The Soviet national ice hockey team placed in every International Ice Hockey Federation tournament they competed in, won almost every world championship and Olympic tournament between 1954 and 1991, and are generally acknowledged as THE dominant hockey team that ever was. What did it take to be the best? Not fucking up. Ever. Not when there’s a row of ominously clapping KGB agents at every match. Gabe Polsky’s documentary Red Army explores the history of the iconic team. Watch the trailer above.
The players were recruited and groomed from childhood. They were housed in training camps and were only allowed to visit their families 36 days out of the year. The hockey-playing bears are real. The Soviet Union was really, really, really into hockey. The film, executively produced by Werner Herzog and Jerry Weintraub, was recently acquired by Sony Pictures, will play at Cannes 2014 and is due for release later this year. And now, more bears playing hockey.
