MovieChat Forums > The Last Gladiators (2012) Discussion > Where's John Kordic?

Where's John Kordic?

posted 11 years ago by tekapo
3 replies | jump to latest

John Kordic is shown briefly on the ice in a clip when the Habs win the Stanley Cup.

John Kordic was a teammate of Nilan's.

Gibney does get Bob Probert talking about the "enforcer" role before he died, and shows the funeral service. Probert fought many demons, which is an elemental theme about this documentary. All good.

John Kordic, however, is THE MOST OBVIOUS cautionary tale of an enforcer going off the rails if ever there was one.

Yet nowhere in the "Last Gladiators" documentary does Gibney even mention Kordic.

Again - John Kordic was a teammate of Nilan's. It kinda beggars belief that he is overlooked. A serious omission, a head-scratching oversight.

Aside from that, I mostly enjoyed the doc, especially the interviews with Probert, Tony Twist, Terry O'Reilly, etc.

Further reading: "THE FIGHT OF HIS LIFE: The John Kordic Story" by Mark Zwolinski (1995); and "DEATH OF A GOON," Sports Illustrated obituary (August 24, 1992): http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1004135/

[–] RhythmOfTheWarDrums 11 years ago

I'm sure Gibney has some footage about Kordic but had he used it he would've taken the movie to a far darker place. At least with Nilan there's that light at the end of the tunnel kind of feeling.

Most directors make films with their eyes. I make films with my balls. - Alejandro Jodorowsky

[–] XSIV4C 11 years ago

Plus you have to have permission from the family. Perhaps he could not get permission.

"I don’t know when it was decided we all need a soundtrack everywhere we go". Soderbergh

[–] tua07824 10 years ago

Yeah, I personally would've liked to have seen less of present-day Nilan. It was interesting but could've taken up far less time and still got the point across. They took up a lot of time showing him driving and putting on ties, etc.

No mention of Domi, Tiger Williams. Barely discussed Semenko and modern enforcers. The Broad St. Bullies were a footnote. They didn't even talk about the pre-playoff game brawl.