Red Penguins

Name: Red Penguins
Genre: Documentary
Released: August 4, 2020
Duration: 80 min
Rating: 76
Cast: Howard Baldwin, Steven Warshaw, Viktor Tikhonov

2020

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Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews

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Red Penguins

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Movie Details & Credits

Universal Pictures | Release Date (Streaming): August 4, 2020 | Not Rated

Starring: Howard Baldwin, Steven Warshaw, Viktor Tikhonov

Summary: Red Penguins tells a story of capitalism and opportunism run amok - complete with gangsters, strippers and live bears serving beer on a hockey rink in Moscow. Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the famed Red Army hockey team formed a joint-venture that showed anything was possible in the new Russia.Red Penguins tells a story of capitalism and opportunism run amok - complete with gangsters, strippers and live bears serving beer on a hockey rink in Moscow. Shortly after the collapse of the Soviet Union, the Pittsburgh Penguins and the famed Red Army hockey team formed a joint-venture that showed anything was possible in the new Russia. Eccentric marketing whiz, Steve Warshaw, is sent to Russia and tasked to transform team into the greatest show in Moscow. He takes the viewer on a bizarre journey highlighting a pivotal moment in U.S. Russian relations in a lawless era when oligarchs made their fortunes and multiple murders went unsolved.… Expand

Director: Gabe Polsky

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 80 min

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Critic Reviews

Movie Nation Roger Moore

Jul 22, 2020

Polsky takes us on quite the sleigh ride, from the sunny silliness of gambling on Russian hockey, and then marketing it, to the grim reality that sets in — threats, intimidation and even murders. Read full review

Brad Wheeler

Sep 18, 2019

The latest film from sports documentarian Gabe Polsky (In Search of Greatness, Red Army) is a doozy. Read full review

Jim Slotek

Aug 5, 2020

By comparison with Red Army, Red Penguins is a less-polished, seat-of-the-pants effort that involved Polsky sitting and waiting in a Moscow hotel room for opportunities to do quickie interviews (with many still reluctant to talk about those days pre-Putin). But there is some evocative archival footage, including shots of the game’s between-period “entertainment,” which involved dancers from the strip club that operated within the arena. Read full review

IndieWire David Ehrlich

Sep 18, 2019

More than a cock-eyed peek back at an unprecedented culture clash, the film provides a bittersweet glimpse at a small, stained-glass window of time when anything seemed possible, and the concept of change was rich with promise. Read full review

RogerEbert.com Matt Fagerholm

Aug 4, 2020

Polsky’s skill in mining the darkly humorous shades of disastrous hubris is not all that surprising, considering he produced Werner Herzog and Nicolas Cage’s funniest film to date, 2009’s “Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans.” Read full review

The Playlist Christopher Schobert

Sep 18, 2019

Red Penguins is utterly stuffed with memorable stories and unforgettable people. Therefore, the film is unquestionably entertaining for hockey fans. However, it has no more gravitas than, say, any random ESPN Films “30 for 30” entry. Read full review

Justin Lowe

Sep 18, 2019

Polsky crafts an engaging, in-depth examination of the intersection of politics and hockey as Russia struggles to gain its balance following the demise of the Soviet Union. Read full review

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