Review of Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (2008) by Phil O — 18 Mar 2009

At the heart of many a really great sports documentary there lies an awe inspiring game or sports event. I knew nothing about the 1968 Harvard-Yale game coming into this movie, and I have no allegiance whatsoever to either school.

But the movie managed in short order to lure the viewer (or at least me) into rooting for Harvard. Even though both teams were undefeated going into the game, Harvard was the clear underdog; meanwhile, Yale had a quarterback who had not lost a game since he had been in the seventh grade, fans who taunted Harvard with an obnoxious cheer, a dirty player named Mike Bouscaren, and a lot of all around arrogance that came from overconfidence.

The game itself is one of the most amazing ever played, and it is impossible not to be awestruck as you watch the footage from that game unfold. The footage was interspersed with contemporary interviews with the players (except, unfortunately, for Calvin Hill), and the interviews often brought a humorous angle as the players reflected back on what had transpired 40 years earlier.

I did think that the movie began a little slowly, and I was not necessarily all that interested in the discussions about the social unrest of that era; what mattered as far as I was concerned was the drama of the game itself, and the former players themselves, who infused the film with a wonderful humanity However, that is only a quibble, as the movie completely caught my full attention in short order.

By the end of the film, I was completely riveted. This is as good a sports documentary as it gets.