Murderball

PRODUCT DESCRIPTION
Documentary from filmmakers Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro, following the quadriplegic men who play the sport of 'quad rugby'. Driven and determined to overcome the limitations of their disabilities, the men who play the sport professionally can risk serious injuries in the tough, close-contact game. In the run up to the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Team USA and Team Canada begin to square off for the showdown in the quad rugby final, as the filmmakers subvert clichés and stereotypes of what it means to be disabled, and what it means to want to win.
More than merely a sports documentary or an inspirational profile of triumph over adversity, Murderball offers a refreshing and progressive attitude toward disability while telling unforgettable stories about uniquely admirable people. It's ostensibly a film about quadriplegic rugby (or "Murderball", as it was formerly known), in which players with at least some loss of physical function in all four limbs navigate modified wheelchairs in a hardcore, full-contact sport that takes them all the way to the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece, in 2004. But as we get to know paralyzed or amputee players on Team USA like Andy Cohn, Scott Hogsett, Bob Lujano and charismatic team spokesman Mark Zupan, we come to understand that quad rugby is a saving grace for these determined competitors, who battle Team Canada coach (and former Team USA superstar) Joe Soares en route to the climactic contest in Athens. Simply put, Murderball is the best film to date about living with a severe disability, but codirectors Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro avoid the sappy, inspirational sentiment that hampers nearly all mainstream films involving disability. By the time this blazing 85-minute film reaches its emotional conclusion, the issue of disability is almost irrelevant; these guys are as normal as anyone, and their life stories led to Murderball becoming the most critically acclaimed documentary of 2005. --Jeff Shannon