RUDY - Blu-ray review

When Irish poet Tony Curtis was asked what he did to avoid writer's block, he quipped, "I just lower my standards." I was reminded of that when I re-watched this refreshing true-story sports film, because it's not all about the usual winning and losing. It's about one young man's dream of just playing football for the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame.

Being a star wasn't realistic, since he was "five-foot nothin'" and didn't have great athletic ability. In fact, almost everyone Rudy knew in the blue-collar town of Joliet thought he ought to lower his standards even more, because he didn't even have the grades to get into community college, much less a highly selective school like Notre Dame. But being Irish and a part of Notre Dame's storied football tradition was a dream he refused to abandon.

If the story seems like a pigskin version of "Hoosiers," there's good reason. Angelo Pizzo wrote the script for both "Hoosiers" and "Rudy," and David Anspaugh directed both films. Jerry Goldsmith composed the stirring music for both films, and a young Sean Astin as Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger does as fine a job of bringing emotional depth to his character as Gene Hackman did in "Hoosiers."

"Rudy" has a wide appeal because it's more inspirational film than sports film, with at least half of the screen time devoted to his struggles in high school, at work in the steel mill with his father and brother and best friend, and dogging priests or anybody who'd listen in order to lay the groundwork for his eventual, triumphant entrance into Notre Dame. To his credit, Pizzo is in no hurry to get to the "good stuff," nor does he allow Rudy to wallow in the mire of disappointing turn-downs that dominate the front end of this feel-good success story. Like Cool Hand Luke being pummeled in the fight with the bigger and stronger "king" of the prisoners, Rudy just keeps getting up every time he's knocked down.

"Rudy" is rated PG for "mild language," but aside from the "bullshit" that a member of the stadium grounds crew throws at Rudy when he needs to be set straight, there's nothing in this 1993 film that wouldn't make it suitable for family viewing. In fact, I can't think of a better movie for parents to show their underachieving youngsters. It's the non-Disney, non-princess version of "dreams come true." But I tell you, even Cinderella didn't have to work this hard--and Rudy did it without animal friends and fairy godmothers. The real-life Rudy was a 5'7", 165-pound defensive end, which is a little like Jude Law trying to make it as a sumo wrestler. The real-life Rudy worked at a steel mill until his best friend died in an accident, which prompted him to go after his dream. He was rejected. Then he studied two years at a junior college, reapplying three more times to Notre Dame. Again, he was rejected. And when he finally got into Notre Dame, there was still the little matter of a walk-on trying to make the team. Then-coach Ara Paresghian was all for walk-ons, but not ones this scrawny. Still, Rudy made the prep squad, and for two years he made every practice, serving as a human tackling dummy for the starters as they got ready for each game. But unless he dressed for a game--and practice squad players did not--there was never any record or any acknowledgment of his ever having been a part of Notre Dame football. That meant he could never prove to his unsupportive father or brother that he had accomplished anything. But because the players liked him and found him inspirational, they took up Rudy's cause with new coach Dan Devine when there was one last opportunity for Rudy to suit up. The real Rudy didn't just suit up, but actually got into the game for two plays, made a tackle, and was carried off the field on the shoulders of his teammates--the last time a Fighting Irish player was carried off like that.

Pizzo's script stays pretty close to the true story, because, frankly, how much more drama or hardship-to-hero success could you invent than was already here? That puts the burden on telling the story, and Anspaugh knew from experience that if you develop your characters, the story will unfold naturally. It's a little sappy and slow in spots, as well as formulaic--which is no fault of the filmmakers, if they're filming reality. But those are really my only criticisms. The performances may not be Academy Award caliber, but they're awfully good, and Anspaugh knows when to shift gears to change the tone.

Though some of Rudy's encounters at practice provide a few snickers, most of the comic relief comes from a college buddy named D-Bob (Jon Favreau), who wants Rudy to find him a date. Scenes with the unsupportive father (Ned Beatty) and brother (Scott Benjaminson) are pretty clichéd, but all that means is that there are a lot of unsupportive family members out there--in real life, as well as Hollywood.

Lending authenticity is the location filming, with the crew actually going to Notre Dame in South Bend, as well as Joliet and other blue-collar sites near the Indiana-Illinois border. When Rudy's dad enters Notre Dame Stadium for the first time, he says it's the most beautiful sight his eyes have ever beheld. I was there once, for a Notre Dame-Army game, and looking across the field you saw a sea of black and white. And when the Army mascot (a mule) was hauled onto the field, that whole section of nuns and priests stood and chanted, "Get your ass off the field, get your ass off the field . . . ." It was a little shocking to a young teen, but it added to the electric atmosphere. The filmmakers manage to capture the excitement for the Georgia Tech game--so much so that by the end of the film, if you're not getting almost as teary-eyed as Mr. Ruettiger, there's something wrong with you. Like "Hoosiers," you might see where all this is heading, but that doesn't lessen the emotional impact one bit. It's a powerful, inspirational film, which is why the real Rudy has made a nice career for himself since then as a motivational speaker.

Video:
"Rudy" isn't the sharpest-looking catalog title, partly because it's inconsistent from sequence to sequence. Some scenes are absolutely saturated with color and strong black levels, while others look "soft," with a little atmospheric or background graininess. If you compare this with the DVD you'll see that the level of detail is improved and that there's been some edge enhancement. As for the transfer to a BD-50 (AVC/MPEG-4 codec), it appears to be solid, with no noticeable artifacts. All of which is to say that "Rudy" looks better in 1080p than it has before.

Audio:
Again, Sony has gone with Dolby TrueHD 5.1, offering audio options in English and French, with English, English SDH, and French subtitles. I was surprised, though, by how much the sound seemed restricted to the center and front main speakers, with very little use of the rear effects speakers. The tone or timbre also seemed a little flatter than some of the better Blu-ray soundtracks I've listened to, which leads me to suspect that the master wasn't all that dynamic. It's not awful, mind you. It's just that it won't impress you, and you'll undoubtedly notice as I did the narrow spread across the front speakers.

Extras:
Surprisingly, other than some BD-Live downloads which Internet junkies can access on game day (I mean, street date), the bonus features are the same scant bunch that appeared on earlier discs. So was Sony not willing to pay the real Rudy a few bucks to do something better than the first, token "Real Rudy" 12-minute segment that splices together probably three minutes of him saying the obvious with nine minutes of clips from the film? I don't get it. Nor do I get the production featurette, which is nothing more than a pre-production promo that's short enough to run as a teaser, or a "First Down with Sean Astin" which is a one minute interview. That's it, folks. So it will all come down to how the film looks and sounds, if you have it already. And as I said, while this Blu-ray won't blow you away, in 1080p "Rudy" does look better than it has in the past.

Bottom Line:
If "chick flicks" make you cry over romance, then maybe we ought to consider "guy flicks" films those sport flicks that make guys well up and say, "Dang, those allergies must be acting up again." "Brian's Song" would probably be tops, but "Hoosiers" and "Rudy" would certainly make the list. And being a part of something, as this film drives home, is a noble enough goal. It's why men go to fantasy sports camps, and why men are moved by a film like this.