Rudy (Widescreen)

Others have their own reasons for liking this film so much. Here are three of mine. First, the casting of Astin in the lead role. His performance is endearing, to be sure, but also convincing. Hence my discomfort with Anspaugh's use of gimmicks when none is necessary. Second, the exteriors shot on the Notre Dame campus which is especially lovely during each of the four seasons. I really did feel as if I were tagging along with Rudy as he attends classes, works for Fortune as a member of the stadium's groundskeeping crew, and then participates in especially brutal team practices. Third and finally, I enjoyed observing what seems to be a totally authentic respect for Rudy among the team's starters both on offense and defense. That respect was earned day in and day out, brutal practice after brutal practice, as Rudy and his battered companions helped to prepare the team for its next game. It is worth noting that Rudy Ruettiger was the only player ever to be carried off the field at Notre Dame stadium. The filmmakers recreated the scene with real fans during a break in the 1992 Boston College game. Some 60,000 fans stood and cheered as actor Sean Astin was carried off the field.

Those who enjoyed this film should also check out The Natural (1984), Hoosiers (1986), Babe (1995), Remember the Titans (2000), and Miracle (2004).
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Those who are curious about the "real" and "reel" Rudy Ruettiger are encouraged to visit http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/rudy.php. Here are brief excerpts:

Q: Was the groundskeeper played by Charles S. Dutton a real character?

A: Rudy answered no to this question himself during an interview with the Pigskin Post by saying the following, "He was a composite, but that was reality. And that's what happened in my life...all through my life. I would encounter people like that and they would help me get through the tough times through their wisdom and their encouragement."

Q: Was there actually a priest who helped Rudy get into Holy Cross Junior College?

A: In the same Pigskin Post interview as above, Rudy replied to this question by saying, "There were several who played important roles, but, again, you can't develop them all in one two-hour movie."

Q: Did Rudy really sleep in the maintenance room of the football stadium?

A: Rudy actually slept in a room in the basketball arena. The school had the room there for someone to stay during off-hours for insurance reasons.

Q: Was coach Dan Devine really that cold-hearted against dressing Rudy for the last home game of Rudy's college career?

A: In Devine's autobiography, Simply Devine, he writes that it was his idea to dress Rudy for the final game of his college career and also to play him. Devine says that the screenwriter, Angelo Pizzo, told him that the plot would only work if Devine became the heavy. He agreed in order to help out Rudy, someone whom he calls a friend. "I didn't realize I would be such a heavy," he writes.


Drivel!   June 23, 2004
Brad Cooper (Beckley, WV)
0 out of 3 found this review helpful

Woo hoo! So he wanted to play football for Notre Lame, and he waited and tried really really hard and he cried about it and he walked on to the team and he cried some more. Whoopdee freakin doo! A lot of people want to play college football really bad, but that doesn't mean we make a movie about all of them! Typical job of everyone sucking up to the Domers. Save your money and buy a copy of a movie with a plot that requires more than 6 seconds of rational thought.


A thoroughly enjoyable crowd pleaser   April 18, 2004
I have seen critics dismissed this movie as highly predictable and manipulative. And they are probably right. But it doesn't mean it can't be a highly enjoyable film. You can't help feel happy for the guy when predictably he achieves his dream.

The film score by Jerry Goldsmith is simply outstanding too. And Sean Astin, as usual, is terrific as Rudy.


So much more than your ordinary sports movie!   March 12, 2004
Monika (Davis, California)
From the time he was a young boy, everyone had told Rudy Ruettiger (Sean Astin) that he was too small, too weak, and not smart enough to accomplish his ultimate goal - to play football for Notre Dame. Discouraged, he shelves his dream and follows his father and brothers to work in a steel mill. Only one person, Rudy's best friend Pete, actually has faith in him. When Pete is killed in a freak accident four years later, something in Rudy is reawakened, and he realizes that if he's ever going to be happy in life, he needs to play football. He needs to go to Notre Dame. But he doesn't have the grades to get in. We see Rudy do everything in his power, for several long semesters, to gain admission to the prestigious school.

But getting into Notre Dame isn't his only problem. Once in, he has to get on the team - no mean feat for someone who, in the words of the maintenance man Fortune (Charles S. Dutton), is "five-foot nothin', a hundred and nothin'," and has "no speck of athletic ability." And even after he's on the team, there's no guarantee that he'll actually get to dress for a game. In the end, however, the results of Rudy's persistence and hard work are more than he could ever have imagined.

"Rudy" is a touching true story of the power of hope and hard work. It is a football movie, but it is also so much more than that. Rudy's steadfastness is very moving to see, and Sean Astin captures the character beautifully. I think this is Astin's best performance, transcending even Samwise Gamgee in "The Lord of the Rings" (it's a close call though). The supporting cast members are just as perfectly fitted to their roles. Charles S. Dutton turns in a great performance as Fortune, ultimately Rudy's best mentor, and Robert Prosky plays Father Cavanaugh, the priest at Notre Dame who offers Rudy a chance to improve his grades at a nearby junior college, whereby he just might have a shot at admission.

The soundtrack to the film is perfectly fitted. It puts the final cap on many an emotional scene. This Special Edition DVD offers an isolated music score, letting you listen to the music alone. The DVD has some other nice bonus features as well: "Rudy: The Real Story" is a short documentary on the real Rudy Ruettiger, with commentary from the man himself. It is touching to see Ruettiger talk about his experiences, and one can see that Sean Astin did a magnificent job conveying him to the screen. There is also a "Production" featurette, briefly outlining the making of the movie, and finally "60 Seconds With Sean Astin" features the actor giving us some quick commentary on the film. There are also Talent Files on the director and actors.

"Rudy" is one of the most inspirational sports movies I've ever seen. The fact that it is a true story makes it all the more amazing. If you enjoy films like "Remember the Titans" (with Denzel Washington), you'll love "Rudy" (and if you like "Rudy" but haven't seen "Remember the Titans," I recommend that one as well). This is a wonderful movie for anyone, whether you're a football fan or not (I'm not). It is emotional and moving, but never goes over the top. I can't imagine it having been done any better. "Rudy" is a must-see, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.


'RUDY" IS IRISH SENTIMENTALITY, BUT ENTERTAINING   February 24, 2004
Steven R. Travers (CALIFORNIA)
'RUDY" IS IRISH SENTIMENTALITY, BUT ENTERTAINING

"Rudy" (1993) is one of those stories that could only be told about an institution like Notre Dame University. If anybody tried to make a film about a scrub trying to make the varsity at UCLA or Nebraska, they would never get it off the ground. As it is, Rudy Ruettiger had his share of troubles pitching the true tale of his appearance in Notre Dame's final 1975 game to Hollywood.

"I had an appointment with a producer," Ruettiger recalls, "but he didn't show up at the appointed time and place. I was in Santa Monica, and I knew he lived nearby, so I asked the postman if he knew this guy."

Ruettiger looks enough like the Midwestern rube he has been portrayed as than the sort of city psychopath the mailman might have suspected him to be, because he sent him right to the guy's house. The producer tried to fend Rudy off by telling him he was not a Notre Dame fan, but it ended up at Orion Pictures anyway, and was released just as the 1993 college football season was getting underway. Notre Dame coach Lou Holtz actually was threatened with N.C.A.A. penalties because he showed a bootleg copy to his players prior to the opener, trying to inspire the boys a la Knute Rockne. The infraction was providing entertainment to his team not available to the rest of the student body (somebody ought to go on a secret mission to Shawnnee Mission, Kansas and do a demolition of this near-useless organization). Anyway, it worked that day and most days in '93, as the Irish came within one loss to Boston College of the National Championship, but that is a different Irish tale. Despite a pretty good reception, the movie did not save Orion from folding up its operation about a year later.

Patty Duke's son, Sean Astin (remember him in "Like Father, Like Son" with Dudley Moore and Kirk Cameron?) stars as a blue-collar kid from a blue-collar family. He is a poor student, and a below-average high school football player despite his very best efforts. Upon graduation he goes to work in the steel mill just like everybody who ever lived in his home town, yet still clings to the fantasy of going to play ball in South Bend. Everybody scoffs at his craziness except his best buddy, who considers Rudy's goal quite within reach.

When that buddy is killed in a mill accident, Rudy realizes it is now or never. Despite being closer to graduation than freshman age, he journeys to South Bend, is met by many obstacles and a kindly priest, enrolls in a junior college and makes good enough grades to get into N.D.

Once there, he tries out for the football team, is kept around for four years as a "tackling dummy," but due to his popularity on the team and among the student body, new coach Dan Devine fulfills old coach Ara Parseghian's promise to let him play a few minutes. Rudy even makes a tackle during garbage time of a game against Michigan State.

Director David Anspaugh ("Hoosiers") focuses on the character development of Angelo Pizzo's screenplay. The story is predictable (being true it was not easy to hide), but that matters less than Astin's inspired gullibility. Charles Dutton is terrific as the stadium groundskeeper, and Ned Beatty is great as his dad.

Look, if you hate Notre Dame, this film will probably make you sick, but if you can at least tolerate the mythology for a couple hours, "Rudy" is one of the better sports movies of recent years.