Americans--red and blue--can't bear to look at real people in wheelchairs.

[BurtWorm]

They love to see an actor pretending to be disabled. They'll flock to watch Daniel Day Lewis faking spasms. But give them a movie with real, red-blooded people with disabilities and they'll stay far away.

I saw Murderball last March and expected it to be a big hit. I'm sorely disappointed. It's a great movie and doesn't deserve this fate. Please do yourselves a favor and see it if you can.





http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/29/AR2005072900408_pf.html


'Murderball,' Taking an Unfair Hit

By Ann Hornaday
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, July 31, 2005; N03



The movie "Murderball" is one of the year's bona fide festival circuit hits, a hugely entertaining story about a group of charismatic athletes playing a particularly high-stakes game of rugby. Before it opened in New York and Los Angeles on July 8, it seemed you couldn't open a major newspaper, turn on a radio or watch Jay Leno, Regis and Kelly or the "Today" show without hearing or seeing the film's co-director, Henry Alex Rubin, and one of its most colorful stars, a tough rugby champion named Mark Zupan.

Since opening nationwide, "Murderball" has attracted virtually unanimous rave reviews, including a ringing endorsement from The Post's own Stephen Hunter, who called it the best sports documentary since "Hoop Dreams." "I was struck," Hunter wrote, "by how well manipulate the elements of plot and character, back story, culture, narrative tension, comic relief and climax."

It looked like the film would be a slam-dunk when it hit theaters, just the kind of lively, fun, can-do movie that becomes a textbook example of savvy summer counterprogramming.

But it hasn't worked out that way. And the reason, its distributors say, is as disheartening as "Murderball" is inspiring: The rugby players in the film happen to be in wheelchairs.

[neuvocat]

1. Well look at the title, dude.

Murderball: come watch disabled athletes engage in a violent sport and listen to them brag about how their disabilities don't keep them from inflicting serious pain on one another.

I'll just pass up the opportunity to lose two hours of my time watching it.

[BurtWorm]

2. It's your loss.

:shrug:

[neuvocat]

21. Not really.

I've seen the previews and I think there are enough assholes in sports as it is. It doesn't make any difference if they're in a wheelchair or not.

[BurtWorm]

29. I think they're a likeable, enjoyable bunch.

For the most part. One of the main subjects is a difficult man, but he develops as the film progresses.

[neuvocat]

34. I'll just wait and see then.

Maybe I'm too biased from the previews.

[Kipling]

3. Rugby's a perfectly good sport.

Just because you wimpy Americans have to wear armour.
Sounds like a good film, BTW. Probably see it.

[neuvocat]

20. You missed the point of my post completely.

Nowhere did I ever say that Rugby as a whole is a bad thing. I never even so much as implied it either.

[Kipling]

33. You said it was "a violent sport" and players "inflicted serious pain"

Actually few rugby players get injured, although it is full-contact. And there's no reason for disabled people not to play a full-contactsport, now that they have wheelchairs.

[BurtWorm]

35. I heard a quad rugby player say "What more can they do to me?"

;)

[neuvocat]

38. You STILL missed the point of my post!

Look at it again: those are not my words. I'm paraphrasing what was said by those players in the previews for the movie. I'm not calling Rugby a violent sport. THEY ARE!!!

[supernova]

4. I'll go see it

if I can find it. I'm sure it's around here somewhere.

I agree. Sometimes people with obvious disabilities (how can you ignore seeing a wheelchair?) are treated badly.

[BurtWorm]

18. Some athletes with disabilities I know had high hopes for this movie.

They thought it would go a long way toward changing people's attitudes. I think it would. The most mind-blowing thing about it is that these guys (mostly) are quadriplegics, their injuries just a few vertebrae on the other side of Chris Reeve's. Most people think of quads as fragile, but this movie will cure them of that error.

[mopaul]

23. i do know that folks in wheelchairs make people uncomfortable

and folks with obvious disabilities do to, but the attitude is improving over time. better than in the old days

[BurtWorm]

28. Definitely better than the old days.

:thumbsup:

[patdem]

5. What do American's know about rugby? I do not even know how the game

is played! Is that the game with the flat bat? Looks like baseball? Thought only rich English folk played rugby? SEE I HAVE NO IDEA...PLEASE...WE ARE XENOPHOBIC...HELP!!!!!

[txaslftist]

8. RUgby's the game with the flabby soccer ball and striped shirts.

It's kind of like football without helmets or soccer but you can use your hands or field hockey with...

...nevermind. You were thinking of cricket.

[patdem]

10. Thanks for the clarification...I do not think I have EVER seen rugby

played. Do you have a picture or something to give me a clue..I am NOT a sports fan, but I am not against watching pictures with sports in them... 'Field of Dreams'..'The Whole Nine Yards'..'The Mighty Ducks'...all good movies with sports in them.

[mrfrapp]

19. Picture

Well, here's a picture of George Bush playing rugby. It is a violent game but punching opponents in the face is usually frowned upon.





With regards to the movie I am a film fan and will watch it as soon as possible.

[BurtWorm]

13. The movie is about a version played by quadriplegics

Rugby is basically American football without the armor and the constant stopping. It's a sport that moves, like soccer, but it's more contact oriented, like American football.

Quad rugby is played in specially adapted wheelchairs, which do provide the players some protection against other players' chairs.

You don't need to know the sport to enjoy the film. The characters are compelling in and of themselves. They're funny, profane, sexy--larger than life.

[txaslftist]

6. It might not be prejudice.... just piss-poor marketing.

This is only the second time I've heard of the film, and I watch a lot of TV. It sure hasn't been marketed to me. From the sounds of it, I'd love to see it, but it also sounds like its first-run theatre days are over.

I'll have to rent the video.

[sdfernando]

11. I have to agree with you.

This is the first I've ever even heard of this movie. If I only heard the title, I would pass it up. Now that I know a little bit about it, I'll be searching for it in my area. Hopefully its still around, if not I'll have to rent the video.

[BurtWorm]

14. It was actually marketed as a film festival winner

which seriously limited its audience. (Though it did win TONS of awards.)

[Lex]

42. I've not seen a single "trailer" for it on television. And I watch tv.

I'll look for it in the paper to see if it's playing nearby.

[Justitia]

7. I have only seen the title in the listings & passed it over due to that.

I had no idea what the film was about, had not heard about the content until just now. I have seen the newspaper listings and "Murderball" didn't sound like something I'd want to see.

Maybe a fault with the title? :shrug:

[BurtWorm]

15. Interesting. You're not the only one who said that.

Murderball is actually the original name given to the sport, and they decided to change it precisely because it was a marketer's nightmare.

Ironic!

[mopaul]

24. i thought it was like 'rollerball' or some silly shit, thanks for clarifyi

[Straight Shooter]

9. Wait a minute. I resent that broadbrush comment.

A rough-and-tumble movie about sports wouldn't be my cup of tea, whether the players are upright, in chairs, or whatever.

Not fair to assume that people don't see the movie because they don't want to deal with "real" people in wheelchairs. Americans worked like hell to get the Americans with Disabilities Act passed, despite protests by those who thought it would "cost too much."

I have no problem with people in wheelchairs. There but for the whims of Fortune go any of us.

[mondo joe]

12. But there are critically acclaimed financial flops without wheelchairs

too.

People might be NOT seeing it for reasons other than real people in real wheelchairs.

[BurtWorm]

16. Just being a little provocative

to drum up interest. ;)

[ArkDem]

36. Oh, Burt, say it ain't so!

;)

[KamaAina]

17. Oh come now. It's not that they can't stand to look at people in chairs,

it's that they can't stand to see them playing sports just like normal people :sarcasm:

Witness, the Paralympics, which are held a few weeks after the main Olympic Games in the host city, and televised worldwide on the Olympic networks -- unless, of course, the Olympic network happens to be NBC. It was even said that the lack of U.S. support for the Paralympics dinged NYC's bid for the 2012 games :P

[mopaul]

25. the percentage of folks in wheelchairs compared to the population...

is small, so interest in such a movie would also be small, it seems to me anyway. not a subject that everyone can relate to.

but i'd like to see it. i've never heard of the paralympics till just now, thanks for bringing it up.

[mopaul]

22. I'm in one, a motorized one

used to use the standard manual version for about ten years, had to go with an electric one last year. of course, sports is out of the question for me, but i have no problem with wheelchair athletes.

sometimes they seem a bit odd to me though, some of them refuse to give up a sports bent, and i admire them for that, although a person doesn't have to be physically assertive or in a sport to be a human. like a man who has lost a leg and still runs with a prosthesis, good for him. but if he's lost both legs, or is paralyzed, sports are out for him forever.

but i do like your point about actors portraying the disabled, many have won oscars doing so, or at least praise. deniro, dustin hoffman, daniel day lewis, william macy, etc. i've never seen any actual disabled actors in a major role.

now there's hbo's 'deadwood' in which a crippled girl is played by an actual crippled girl. her name is jewell, and she came on the scene about 20 years ago as a stand up comic, she had cerebral palsy, and her portrayal of a crippled girl in the cruel early west is both devastating and comical, i've never seen anything like it in a movie, and she deserves a damn emmy for it.

there just arent' any famous disabled actors out there. but if an actor gives a good performance under these conditions, like say, lon chaney, then more power to them, it actually goes a long way to educate the general populace, who sometimes see the disabled as being from another planet.

i'd like to check this movie out though. thanks for the suggestion and for bringing it up.

[BurtWorm]

31. Someday, wouldn't it be great if actors in wheelchairs were as visible

on the screen as people with disabilities are in the world at large? I know of several, but they get relegated to specialized theater companies or small films no one ever sees.

I was really hoping Murderball would be a breakthrough of sorts.

(I'm not in a wheelchair, but I work for an organization for people with disabilities.)

[mopaul]

32. little people are the exception

you see them in movies and t.v. all the time, although they never get leading man roles.

[MadHound]

26. I think there are at least a couple of other factors that effect this

First of all, as other posters have suggested, the title of the film is a bit deceptive, and probably doesn't help sell the movie. Most of the target audience, unless they knew what the film was about, would see the title "Murderball" in their paper and think it is some hack and slash flick having to do with sports. Big turn off there, I know that I would just keep looking.

Second of all is the distribution of the movie. It is an independent documentary, two strikes towards preventing widespread distribution right there. I've yet to see it advertised here, even at the independent theatre here in town, where most likely it would play. Plus, it is being overshadowed in a major way by "March of the Penguins", the documentary that is catching all of the buzz. Plus, despite whatever buzz that ThinkFilms has created, they haven't done enough yet. This is, quite frankly, the first time I've heard of this film.

I think that the assertions that this critic is making are absurd. There are many many fine films out there, including Oscar winners, that have focused on folks in wheelchairs, and they have been a staple for years. "Coming Home", "Forrest Gump", "The Bone Collector" and "The Horse Whisperer" come to my mind right off the top of my head.

Then, if this person would do a little digging, they might find that handicapped people, of all sorts, have been a mainstay in American cinema for a long time. Here is a good place to start<http://www.disabilityfilms.co.uk/categories.htm>

Sorry, I think that this is just an excuse for having a terribly titled film that is currently getting little buzz, and poor distribution.

[BurtWorm]

30. It was actually getting a lot of buzz in the film centers.

Unfortunately it didn't translate into general buzz.

[mopaul]

27. Geri Jewell, Disabled Actress on HBO's 'Deadwood'

check her out, she started out as a stand up comic, and has been on soap operas etc.

[SmokingJacket]

37. I'm not a fan of sports movies of any kind...

though I'd be more open to seeing one about players in wheelchairs.

Somewhat.

Actually, I'd rather watch a movie about organic farmers in wheelchairs, or disabled deepsea divers...

[Pastiche423]

39. Maybe it's a guy thing

Sports movies, be they played by crips or ABs, are of no interest to me. I have read comments from crips that have seen this movie and the majority claim the immaturity of the players was a turn off.

If this film came to my town, I would not be able to see it, as our theater is not w/c accessible.

As I sit here w/a "Warm 'n Toastie" heating pad on my shoulder due to the deterioration of my rotary cuff, I cringe at the thought of what playing b ball sports will do to their's.

[mopaul]

41. bashing each other up from wheelchairs seems silly, but,

if it feels good, go for it. but what if they make their situation worse? riding a horse can paralyze you, or kill you, as can football.

not to mention bungee jumping.

a non accessible theater? i'd raise hell about it.

[Pastiche423]

43. The theater claims they are protected under the Grandfather clause

When Bowling for Columbine came to town, a dozen of my friends got together and surprised me w/a ticket. They had to carry me up to the 2nd floor where the film was being shown.

I HATE being carried, but the film was worth the freakout.

[mopaul]

44. here's one for ya victoria

i had to go see a doctor about a physical for ss, when i got there, it was 16 steps up to see the doc! i yelled up there, and the doc came down and assisted me up the stairs and apoligized for there being no elevator. i asked him how they got away with this and he said, 'grandfather clause', old antique building in k.c. mo.

i complained, but there's nothing they'd do to fix it.

but all in all, it's the only time i've encountered this.

[BurtWorm]

45. A doctor's office of all places!

:eyes: I think they're obliged to find some solution, no matter how old the building is, if they make alterations of any kind. They get tax credits for making their buildings accessible.

[w8liftinglady]

40. There was a segment on Current about these guys

-they take some of the amputee soldiers under their wings,and help them channel some of their fear and pain.It was kind of nice,really...