Perry Kate Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Cortechba Overrated

StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

Michelle Ridley The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

MartinHafer Considering that the events in this documentary took place in 1956, most people out there (including myself) were not alive at the time and only know of the events through history books....if folks bother to read them. I am old enough, however, to remember much of the Cold War and when the US and USSR were at each other's throats--so the context for "Freedom's Fury" is something I do understand. But, with lots of young folks who were born after the fall of the Iron Curtain, much of this film might come as a surprise--and it's a wonderful history lesson about these tense times.Mark Spitz (yes, THAT Mark Spitz) narrates this documentary about the 1956 Hungarian Olympic Water Polo team and their match-up with the Soviet Union's team. However, before discussing this, the film spends a lot of time explaining the failed 1956 Hungarian revolt against the Soviets. All of the information is well presented--with the usual interviews and film footage. And, in addition to talking about these events, the film ends by showing a reunion of the team--along with a few members of the old Soviet team. I really liked this part--especially since it provided a bit of hope and a nice conclusion to the documentary. Overall, very well done, interesting, uplifting and well worth your time.

Rosebud This is a brilliant documentary! Whether you are interested in sports, history or just purely what freedom means and what people will do for it or nations to repress it, it will give you something to contemplate for a long time. I think it will appeal to people who have experienced or seen repression elsewhere.It puts the 1956 Hungarian revolution beautifully into context. It took USSR 2000 tanks (same number as Hilter had to advance the whole western front in WW2) to defeat the uprising of a spirited nation.It's also lovely portrait of water polo and what it means to Hungary and Hungarians.

wordcraft I'll admit I had misgivings. Was this going to be a hackneyed, pathos-dripping American documentary with a naïve voice-over commentary, relegating the "local talent" to the role of extras and curiosities? Within two or three minutes it was obvious it was not - there is a sensitivity and an unhurried feel (though there is action enough for anyone, in and out of the water) to the making of this film that could teach many a lesson. The protagonists are given room to tell their story, and - particularly in the case of those who lived the Uprising and several very articulate and immensely likable members of the Hungarian Olympic side - they grab it with both hands and effectively take things over.The history, and the tragedy of what went down in the fall of 1956, is also presented in detail and not in sound-bites for the attention-deficient, and you are left with a feeling that everyone involved knew that they were dealing with a subject that deserved their full attention, and that they had amazing picture material that should be allowed to speak for itself. Gripping, heartwarming, uplifting, some seamless blending of archive footage and modern recreations, and worthy of a much larger audience.Kudos to Mark Spitz, too, for a job well done, but then again, when you read the final credits you know why - how could he have DARED to let his old schoolboy coach down? As a side observation, it was good to see the members of the defeated Soviet water polo team in good cheer. When the Soviet Union's football team was defeated by Yugoslavia at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, just four years after Tito had humiliated Stalin politically, the players did not fare quite so well. Stalin had expected much more out of the country's first appearance at the Olympics. He immediately disbanded CSKA Moscow, who had provided most of the national side, the result of the game was not published in the USSR until 1954 (a year after his death), and many of the unfortunate players (let's face it, they only had the bad luck to come up against a very very good Yugoslav team, who took the silver medals behind the magnificent Hungarians and Ferenc Puskas) allegedly wound up in labour camps. At least Nikita Khrushchev did not stoop THAT low in 1956. There is also quite a good TV-documentary about this particularly ugly footnote in footballing history, but I cannot for the life of me find it now...

Jeff Beachnau Very interesting documentary about the Hungarian water polo team that defeated the Soviet Union in the semi finals of the 1956 Olympics, and the Hungarian uprising against the Soviets that was going on at the same time. I had no idea any of this took place, so it was a very informative documentary. All of the surviving Hungarian team members were interviewed as well as some of the Soviet members and they told about their experiences before, during, and after the match.It was well made and well edited, the film-making did a great job with all of the material they had to go through to put it together.Produced by Lucy Liu and Quentin Tarantino and narrated by world famous swimmer Mark Spitz, I hope this film gets a wider release so that many people can learn about this amazing story.