"Rise" review - Did it rise to your expectations?

[Debbie S]

Oh and I think I spied Garden Kitty in the audience at the NYC event....

I thought I saw her, too - at least, I was thinking it might be her. Good to know I got the right person.

I turned to my friend during the "therapy session" and asked whether Dorothy was drunk.

After the exchange with Matt Lauer on the sofa I turned to my mom and suggested Dorothy was on something. My mom thought she might be taking anti-depressants, but I think it was something stronger. And she sounded odd at times during the movie, too. I thought it was interesting at the end when she said she thinks everyone should learn how to skate - AFAIK, her daughter never skated....but I guess she could have taken lessons for a brief time.

I was a little surprised there wasn't more mentioned about the other skaters, especially Bradley, Rhode and the Hickoxes but I'm hopeful that those may be some of the scenes that they mentioned will be on the DVD.

The filmmaker did mention it was hard to decide what to cut when editing the film, and the DVD would have the extras.


My theater, in the Baltimore area, was about half full. Broadcast went off w/o a hitch (although I didn't get the "test material' of the Gloria Estefan concert - do we really need Latin music and dancing just before a movie about plane crash victims?). Everyone stayed until the end.

There was a lot of gasping and murmuring when Vera appeared on camera. I saw her in person at Nats and she looks like a walking skeleton. Her legs are thinner than her arms, if that's possible. Scary. And she's got to be around 60 - she skated at the same time Peggy Fleming did - I think she's a couple years younger. She needs to worry about breaking her hip and/or spinal damage.

[~tapdancer~]

My hubby and I went, our theater in Jax, Fl was pretty empty, maybe about 20 of us there? But we had a good feed, I very much enjoyed the movie. It was a celebration really, not depressing at all. I mean, I felt sorrow for the people that lost their lives and their families but overall the mood of the film was very uplifting.

Not only was Vera Wang scary thin (and I mean she looked like a skeleton) but she has not aged well! It was like a horror film moment. Hate to be so blunt but...it was frightening in HD.

Peter definitely needed to lay off the coffee...or alcohol...and Dorothy seemed a little too happy as well. She laid over onto Scott more than once when they were sitting on the couch. Scott was awesome, both in the movie and live.

And SwingDancer...Scott is not sick again. He was referring to the fact that he had found out his brain tumor had returned back when they were making the movie. He has since had treatment again and he's alright.

Loved all the older skaters and coaches...Frank and Ron were wonderful. Tenley Albright looks great and Dick B wasn't so bad either.

Evan is not only a skategod, he's a rockstar as well. He is very well-spoken. Loved seeing the two segments that were taped in Greensboro...I had the pleasure of being there for the taping and I'm glad I was. The segments were nice to see on film but live they were even better.

All in all, a great show.

[snoopysnake]

That's the impression that I got from the interaction between Matt and Scott. Matt started by saying something about it being a tough couple of months (year?) for Scott, but he didnt want to go into specifics. I thought Scott himself said that he had just found out the tumor was back.

I'd hate to start something if I misunderstood, but that's the impression I got.

Scott finished his tumor treatment last fall; he was referring to the filmmaking time when he'd found out it was back. He was sick with the flu this week.

[ioana]

IMO, the movie itself was much better than expected. All the "skating fell HARD that day" previews made me cringe, but the documentary is well-thought out. We could have cut back on the post-movie interviews and showed more of the skaters from the 1961 team, but Ron Ludington and Frank Carrol were such highlights, I'll let this one slide.

As for Dorothy, she did seem to be a little drunk but it brought out her snarky side. Matt Lauer got all excited about living in Greenwich, CT next door to what would become today's Dorothy Hamill skating rink and she went "what a sorry excuse for a skating rink" [after a few seconds] "but still it's nice there is a a rink."

[Prancer]

This didn't surprise me at all. The skaters interviewed or the most part had a direct connection to the plane crash, or are Scott Hamilton. Kristi, Tara and Sarah didn't have coaches that were affected the same way and weren't in clubs that were as heavily hit..

I thought that, too, except for Brian Boitano. I can't think of any connection he has except that he is Brian Boitano.

[John 3 17]

As for Dorothy, she did seem to be a little drunk but it brought out her snarky side. Matt Lauer got all excited about living in Greenwich, CT next door to what would become today's Dorothy Hamill skating rink and she went "what a sorry excuse for a skating rink" [after a few seconds] "but still it's nice there is a a rink."

Dorothy, iirc, made fun of that rink once on the Today Show, so I don't think she did that b/c she was "drunk" Matt mentioned going to the same school on the same show, maybe around 2000?

-Bridget

[vesperholly]

This didn't surprise me at all. The skaters interviewed or the most part had a direct connection to the plane crash, or are Scott Hamilton. Kristi, Tara and Sarah didn't have coaches that were affected the same way and weren't in clubs that were as heavily hit.

Oh, well that makes sense. But how was Dorothy Hamill affected, other than her coach (who was never even mentioned) coming to the US after the crash? Or Brian Boitano?

[Prancer]

Oh, well that makes sense. But how was Dorothy Hamill affected, other than her coach (who was never even mentioned) coming to the US after the crash?

She was coached by Carlo Fassi.

[talulabell]

Scott finished his tumor treatment last fall; he was referring to the filmmaking time when he'd found out it was back. He was sick with the flu this week.

Thanks to all for the clarification. I was worried there.

[FigureSpins]

They briefly talked about how Fassi came to the US as a coach. Not enough about that, imo.

I didn't get Boitano's connection other than benefitting from the Memorial Fund. I did appreciate his revelations about his parents. He just made every parent who does drop off/pick up very happy. He's right: all kids are different. One of mine wants me to watch her practices, the other would prefer I go to Walmart, lol.

[ioana]

Dorothy, iirc, made fun of that rink once on the Today Show, so I don't think she did that b/c she was "drunk" Matt mentioned going to the same school on the same show, maybe around 2000?

Must be the rink that brings out the snarkyness in Dorothy, in that case . She seemed a lot more willing to speak freely -and, whenever she wasn't waving her arms around or leaning into Scott, I thought she was very likable in free-spirit mode. Her interaction with Michelle when asked to talk about their parents' involvement in skating was priceless. "I might be a while" talking about her mother and how it took her 50 years to figure out their relationship.

[manleywoman]

We didn't get any type of survey.

[TanithandBenFan]

There were seven people in my theater. At first, I thought my sister and I might be the only ones. The couple behind me probably thought I was crazy because I would get excited and point at the screen whenever I spotted someone familiar during the live show - "There's Garden Kitty! Belladella! Melissa Bulanhagi! One of the Boys Who Score!"

[mtnskater]

Beautifully done film!!! I very very much enjoyed the whole thing and gobbled the whole experience up. I went with three friends who are casual figure skating watchers. They know who the big Olympic stars are but don't have a clue who the National champions are, etc.

They all three were absolutely moved by the film and were so glad they came to see it. All three had no idea about the 1961 crash. All of them remarked on what a wonderful person Scott Hamilton is and how well he comes across as a person.

I may go and watch it again on the 7th.

I can't wait to buy the DVD!

I'm going to remember Scott Hamilton's words when I'm feeling sorry for myself...."Just Get Up."

[SwingDancer]

Thanks to all for the clarification. I was worried there.

Me too.

[ElinorD]

I'll add my .02. - I also loved it! Loved the clips and the stories. Ron Ludington is a riot. Although I wish there had been more on the legacy of the fund, not just the champions, I found myself crying when they talked about Frank after Evan's win. It was a nice moment.
I was concerned that it would be really sad, and I wouldn't be able to take it. I found it to be uplifting, as most of you did. I was grateful for that.
I can't wait for the DVD!

[Prancer]

I didn't get Boitano's connection other than benefitting from the Memorial Fund. I did appreciate his revelations about his parents. He just made every parent who does drop off/pick up very happy. He's right: all kids are different. One of mine wants me to watch her practices, the other would prefer I go to Walmart, lol.

I remember reading an interview with him where he said that he was basically a man at 12; he was completely responsible for managing his time and at that point started managing his own travel arrangements and coaching. His parents just stepped back and let him at it.

We didn't get any type of survey.

I got a card saying that I should go to www.rise1961.com to complete a survey and would then be told how to exchange my ticket stub for a commemorative pin. I don't see the survey on the site, though.

[sk8junkie]

I thought it was a good movie, but I didn't think it was a great movie.

I loved the anecdotes that made the skaters and coaches more "human", but was disappointed that so many of them weren't even mentioned, and there wasn't any mention of the rebuilding of U.S. coaching within the film itself (although I appreciated that Peggy Fleming mentioned it in the post-show).

I also would have liked to see more of the 1961 U.S. Championship footage; I really enjoyed the footage of Doug Ramsay and the recollections of his sister of him practicing his jumps around the house.

The interviews with Ron Ludington and Frank Carroll were definitely highlights for me - I hope to seen extended versions of those on the DVD.

I also would have liked to have heard more specific examples of how the Memorial Fund has helped skaters in the past 50yrs.

I thought the pre- and post-show interviews were little more than fluff, and that someone needs to feed Vera Wang more than a few meals because she just looked terribly unnatural. Peggy Fleming's and Dorothy Hamel's dresses in the post-interview were unflattering, and while I didn't like Michelle Kwan's dress, I did think that she wore it really well.

And I also thought the lighting for the skating in Greensboro was horribly inadequate (I went to the championships, but didn't stick around for those programs on Sunday night, as I had to be at work pretty early the following morning, but now I'm wishing even more that I had made the decision to suck it up, watch the programs and fall asleep at work the next day).

I saw it at the Regal in Greensboro, where I met a woman who told me that used to compete against Dorothy Hamel. (She had only wonderful things to say about her, which didn't surprise me.) I'd say that the theater I was in was about 85% full, and they were showing it on 3 screens. There were some mini-cheers during the last skating performance when specific kids appeared onscreen - my guess is that the cheers came from family members of the kids.

[HisWeirness]

Here is a photo of Vera Wang from tonight.

And here is one from Wed.

I saw her in Greensboro and her thighs were as thick as most folks' arms.

[Sasha'sSpins]

Did someone official say the film would be shown again in March? Really?

The filmmakers said so themselves-at the end of the movie.

I loved it, and my twin nephews Mathew and Jake who are not particularly skating fans enjoyed it. Both said 'it was good' and 'sad' (naturally) but we all agreed the talk show format at the end went on much too long. To me it seemed almost disconnected in context to the film. And I wanted much much more on the late skaters themselves-perhaps there will be more in the dvd extras. At least I got to see the Dineens in action if briefly.

Can't wait to see it again on the big screen in March-and this time on my REAL day off I won't have to make a special request for the night off from my boss. And I can't wait to get my commemorative necklace-they said in the film we just have to go to the RISE site and type in our movie ticket numbers.

Well my theater had a complete failure. No movie. They couldn't get the satellite to work. We had audio for a while but no pic, but they couldn't fix it. A free pass to come again doesn't really seem like an appropriate make up for their mess up. Should've known when there was no pre-show there'd be no show show. Got there at 7:30...nothing til 8:20. And total abandonment at 8:30. Too late to even jump to another theater though the next nearest theater was sold out.

*sad*

Awww! That reeks! I'm so sorry ((V I))!! Hope you can make it to the March 7 encore!

ETA: When my nephews and I got to the theatre at about 7:17pm we took some pictures in front of the RISE poster, that was fun, then we walked into the theatre-Gloria Estefan was up on the screen (which confused me for a sec). My nephews asked 'who's that?', Mathew added 'well anyways, she sings really good' and I explained about Gloria and The Miami Sound Machine. I was disappointed she didn't do "Conga" or if she did we arrived too late for it. On a down note, I was disappointed our theatre was near empty. Maybe 20 some odd people at most. Then again, the film was very poorly advertised. On several sites, such as twitter,and FB people were asking 'what's that?' in response to excited fans who had just seen it. They had not even heard about RISE. Too late for some kind of an Oscar boost this year too. Not that documentaries always do well, but an Oscar nod might have put a few more booties in the seats.

We were fortunate-it sounds like several theatres had tech issues. Ours didn't, we got to see the Red Carpet event, and the aftershow.
Vera Wang looked frighteningly thin and the second she popped up on the screen Mathew exclaimed 'She's anorexic! You can see the bones in her back!' and Jake said almost at the same time 'DAMN! She needs to eat!'. :/

I enjoyed the skater's performances including Evan's but imo it took MUCH too long to get to them with the 'conversations' between Matt Lauer and Co. Mathew started dozing off, but Jake hung on. He is the one who said 'I don't mind a LITTLE talk, but not a LOT-they talked too much'.

I love the theme music from the film. The song, which I didn't like at all when I first heard it somehow seemed alright when it played in one scene in the film, and I actually didn't mind it as much as I thought I would with the skater's performing to it.

If you didn't go to see it-please try to see it in March.