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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
325:
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
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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
295:. 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.
288:, 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 ..."
340:
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
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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
717:
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307:, 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.
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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.
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The film received positive reviews, and was praised for its intriguing look at a very important, yet under-told story of international importance.
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After the match, Zádor and half his teammates decide to defect rather than return to the oppression in their homeland.
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in
Melbourne becomes the film's through-line as "Freedom's Fury" explores the larger human tragedy of the
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and Megan Raney Aarons, the brother and sister duo better known as "The Sibs". Gray's
Michigan co-alumnus
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described the film as "the best untold story ever"; he also was a co-executive producer with
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The documentary tells the story of the young star of the
Hungarian Olympic waterpolo team,
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Soviet occupiers for the atrocities they committed is transferred to the Soviet players.
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in
Melbourne, Australia. The match took place against the background of the
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the sort of oppression of ideology that everyone had suffered under in the
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devastating, dictatorial, extremist, horrible creature called Nazis ,
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The
Canadian premiere earned "The Sibs" congratulations in the
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in 2006, in the year of the 50th anniversary of the match.
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Knight's Cross Order of Merit of the
Republic of Hungary
548:"Freedom's Fury: The bloodiest game in Olympic history"
244:, Amy Sommer, and Andrew G. Vajna, and co-produced by
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was produced by Kristine Lacey, executive produced by
621:"Hungary: New Film Revisits 1956 Water-Polo Showdown"
248:. Narration was provided by Olympic gold medalist
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402:was screened at the following festivals:
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383:via a private member's statement made by
170:English, Hungarian with English subtitles
801:Documentary films about the Soviet Union
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275:in 1945, Hungary was liberated from the
252:, who as a teenager had been coached by
694:"Tribeca Film Festival: Freedom's Fury"
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310:The journey of Zádor and the Hungarian
811:Water polo at the 1956 Summer Olympics
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644:. Pacific Cinémathèque. Archived from
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696:. Cinema Strikes Back. Archived from
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821:Films about the 1956 Summer Olympics
786:Documentary films about the Olympics
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841:English-language documentary films
577:"Ervin Zador: Blood on the water".
493:
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836:Films produced by Andrew G. Vajna
791:American sports documentary films
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584:, 2 December 2006. Archived from
668:"Tribeca Review: Freedom's Fury"
796:Documentary films about Hungary
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670:. Moviefone.com. Archived from
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526:"Freedom’s Fury" (film review).
806:Hungary–Soviet Union relations
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117:Cinergi Pictures Entertainment
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692:Charlie Prince (2006-06-06).
619:Nikola Krastev (2006-05-05).
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415:Waterfront Film Festival 2006
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546:Sage, Amanda (27 Sep 2006).
503:The Moving Picture Institute
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731:"Freedom's Fury Overview"
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372:Release and reception
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261:Tribeca Film Festival
226:, helped them enlist
831:2000s American films
478:www.freedomsfury.net
460:www.tribeccafilm.com
336:Filmmaker commentary
320:Hungarian Revolution
316:1956 Summer Olympics
203:Hungarian Revolution
199:1956 Summer Olympics
185:about the semifinal
220:, while working on
114:Wolo Entertainment
597:"Thor Halvorssen".
524:Edwards, Russell.
487:2006-09-02 at the
271:Near the close of
55:Megan Raney Aarons
43:Megan Raney Aarons
16:2006 American film
533:, April 10, 2007.
500:"Freedom’s Fury".
475:Official website.
453:"Freedom’s Fury".
358:Quentin Tarantino
344:said of the men:
238:Quentin Tarantino
228:Quentin Tarantino
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76:Quentin Tarantino
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755:Official website
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214:Colin Keith Gray
183:documentary film
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148:Running time
125:Release date
305:Ervin Zádor
254:Ervin Zádor
86:Narrated by
60:Produced by
36:Directed by
781:2006 films
775:Categories
737:2011-11-19
704:2011-11-19
678:2011-11-19
652:2011-11-19
627:2011-11-19
435:References
366:Andy Vajna
342:Colin Gray
293:revolution
250:Mark Spitz
187:water polo
107:Production
90:Mark Spitz
73:Amy Sommer
48:Written by
422:Cinequest
395:Festivals
322:of 1956.
312:waterpolo
223:Kill Bill
167:Languages
109:companies
623:. RFE/RL
485:Archived
362:Lucy Liu
242:Lucy Liu
218:Lucy Liu
193:and the
100:Les Hall
96:Music by
66:Lucy Liu
718:Hansard
562:6 April
530:Variety
299:Content
267:History
197:at the
191:Hungary
157:Country
134: (
552:Xpress
152:90 min
277:Nazis
181:is a
766:IMDb
601:IMDb
564:2014
430:2006
424:2006
412:2006
364:and
195:USSR
136:2006
132:2006
764:at
286:but
282:one
209:."
777::
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391:.
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138:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
