''Murderball'' is a 2005 American
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 ...
about athletes who are physically disabled who play
wheelchair rugby. 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
)
, nations = 136
, athletes = 3,806
, events = 519 in 19 sports
, opening = 17 September
, closing = 28 September
, opened_by = President Costis Stephanopoulos
, cauldron = Georgios Toptsis
, stadium = Olym ...
. It was directed by
Henry Alex Rubin and
Dana Adam Shapiro, and produced by Jeffrey V. Mandel and Shapiro. It was nominated for
Best Documentary Feature for the
78th Academy Awards.
''Murderball'' was the first and only
MTV film released through
THINKFilm as well as
Participant Media.
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 security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoni ...
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; 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 Wan ...
, 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 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 average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
gives an aggregated score of 87 out of 100, based on 33 critics, indicating "universal acclaim". ''Murderball'' also received positive reviews from
Hollywood.com 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'', 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 e ...
was composed and performed by
Jamie Saft 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,
Ween,
The Polyphonic Spree,
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.
Care ...
,
The Moldy Peaches,
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 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 database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...
'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
# Ministry: "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, Al Jourgensen) – 4:59
# Jamie Saft: "Murderball Remix" – 4:44
# Ween: "The F**ked Jam" ( Aaron Freeman, Michael Melchiondo) – 2:55
# The Polyphonic Spree: "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 Out ...
) – 3:24
# 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.
Care ...
: "Something" (Sam Prekop) – 3:47
# Jamie Saft: "Robert's Theme" – 2:27
# " The Moldy Peaches: "Anyone Else but You
"Anyone Else but You" is a song by the indie rock band The Moldy Peaches. The song became popular after being featured on the soundtrack of the 2007 film ''Juno'', as it was used extensively in the film, along with several other songs by Kimya Daws ...
" ( Kimya Dawson) – 2:57
# " The Whiles: "Song for Jerry" (The Whiles) – 1:31
# 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 ...
: "Follow Me Home" (Chessie) – 6:51
# Jamie Saft: "Penultimatum" – 3:21
# Scratch Massive: "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 ...
, 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) (1 ...
) – 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