The Game of Their Lives
Directed by	David Anspaugh
Produced by	Howard Baldwin, Karen Elise Baldwin, Greg Johnson, Peter Newman
Written by	Geoffrey Douglas (book), Angelo Pizzo
Starring	Gerard Butler, Wes Bentley, Zachery Ty Bryan
Music by	{{{music}}}
Cinematography by	{{{cinematography}}}
Editing by	{{{editing}}}
Distributed by	IFC Films
Released	April 22, 2005
Running time	101 minutes
Language	English
Language	{{{language}}}
Budget	~ US$20,000,000
Preceded by	{{{preceded_by}}}
Followed by	{{{followed_by}}}
IMDb profile

The Game of Their Lives is a 2005 drama film, directed by David Anspaugh. It is based on the book of the same name by Geoffrey Douglas (ISBN 0805038752), which details the true story of the U.S. soccer team who, against all odds, beat England 1-0 in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil during the 1950 World Cup. For details of the match, see England v United States (1950). Image File history File links Download high resolution version (512x755, 72 KB)The Game of Their Lives film poster File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... David Anspaugh (born on 24 September 1946 in Decatur, Indiana, USA) is an American director. ... Greg Johnson (born March 16, 1971) is a professional hockey player in the National Hockey League. ... Peter Charles Newman (born May 10, 1929 in Vienna, Austria) is a Canadian journalist who emigrated from Czechoslovakia to Canada in 1940. ... Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born November 13, 1969) is a Scottish actor of Irish extraction. ... Wes Bentley, Thora Birch, and Mena Suvari in a promotional photo for American Beauty Wes Bentley (born September 4, 1978) is an American actor. ... Zachery Ty Bryan (born in Aurora, Colorado on October 9, 1981) is an American actor best known for his role as the eldest son on the sitcom Home Improvement. ... IFC Films is an American film distribution company based in New York, owned by the Independent Film Channel. ... April 22 is the 112th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (113th in leap years). ... 2005 (MMV) is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2005. ... A drama is a film that depends mostly on in-depth character development, interaction, and highly emotional themes. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ... David Anspaugh (born on 24 September 1946 in Decatur, Indiana, USA) is an American director. ... First International Unofficial: USA 0 - 1 Canada (Newark, USA; November 28, 1885) Official: Sweden 2 - 3 USA (Stockholm, Sweden; August 20, 1916) Largest win USA 8 - 1 Cayman Islands (Mission Viejo, USA; November 14, 1993) USA 7 - 0 El Salvador (Los Angeles, USA; December 5, 1993) USA 7 - 0 Barbados... First International Scotland 0 - 0 England (Partick, Scotland; 30 November 1872) Largest win Ireland 0 - 13 England (Belfast, Northern Ireland; 18 February 1882) Worst defeat Hungary 7 - 1 England (Budapest, Hungary; 23 May 1954) World Cup Appearances 12 (First in 1950) Best result Winners, 1966 European Championship Appearances 7 (First... History of Belo Horizonte The metropolis was once a small village, founded by a prospector from Portuguese for Corral of the King). The farms wealth and success encouraged more people into the region, and Curral del Rey became a village surrounded by farms. ... The 1950 Football World Cup was the only World Cup ever held which was not decided by a knockout final (although the last match of the tournament did end up determining the overall winner, and this match is usually referred to as if it were a final). ... Joe Gaetjens held aloft after scoring the winning goal On June 29, 1950, at the 1950 World Cup in Brazil, the United States national football team defeated the English team 1–0 in group play. ...

The story is about the family traditions and passions that shaped the players who made up this team of underdogs. Many of the teammates were from The Hill neighborhood of St. Louis, Missouri. . The Hill is a mostly Italian-American neighborhood within Saint Louis, Missouri, located on high ground south of the River des Peres and Interstate 44. ... The Gateway Arch, shown here behind the Old Courthouse, is the most recognizable part of the St. ...

The cast includes Gerard Butler, Zachery Ty Bryan, and Wes Bentley, among others. It opened for limited release in the U.S. on April 22, 2005. Gerard Butler Gerard James Butler (born November 13, 1969) is a Scottish actor of Irish extraction. ... Zachery Ty Bryan (born in Aurora, Colorado on October 9, 1981) is an American actor best known for his role as the eldest son on the sitcom Home Improvement. ... Wes Bentley, Thora Birch, and Mena Suvari in a promotional photo for American Beauty Wes Bentley (born September 4, 1978) is an American actor. ...

Among other historical inaccuracies in the film, Scotsman Ed McIlvenny (played by U.S. soccer player John Harkes) was airbrushed out of the story. McIlvenny moved to the United States in 1948, but returned to Britain in 1950 and played professional football for Manchester United. McIlvenny captained the U.S. side to their 1-0 victory, but the producers of the film decided to give the position of captain to American-born Walter Bahr. Edward John McIlvenny (b. ... John Harkes (born March 8, 1967 in Kearny, New Jersey) was a talented American soccer player. ... Manchester United Football Club is an English football club, based at Old Trafford in Greater Manchester. ... Walter Alfred Bahr (born April 1, 1927 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is considered one of the greatest American soccer players ever. ...

Walter Bahr commented, "I was captain for about 10 years including the 1950 World Cup. But when we got to Brazil the first game was against Spain and since my teammate Harry Keough spoke Spanish, they made him captain. Against England, our coach Bill Jeffrey, who was also Scottish-born, thought it would be a big feather in Eddie's cap to be captain. It was an honor for him and I think that was the proper thing to do. I was then captain for the last game against Chile and for years to come. Yet in the film I'm captain, and that's wrong. I know Eddie's widow lives in East Sussex, and it is important she should know that an error has been made and Eddie really was the captain against England." Harry Keough (b. ...

McIlvenny's widow, Sheila, was reported as saying: "It's disappointing, but what do you expect from Hollywood?...It is not the true story, not at all. I think he [McIlvenny] would have accepted it, but I don't think he would have been happy with it because it wasn't the truth".

External links

• The Game of Their Lives at the Internet Movie Database
• Movie Review - Mark Sells, The Oregon Herald

The Game of Their Lives is also a 2002 documentary film by Daniel Gordon about the North Korean soccer team who participated in the Football World Cup 1966. The Internet Movie Database (IMDb), owned by Amazon. ... The Game of Their Lives is a 2002 documentary film directed by Daniel Gordon about the North Korean soccer team who participated in the Football World Cup 1966. ... This is a list of film-related events in 2002. ... Documentary film is a broad category of cinematic expression united by the intent to remain factual or non-fictional. ... North Korea, officially the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (DPRK; Korean: Chosŏn Minjujuŭi Inmin Konghwaguk; Hangul: 조선민주주의인민공화국; Hanja: 朝鮮民主主義人民共和國), is a country in eastern Asia, covering the northern half of the peninsula of Korea. ... 1966 was a year of triumph for the host nation, England. ...