the 2006 Academy Award-nominated documentary '' Murderball''. Career Dana Adam Shapiro is a journalist, novelist, and filmmaker. He was nominated for the 20 ...

, and produced by Jeffrey V. Mandel and Shapiro. It was nominated for Best Documentary Feature for the

78th Academy Awards The 78th Academy Awards presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), took place on March 5, 2006, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:00 p.m. PST / 8:00 p.m. EST. The ceremony was ...

. ''Murderball'' was the first and only MTV film released through THINKFilm as well as

Participant Media Participant Media, LLC is an American Film industry, film production company founded in 2004 by Jeffrey Skoll, dedicated to entertainment intended to spur social change. The company finances and co-produces film and television content, as well as ...

UN screening

The film was screened at the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...

uncut. One of its stars, Mark Zupan, winced when describing how embarrassed he was to have his mother hear his remarks on the sex lives of persons with quadriplegia.

Production

''Murderball'' was shot on a low budget. The main camera used was a

Panasonic AG-DVX100 The Panasonic AG-DVX100 was released in October 2002. Its 60Hz version was the first consumer-affordable digital camcorder capable of recording video at 24 progressive frames per second. The last revision was the DVX100B(E) (2005). The camera ...

; a Sony PD150 was used to shoot some of the early interviews. The crew rigged a Sennheiser shotgun microphone to use as a boom, and relied heavily on Lavaliere wireless microphones as well. Available lighting was used almost exclusively. Additional light was provided using an inexpensive china ball. In one example of on-the-spot lighting, a flashlight was diffused using only a napkin.

Reception

''Murderball'' garnered almost universally positive reviews. On

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 ...

, it has an approval rating of 98% based on reviews from 140 critics, and an average rating of 8.37/10. This film is also #1 on the Rotten Tomatoes countdown of the top sports movies.

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

gives an aggregated score of 87 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". ''Murderball'' also received positive reviews from

Hollywood.com Hollywood.com is an entertainment news website covering popular culture topics including movies, television, music and celebrities. Hollywood.com is principally owned by Mitchell Rubenstein and Laurie S. Silvers, who previously founded Sci-Fi Ch ...

and

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

, who said "This is one of those rare docs, like ''

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 ...

'', where life provides a better ending than the filmmakers could have hoped for."

Awards

Musical score and soundtrack

The

film score A film score is original music written specifically to accompany a film. The score comprises a number of orchestral, instrumental, or choral pieces called cues, which are timed to begin and end at specific points during the film in order to ...

was composed and performed by

Jamie Saft Jamie Saft is an American keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist and composer. He was born in New York City, and studied at Tufts University and the New England Conservatory of Music The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private mu ...

and the

soundtrack album A soundtrack album is any album that incorporates music directly recorded from the soundtrack of a particular feature film or television show. The first such album to be commercially released was Walt Disney's ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'' ...

, which featuring selections from Saft's score along with previously released tracks by

Ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

Ween Ween is an American rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Aaron Freeman and Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an alternative rock band, the band are ...

The Polyphonic Spree The Polyphonic Spree is an American choral rock band from Dallas, Texas that was formed in 2000 by singer/songwriter Tim DeLaughter. The band's pop and rock songs are augmented by a large vocal choir, and instruments such as flute, trumpet, fre ...

Sam Prekop Sam Prekop (born October 18, 1964) is an American musician in the band The Sea and Cake. He also has released five solo albums. Early life Prekop was born in London, but grew up in Chicago. He studied at the Kansas City Art Institute. Career ...

The Moldy Peaches The Moldy Peaches were an American indie group founded by Adam Green and Kimya Dawson. Leading proponents of the anti-folk scene, the band has been on hiatus since 2004. The appearance of their song " Anyone Else but You" in the film ''Juno'' s ...

, The Whiles,

Chessie Chessie may refer to: *Chessie (sea monster), a legendary monster supposedly living in Chesapeake Bay, US *Chessie System, a former holding company of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (C&O) *Chessie (mascot), a kitten mascot of the C&O *Chessie (tr ...

and

Scratch Massive Scratch Massive is a French DJ duo, composed of Maud Geffray and Sébastien Chenut. Biography Scratch Massive was formed in 1994, and is active in the French electronic music scene, and are DJs as well as composers and music producers. In 2001 ...

used in the documentary, was released on the Commotion label in 2005.Soundtrack Collector: album entry
accessed February 22, 2018 Additional music composed for the film was released on Saft's ''

A Bag of Shells A, or a, is the first letter and the first vowel of the Latin alphabet, used in the modern English alphabet, the alphabets of other western European languages and others worldwide. Its name in English is ''a'' (pronounced ), plural ''aes'' ...

'' (Tzadik, 2010).

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

's James Christopher Monger said "Hearing Ministry's Alaine Jourgensen screaming "thieves, thieves & liars, murderers" over the clash of metal on metal during a wheelchair rugby match dutifully amplifies the primal nature of competition, especially when all of the players involved have overcome near-death physical (and psychological) injuries. ... The film's producers have compiled a rousing soundtrack that reflects the sport's brutality while maintaining an undercurrent of regretful stoicism. Keyboard player/composer Jamie Saft provides ''Murderball''s backbone, laying down an original score that boasts atmospherics which are both tender and visceral. Other highlights include the engaging "Something" from the Sea and Cake's Sam Prekop, a trippy instrumental from Ween and the Moldy Peaches "Anyone Else But You."". ; Track listing All compositions by Jamie Saft except where noted #

: "

Thieves Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

" (

Paul Barker Paul Gordon Barker (born February 8, 1959), also referred to as Hermes Pan, is the former bass guitarist, producer and engineer of the industrial metal band Ministry from 1986 to 2003. Prior to Ministry, Barker provided bass for the Seattle ...

Al Jourgensen Alain David Jourgensen (born Alejandro Ramírez Casas; October 9, 1958) is a Cuban-American singer, musician and music producer. Closely related with the independent record label Wax Trax! Records, his musical career spans four decades. He is be ...

) – 4:59 # Jamie Saft: "Murderball Remix" – 4:44 #

: "The F**ked Jam" (

Aaron Freeman Aaron Freeman (born June 8, 1956) is an American journalist, stand-up comedian, author, cartoonist, and blogger. Career During the 1990s, Freeman was the host of the weekly informational radio program ''Metropolis'' which was broadcast in the ...

, Michael Melchiondo) – 2:55 #

: "Light & Day" (

Tim DeLaughter Tim DeLaughter (born November 18, 1965) is an American rock musician. He is the frontman of the bands Tripping Daisy, The Polyphonic Spree, and Preteen Zenith. At the 61st Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards, DeLaughter was nominated for Ou ...

) – 3:24 #

: "Something" (Sam Prekop) – 3:47 # Jamie Saft: "Robert's Theme" – 2:27 # "

: " Anyone Else but You" (

Kimya Dawson Kimya Dawson (born November 17, 1972) is an American folk singer-songwriter, one half of the anti-folk duo the Moldy Peaches. Dawson's work with the Moldy Peaches earned them a cult following and critical acclaim, with their 2001 song "Anyone El ...

) – 2:57 # " The Whiles: "Song for Jerry" (The Whiles) – 1:31 #

: "Follow Me Home" (Chessie) – 6:51 # Jamie Saft: "Penultimatum" – 3:21 #

: "Keep on Workin'" (Sebastien Chenut, Maud Geffray) – 5:12 # Jamie Saft: "Dungeonous Warfare" – 1:27 # Ministry: "Waiting" (Jourgensen,

Mike Scaccia Michael Ralph Scaccia (June 14, 1965 – December 22, 2012) was an American musician, best known as a guitarist for several heavy metal and alternative rock acts, including Rigor Mortis, Ministry and Revolting Cocks. Life and career Scaccia was ...

Max Brody Max or MAX may refer to: Animals * Max (dog) (1983–2013), at one time purported to be the world's oldest living dog * Max (English Springer Spaniel), the first pet dog to win the PDSA Order of Merit (animal equivalent of OBE) * Max (gorilla) ...

) – 5:04

References

External links

* * * *
Mark Zupan's Murderball Journal
from 2005, at MTV.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Murderball 2005 films 2005 documentary films American sports documentary films 2000s English-language films Documentary films about sportspeople with disability Films about the Paralympics Films about paraplegics or quadriplegics Films shot in Rhode Island MTV Films films Participant (company) films Paramount Pictures films Sundance Film Festival award winners Wheelchair rugby 2000s American films Films about disability