| Rudy | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | David Anspaugh |
| Written by | Angelo Pizzo |
| Produced by | Robert N. Fried Cary Woods |
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Oliver Wood |
| Edited by | David Rosenbloom |
| Music by | Jerry Goldsmith |
| Distributed by | TriStar Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $13 million[2] |
| Box office | $22.8 million |
Rudy is a 1993 Americanbiographicalsports film directed byDavid Anspaugh. It is an account of the life ofDaniel "Rudy" Ruettiger, who harbored dreams of playingfootball at theUniversity of Notre Dame despite significant obstacles. It was the first film that the Notre Dame administration allowed to be shot on campus sinceKnute Rockne, All American in 1940.
In 2005,Rudy was named one of the best 25 sports movies of the previous 25 years in two polls byESPN (#24 by a panel of sports experts, and #4 byESPN.com users).[3] It was ranked the54th-most inspiring film of all time in theAmerican Film Institute's"100 Years" series.[4]
The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 18, 1993, and was released in the United States on October 13, 1993, byTriStar Pictures. It starsSean Astin as the title character, along withNed Beatty,Jason Miller,Robert Prosky,Lili Taylor andCharles S. Dutton.Jon Favreau andVince Vaughn had supporting roles in their first appearances in a major studio production. The script was written byAngelo Pizzo, who createdHoosiers (1986), which was also directed by Anspaugh.
In the 1960s inJoliet, Illinois, Daniel Eugene "Rudy" Ruettiger dreams of playing football atNotre Dame. However, he lacks the grades, money, talent, and physical stature to attend the university and to play majorcollege football. After high school, Rudy works at a steel mill with his Notre Dame fan father and his older brothers John and Frank. After Rudy's supportive best friend Pete is killed in a mill explosion, Rudy decides to follow his dream.
In 1972, Rudy visits Notre Dame but is academically ineligible to enroll. With the help of local priest and former Notre Dame president Father John Cavanaugh, Rudy enrolls at nearbyHoly Cross College, hoping to transfer. Rudy meets the head groundskeeper Fortune at Notre Dame Stadium. Initially indifferent to Rudy's plight, Fortune later leaves him blankets and a key to the office, giving Rudy a place to stay on campus. Rudy learns that despite working at the stadium for years, Fortune has never seen a Notre Dame football game.
Rudy befriendsteaching assistant D-Bob, who helps him study in return for Rudy's helping him socially with girls. D-Bob tests Rudy for a learning disability; the results indicate that Rudy hasdyslexia. Despite his difficulties, he works hard to become a better student. At Christmas, Rudy returns home to find that his family appreciates his college academic achievements, but Frank still mocks Rudy for his attempts to play college football. Rudy persists, and even losing his girlfriend Sherry to his older brother Johnny does not deter him.
After two years at Holy Cross and three rejections for admission to Notre Dame, Rudy is finally accepted and attends football tryouts in the hope of making the team as a"walk-on". Assistant coach Warren warns the walk-ons that 35 scholarship players will not even make the "dress roster" of players who take the field during games. However, CoachJoe Yonto notices Rudy's determination and gives him a spot on the daily practice squad. Rudy tells Fortune and persuades him to promise to see Rudy's first game.
Rudy's hard work and dedication in practice convince head coachAra Parseghian to let him suit up for one home game in his senior year. However, Parseghian retires following the1974 season and is replaced by formerGreen Bay Packers head coachDan Devine, who refuses to put Rudy on the game-day roster. Frustrated by not being on the dress list for the last home game, Rudy quits the team.
Fortune finds a distraught Rudy and reveals that he had actually played for Notre Dame years earlier. However, Fortune quit the team because he felt that his race kept him from playing; he has regretted this decision ever since. Reminded by Fortune that he has nothing to prove to anyone but himself and would forever regret quitting, Rudy returns to the team. When new head coach Dan Devine balks at allowing Rudy to dress for a game despite Parseghian's earlier promise, all of Rudy's fellow seniors line up and lay their jerseys on Devine's desk, requesting that Rudy be allowed to dress for the season's final game. Devine relents and lets Rudy suit up againstGeorgia Tech.
With Rudy's family and D-Bob in attendance, Steele invites Rudy to lead the team onto the field, and Fortune is there to see the game as promised. With Notre Dame leading 17–3 late in the fourth quarter, Devine sends all the seniors into the game except Rudy, despite Steele's and the assistant coaches' urging. Fans are aware of Rudy's goal from a story in the student newspaper, and a "Rudy!" chant begins in the stadium. Hearing this, the Notre Dame offense, led bytailback Jamie O'Hara, ignores Devine's call forvictory formation and scores a quick touchdown. This gives defensive player Rudy a chance to get in the game and be entered onto theFighting Irish roster. Devine finally lets Rudy play on the Notre Dame kickoff to Georgia Tech. Rudy stays in for the final play, sacks the Georgia Tech quarterback, and is carried off the field on his teammates' shoulders to cheers from the stadium.
An epilogue states that since 1975, no other Notre Dame player has been carried off the field as of the time of the film's release in 1993.[N 1] Rudy graduated in 1976, and five of his younger brothers went on to earn college degrees.
In 1982,Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger initially pitched a film project based on his life story to Hollywood executives but failed to generate interest. Later, he entered into a deal with a screenwriter who allegedly deceived him, resulting in the loss of his life savings. Residing inSouth Bend, Indiana, where theUniversity of Notre Dame is located, Ruettiger found renewed inspiration after watching the 1986 filmHoosiers. A fortuitous encounter in South Bend led him to obtain contact information forHoosiers screenwriterAngelo Pizzo. Around 1989, Ruettiger persistently pursued Pizzo, who initially had no interest in creating another Indiana-based sports film, especially one set at Notre Dame, a school he disliked. Despite initial reluctance, Pizzo eventually mentioned the project toHoosiers directorDavid Anspaugh and producerRobert Fried.[5]
In 1991, Fried successfully sold the project toColumbia Pictures, securing Anspaugh as the director and Pizzo as the writer. However, when Columbia's chairmanFrank Price departed forSavoy Pictures, the new chairmanMark Canton put the film intoturnaround in early 1992. Although Savoy Pictures nearly acquired the rights from Columbia, they opted out when foreign deals failed to materialize in time for an October 1992 production start.[5]
TriStar Pictures joined the project in September 1992 and gave the green light to the $13-million film after resolving "last-minute rights claims against the property." Filmmakers had a two-week window to revise the script and just two days to secure permission to film at Notre Dame. The school had not agreed to allow its campus to be used as a film location since 1940'sKnute Rockne, All American. Initially uninterested in another film about Notre Dame football, the university's administration, led by executive vice president Reverend William Beauchamp, changed its stance after reading Pizzo's script. They recognized it as a "heartwarming, enlivening story" about hard work that embodied the school's values.[5]
The 50-day filming commenced on October 26, 1992, on the campus north of South Bend. Notre Dame, Holy Cross Junior College, and the local bar Cap N' Cork, served as filming sites. Notre Dame-specific locations encompassed its twin lakes, Notre Dame Stadium, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart, and theGolden Dome. Crowd scenes were captured during halftime at Notre Dame football games againstBoston College andPenn State. The pivotal scene where players carry "Rudy" off the field was shot during that year'sNotre Dame vs. Boston College game, with the 59,000 fans present chanting Rudy's name. N.F.L. Films, theNational Football League's cinematic division, handled the filming of football action scenes. Following the six-week stint in South Bend, the production relocated to Chicago, Illinois, where the Thompson Steel Mill was used. The nearby town ofWhiting, Indiana, stood in for Joliet, Illinois.[5]
ActorSean Astin, portraying the titular character, experienced "head-to-toe bruises" during the filming process. Additionally, Astin's stuntman sustained injuries, necessitating knee surgery by the conclusion of the shoot.[5]
| Rudy | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by | |
| Released | September 28, 1993 (1993-09-28) |
| Recorded | 1993 |
| Genre | Soundtrack |
| Length | 36:44 |
The soundtrack was composed and conducted byJerry Goldsmith and performed by theHollywood Studio Symphony. Goldsmith had previously worked with Pizzo and Anspaugh on their successful 1986 filmHoosiers, garnering the film an Oscar nomination forBest Original Score[6] and thus making Goldsmith their first choice to compose a soundtrack forRudy.
According to Soundtrack.net, "Tryouts" has been used in 12 trailers, including those forAngels in the Outfield,BASEketball,The Deep End of the Ocean,Good Will Hunting,The Little Vampire,Mafia!,Seabiscuit andSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron.[7]
In 2008, SenatorJohn McCain used "Take Us Out" as an official anthem during his presidential run. The piece of music was played at major events such as after Senator McCain's acceptance speech to theRepublican National Convention and after John McCain announced GovernorSarah Palin as his running mate inDayton, Ohio.
"Take Us Out" was played in the pilot episode ofAbout a Boy, based on the2002 film of the same name.
Also recorded in the film are performances of various Notre Dame fight songs by theNotre Dame Glee Club.[citation needed]
In reality, Coach Dan Devine had announced that Rudy would dress for the Georgia Tech game during practice a few days before. The dramatic scene in which Rudy's senior teammates laid their jerseys on Devine's desk in protest never happened. According to Ruettiger, Devine was persuaded to allow him to dress only after a number of senior players requested that he do so.[8] Devine had agreed to be depicted as the "heavy" in the film for dramatic effect but was chagrined to find out the extent to which he was vilified,[9] saying: "The jersey scene is unforgivable. It's a lie and untrue."[10]
As a guest onThe Dan Patrick Show on September 8, 2010,Joe Montana, who was an active member of the team when Ruettiger played in the Georgia Tech game, confirmed that the jersey scene never happened, stating: "It's a movie, remember. Not all of that is true...The crowd wasn't chanting, nobody threw in their jerseys. He did get in the ball game. He got carried off after the game."[11]
Nearly 10 years later in an interview onBarstool Sports'Pardon My Take podcast, Montana reiterated that the jersey scene and crowd chanting did not actually occur. He also implied that carrying Ruettiger off the field was sarcastic rather than celebratory, saying: "Was there a lot of things that happened? Yeah. He got in, he got a sack. Was the crowd chanting? No. Did I throw in my jersey? No. Did he get carried off the field? He got carried off by three of the biggest pranksters on the team."[12]
The film was the closing night gala at the1993 Toronto International Film Festival.[1]
Rudy received primarily positive reviews from critics.Roger Ebert of theChicago Sun-Times wrote that the film "has a freshness and an earnestness that gets us involved, and by the end of the film we accept Rudy's dream as more than simply sports sentiment. It's a small but powerful illustration of the human spirit."[13] Stephen Holden ofThe New York Times observed that "For all its patness, the movie also has a gritty realism that is not found in many higher-priced versions of the same thing, and its happy ending is not the typical Hollywood leap into fantasy."[14] InThe Washington Post, Richard Harrington calledRudy "a sweet-natured family drama in which years of effort are rewarded by a brief moment of glory."[15] Kenneth Turan of theLos Angeles Times called the film "Sweet-natured and unsurprising...this is one of those Never Say Die, I Gotta Be Me, Somebody Up There Likes Me sports movies that no amount of cynicism can make much of a dent in."[16]
OnRotten Tomatoes, the film holds a rating of 78%, based on 50 reviews, with an average rating of 7/10. The site's consensus reads, "Though undeniably sentimental and predictable,Rudy succeeds with an uplifting spirit and determination."[17]Metacritic gave the film a score of 71, based on 22 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[18] Audiences polled byCinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[19]
In 2006, AFI placed the film on its100 Years...100 Cheers list, where it was ranked #54.[20]
Rudy was released on VHS byColumbia TriStar Home Video on May 25, 1994, and on LaserDisc on June 22, 1994. The film was released as a Special Edition DVD on September 26, 2000. The film was released on Blu-Ray for the first time on September 9, 2008. A 30th Anniversary SteelBook 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray that included a new director's cut, deleted scenes, and director's/writer's commentary, was released on November 14, 2023.
