We Are Marshall (2006)
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A community struggles to rebuild its football program and heal from the collective trauma of a devastating plane crash.
The story
On November 14, 1970, a chartered plane carrying the Marshall University Thundering Herd football team crashes, killing all 75 people on board. In the tragic aftermath, University President Donald Dedmon considers indefinitely suspending the football program. However, he is eventually persuaded to reconsider by the pleas of students, residents, and the few players who did not make the flight. Dedmon hires Jack Lengyel as the new head coach. With the help of surviving assistant coach Red Dawson, Lengyel begins the arduous task of rebuilding the team and the community's spirit in a short amount of time.
Full plot (contains spoilers)
Following the 1970 plane crash that killed the Marshall University football team, President Donald Dedmon is pressured by the community to keep the program alive. He hires Jack Lengyel as head coach, who teams up with surviving assistant coach Red Dawson. Despite losing many prospects to West Virginia University, Dedmon successfully pleads with the NCAA to allow freshmen to play varsity football. The new 'Young Thundering Herd' is composed of returning players, freshmen, and walk-ons. After a heavy 29–6 loss to Morehead State, the team secures its first post-crash victory, a 15–13 win against Xavier University. The victory leaves Dawson in a state of disbelief in the locker room, surrounded by fans. The film concludes with a summary of the characters' futures and the eventual success of the Marshall football program over the following decades.
- First release year
- 2006
- Runtime (minutes)
- 131
- Production countries
- United States
- Original languages
- English
- Directors
- McG
- Writers
- Jamie Linden · screenplay
- Cast and characters
- Matthew McConaughey · Jack Lengyel; Matthew Fox · William "Red" Dawson; Ian McShane · Paul Griffen; Anthony Mackie · Nate Ruffin; January Jones · Carole Dawson; Brian Geraghty · Tom Bogdan; David Strathairn · Donald Dedmon; Kate Mara · Annie Cantrell
- Genres
- biographical; sports; drama
- Themes
- community healing; resilience; grief; rebuilding
- Tone and mood
- emotional; feel-good; melancholic
- Setting
- Huntington, West Virginia, 1970
- Premise and plot tags
- based on true events; sports drama; biographical
- Source material / true-story basis
- actual events
- Reception
- The film received mixed to negative reviews from critics and was a box office bomb, grossing $43.5 million against a $65 million budget.
- Reported review scores
- Rotten Tomatoes · score: 48% · review count: 126; Metacritic · score: 53% · review count: 31
Film metadata comes from the open sources listed in Credits & Contact. Catalogue details may be incomplete.
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