Freedom's Fury | |
---|---|
Directed by | Colin Keith Gray Megan Raney Aarons |
Written by | Colin Keith Gray Megan Raney Aarons |
Produced by | Kristine Lacey Lucy Liu Thor Halvorssen Amy Sommer Quentin Tarantino Andrew G. Vajna |
Narrated by | Mark Spitz |
Music by | Les Hall |
Production companies | Wolo Entertainment Cinergi Pictures Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 90 min |
Country | United States |
Languages | English, Hungarian with English subtitles |
Freedom's Fury is a documentary film about the semifinal water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia. The match took place against the background of the Hungarian Revolution, that was brutally crushed by the Soviet army, and it quickly turned into a violent battle, with contemporaries dubbing it the "Blood in the Water match."
The documentary was written and directed by Colin Keith Gray and Megan Raney Aarons, the brother and sister duo better known as "The Sibs". [1] [2] [3] [4] Gray's Michigan co-alumnus Lucy Liu, while working on Kill Bill , helped them enlist Quentin Tarantino as co-executive producer with Liu in 2001. [5]
Freedom's Fury was produced by Kristine Lacey, executive produced by Quentin Tarantino, Lucy Liu, Amy Sommer, and Andrew G. Vajna, and co-produced by Thor Halvorssen. [6] [4] [7] Narration was provided by Olympic gold medalist Mark Spitz, who as a teenager had been coached by Ervin Zádor. [8]
The film debuted at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2006, in the year of the 50th anniversary of the match. [1]
Near the close of World War II in 1945, Hungary was liberated from the Nazis by the forces of the Soviet Union. While there was initial jubilation amongst the people of Hungary, they soon found that they had only exchanged one totalitarian regime for another. As Hungarian educator Karoly Nagy puts it in the film, "yes, we were liberated from one devastating, dictatorial, extremist, horrible creature called Nazis [clears throat], but, during that course, a lot of people were also liberated from all their belongings, they were liberated from their rights, they were liberated from their freedom and life, women were liberated from their honor ..."
By 1956 (the year of the Melbourne Summer Olympics), Hungarian tensions with the satellite government installed by the Soviet Union had risen to the point of mass uprising and, eventually, outright revolution. The film documents the meeting (and subsequent battle) between the representatives of these two rival nations, and in a larger sense, became a globally televised embodiment of the Hungarian people's fight for independence under the communist regime.
The documentary tells the story of the young star of the Hungarian Olympic waterpolo team, Ervin Zádor, who finds himself the unwitting focal point of one of the most politicized sports matches ever played, popularly known as the "Blood in the Water" match.
The journey of Zádor and the Hungarian waterpolo team to the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne becomes the film's through-line as "Freedom's Fury" explores the larger human tragedy of the Hungarian Revolution of 1956.
As the revolution rages in the city below, the team is on an isolated mountaintop training camp near Budapest, and doesn't learn the details of the savage crushing of the revolt and brutalization of Hungarian citizens by Soviet forces until they land in Melbourne. The animosity they feel towards the Soviet occupiers for the atrocities they committed is transferred to the Soviet players.
After the match, Zádor and half his teammates decide to defect rather than return to the oppression in their homeland.
In the final act, the documentary also touches on how the Hungarian Revolution become a symbol of freedom and impacted the collapse of communism in 1989.
The making of the film allowed for the reconnection of the surviving members of both teams nearly fifty years after the bloody match, this time under very different circumstances. Writer and director Colin Gray said of the men:
Both teams were as much a victim of the circumstances and really both countries were imprisoned by the same ideology - and these guys were able to finally reconnect as human beings and as fellow athletes ... That was something that we really wanted to highlight, the sort of humanistic side to counter the sort of oppression of ideology that everyone had suffered under in the Eastern bloc. [8]
Quentin Tarantino described the film as "the best untold story ever"; [9] he also was a co-executive producer with Lucy Liu and Andy Vajna for the film.
The film received positive reviews, and was praised for its intriguing look at a very important, yet under-told story of international importance. [8] [10] [11]
The Canadian premiere earned "The Sibs" congratulations in the House of Commons of Canada via a private member's statement made by Andrew Telegdi. [12] In the year of the film's release, Gray and Aarons were granted Hungary's highest civilian honour, the Knight's Cross Order of Merit of the Republic of Hungary. [5]
Freedom's Fury was screened at the following festivals: [13]
Quentin Jerome Tarantino is an American filmmaker. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue often with profanity, and references to popular culture. During Tarantino's career, his films have built a cult following, as well as critical and commercial success; he has been considered "the single most influential director of his generation". He is the recipient of two Academy Awards, two BAFTA Awards, four Golden Globe Awards and one Palm d’Or.
The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XVI Olympiad and officially branded as Melbourne 1956, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, which were held in Stockholm, Sweden, in June 1956.
The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was an attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by the government's subordination to the Soviet Union (USSR). The uprising lasted 12 days before being crushed by Soviet tanks and troops on 4 November 1956. Thousands were killed and wounded and nearly a quarter of a million Hungarians fled the country.
Andrew G. Vajna was a Hungarian film producer whose films include the first three entries in the Rambo series, Total Recall, Tombstone, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Evita, and Terminator 3. He founded the now-defunct production companies Carolco Pictures, Cinergi Pictures, and C2 Pictures, frequently in collaboration with Mario Kassar.
Ten nations competed in water polo at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne.
Ervin Zádor was a Hungarian water polo player and member of the Hungarian national team.
Thor Leonardo Halvorssen Mendoza[a] is a Venezuelan human rights advocate and film producer with contributions in the field of public policy.
The history of water polo as a team sport began in mid 19th-century England and Scotland, where water sports were a feature of county fairs and festivals.
The "Blood in the Water" match was a water polo match between Hungary and the USSR at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics. The match took place on 6 December 1956 against the background of the recent Hungarian Revolution, and saw Hungary defeat the USSR 4–0. The name was coined after Hungarian player Ervin Zádor emerged during the last two minutes with blood pouring from above his eye after being punched by Soviet player Valentin Prokopov.
The association football tournament at the 1956 Summer Olympics was won by the Soviet Union.
Although the Hungarian Revolution of 1956 failed in its efforts to oust the ruling Communist government of Hungary, the uprising provided inspiration for many artists, writers, poets, composers and filmmakers.
The Moving Picture Institute (MPI) is an American non-profit organization and film production company founded in 2005 by Thor Halvorssen, who was also one of the producers for some of their movies. Its current president is Rob Pfaltzgraff.
Dezső Gyarmati was a Hungarian professional water polo player and three-time Olympic champion; he later became the coach of the Hungarian national water polo team. Widely regarded as a "legendary player", Gyarmati was the most decorated player in the history of the sport.
Les Hall is an American composer, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter from Columbia, South Carolina, best known for his involvement in Crossfade and 70 Volt Parade, Trey Anastasio's backup band after the 2004-2009 breakup of Phish. He has also toured worldwide with Howie Day and has been a member of numerous bands local to Columbia, including Jebel, Sourwood Honey, the Robert Newton Group, and Sterling.
József S. Mikó Joseph Miko was a cinematographer in Hungary when the 1956 revolution against the Russian occupation broke out. Miko grabbed the opportunity to film the revolution in hopes of getting the films out of Hungary so the rest of the world could see the brutality of the Soviet Union. The Soviet government found out about his activities and they wanted him and the films he shot. Joseph Miko with wife Eva and Joe jr. fled the country to avoid capture, imprisonment and possible execution.
Miklós (Nick) Martin was a Hungarian water polo player who competed in the 1952 and 1956 Summer Olympics. He was born in Budapest. He died in Pasadena, CA.
Valentin Prokopov was a Russian water polo player who competed for the Soviet Union in the 1952 Summer Olympics and in the 1956 Summer Olympics. He became notorious for striking Hungarian player Ervin Zádor in the Blood in the Water match.
Children of Glory is a 2006 film directed by Krisztina Goda. It commemorates Hungary's Revolution of 1956 and the "Blood in the Water" match. Taking place in Budapest and at the Melbourne Olympic Games in October and November of that year, the film takes viewers into the passion and sadness of one of the most dramatic popular revolts of the twentieth century. In the same year Soviet tanks were violently suppressing the Revolution within Hungary, the Hungarian water polo team was winning over Russia in the Olympic pool in Melbourne, in what is sometimes described as the bloodiest water polo match in history. While telling the story of 1956 in part through fictional lead characters, the film-makers simultaneously recreated many of the key public events of the Revolution, including the huge demonstrations and the fighting in the streets of Budapest.
Colin Keith Gray is a Canadian actor, writer and film director. He played Frank Hardy on the TV show The Hardy Boys for thirteen episodes. He is known for directing the documentary film Freedom's Fury.
The 87th National Board of Review Awards, honoring the best in film for 2015, were announced on December 1, 2015.