RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / Harvard Beats Yale 29-29
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
Bookmark and Share

Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (2008)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
91 %
Tomatometer
Template ImageTemplate Image

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted:35

Fresh:32

Rotten:3

Average Rating:7.4/10

Rated: Not Rated

Runtime: 1 hr 45 mins

Genre: Sports/Recreation

Theatrical Release:Nov 19, 2008 Limited

Synopsis: Director Kevin Rafferty is renowned for his wit and fresh perspectives on American culture. He previously re-purposed Cold War archival footage for The Atomic Café, served as a cameraman to... Director Kevin Rafferty is renowned for his wit and fresh perspectives on American culture. He previously re-purposed Cold War archival footage for The Atomic Café, served as a cameraman to first-time director Michael Moore on Roger and Me and captured the unguarded comments of politicians in Feed.

In Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, Rafferty takes us into the world of America's Ivy League universities via a 1968 football match that had a highly unexpected outcome. He interviews players on both sides, who – in addition to talking about the game – summon the socio-political milieu of the time, recollecting their thoughts on issues like Vietnam, birth control and student insurrection. These testimonies interweave with remarkable footage of the game, an erstwhile style of college play that possessed a grace lacking in today's professional football.

Several aspects of this particular game resonate in the wider culture of 1968. At Harvard, the team included actor Tommy Lee Jones, who recalls a campus where “ideas were flying like bullets.” At Yale, the student comic strip, Doonesbury, introduced a jock character named B.D., inspired by Brian Dowling, the school's star quarterback. And players from either side were roommates with Al Gore (Harvard) and George W. Bush (Yale). As the football game is obsessively dissected, the reflections feel eerily comparable to what took place after the 2000 presidential election.

Although such details do not surface in the film, Rafferty himself went to Harvard, and happens to be the first cousin of George W. Bush – though he has different politics. At their prep school, Rafferty played football and Bush was a cheerleader. Rafferty's evident familiarity with the Ivy League environment grants the interviews an intimacy not often found in historical documentaries. As the former teammates (now pushing sixty) look back on their youth, they demystify the prestige of their elite universities. It becomes clear that no matter where you go to school, sometimes you win, sometimes you lose and sometimes it's hard to tell. --© Toronto International Film Festival [More]

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones

Starring: Tommy Lee Jones

Director: Kevin Rafferty

Director: Kevin Rafferty

[See More Credits]

  • Trailers
  • Pictures
1 - 3 of 3

See More Movie Trailers & Pictures

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Aug 4, 2009

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • An incredible true story that unfolds like “a ripping good yarn... With an uproarious, impossible Hollywood ending” (Andrew O’Hehir, Salon.com), Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 is filmmaker Kevin Rafferty’s (The Atomic Cafe) acclaimed documentary depicting one of the most legendary games in the history of sports. Harvard Stadium – November 23, 1968. With Vietnam raging, Nixon in the
  • White House, and issues from civil rights to women's lib dividing the country, Harvard and Yale, both teams undefeated for the first time since 1909, meet for the annual climax of the Ivy League football season. On the blue-blooded Yale campus, gridiron fever has made local celebrities out of a Yale team led by quarterback Brian Dowling, who hadn’t lost a game that he finished since the 7th grade, and who was the role model for Doonesbury’s “B.D.” At civil unrest scarred Harvard, a melting pot team of working class players, antiwar activists, and a decorated Vietnam vet set aside their differences for the Big Game. Together, Yale and Harvard stage an unforgettable football contest that baffled even their own coaches. Using vintage game footage and bracingly honest contemporary interviews with the players from both sides, including Harvard lineman and future Oscar® winner Tommy Lee Jones (No Country for Old Men), Rafferty crafts an
  • alternately suspenseful, hilarious, and poignant portrait of American lives, American sports, and American ideals both tested on the playing field and transformed by turbulent times.
  •  
     
     
     

    Reviews for Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

    • T-Meter Critics
    • Top Critics
    • RT Community
    • My Critics
    • My Friends
    • DVD
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
    Text View | 1 2 >> >|
    Arrange By:Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
     
     

    There's something oddly dissonant about listening to a gaggle of Harvard graduates talk about being scrappy, blue-collar underdogs.

    Full Review Source: Washington Times | comment Comment
    08/30/09
    Sonny Bunch
    Sonny Bunch
    Washington Times
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | comment Comment
    08/19/09
    Deseret News, Salt Lake City
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    If the film meanders at times, reaching for significance in the wrong places, football fans will nevertheless find it charming. [Blu-ray]

    Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
    08/12/09
    Peter Canavese
    Peter Canavese
    Groucho Reviews

    The best part of this film is the affection with which both sides recall the contest -- not as a loss or a win, but as a commitment to their teammates and respect for the game.

    Full Review Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch | comment Comment
    06/11/09
    Joe Holleman
    Joe Holleman
    St. Louis Post-Dispatch

    This 'replay' of a legendary football game between undefeated Harvard and Yale teams for the 1968 championship is terrific sport. The title may reveal the results, but the plays, commentaries and remembrances are gripping--even if you're not a football fa

    Full Review Source: About.com | comment Comment
    05/27/09
    Jennifer Merin
    Jennifer Merin
    About.com

    A most entertaining straightforward no-frills documentary by Harvard grad and then Harvard undergrad Kevin Rafferty.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    05/25/09
    Dennis Schwartz
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: Boston Phoenix | comment Comment
    04/23/09
    Jeffrey Gantz
    Jeffrey Gantz
    Boston Phoenix

    Even if you're familiar with the details of the game, Rafferty's suspenseful editing draws you to the edge of your seat and beyond, back into 1968 itself.

    Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | comment Comment
    04/17/09
    Marc Savlov
    Marc Savlov
    Austin Chronicle

    An engaging chronicle not only of a memorable game but also of an era that seems at once more innocent and combustible than our own.

    Full Review Source: Oregonian | comment Comment
    04/10/09
    Shawn Levy
    Shawn Levy
    Oregonian

    Rafferty uses interviews with the former players, most now in their 60s and nearly all of them touchingly philosophical, to reveal the cultural issues buffeting their campuses, but not necessarily their locker rooms.

    Full Review Source: Denver Post | comment Comment
    04/10/09
    Lisa Kennedy
    Lisa Kennedy
    Denver Post
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    More than just a not-so-instant replay...even for viewers who regularly skip the Super Bowl it will be something to cheer.

    Full Review Source: One Guy's Opinion | comment Comment
    04/08/09
    Frank Swietek
    Frank Swietek
    One Guy's Opinion

    Rafferty's static interviews seem better suited for the radio show This American Life than for a movie documentary, but the riveting game footage recaptures the game's drama.

    Full Review Source: Salt Lake Tribune | comment Comment
    03/27/09
    Sean Means
    Sean Means
    Salt Lake Tribune

    Made on a shoestring budget, but with vision, heart and talent, Rafferty has created an action-packed, yet thoughtful film.

    Full Review Source: culturevulture.net | comment Comment
    03/26/09
    Emily S. Mendel
    Emily S. Mendel
    culturevulture.net

    Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, a mosaic of storytelling told by former college-level gridiron athletes, pieces together the remarkable story of a fateful 1968 match between the titular Ivy League teams.

    Full Review Source: Seattle Times | comment Comment
    03/19/09
    Tom Keogh
    Tom Keogh
    Seattle Times

    What makes the movie so effective is that Rafferty uses game footage instead of interspersing the movie with cliched scenes of Vietnam protests, campus mayhem, etc. The effective use of this footage builds suspense, even though we know the result.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Chronicle | comment Comment
    03/13/09
    Leba Hertz
    Leba Hertz
    San Francisco Chronicle
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    The aura of shock-and-awe surrounding this game is laid on a bit thick, and sometimes you feel like you're just watching an ESPN special. Still, it's fun.

    Full Review Source: Christian Science Monitor | comment Comment
    03/09/09
    Peter Rainer
    Peter Rainer
    Christian Science Monitor

    (W)hen Tommy Lee Jones...tells how funny his roommate, Al Gore, was, is asked for specifics, and gives them totally deadpan, I was laughing uncontrollably.

    Full Review Source: Tolucan Times | comment Comment
    03/07/09
    Tony Medley
    Tony Medley
    Tolucan Times

    The memories the game evokes in its stars, now well into middle age but clearly moved when recalling that November's consummation of one of America's oldest sports rivalries, weave a narrative that transcends football.

    Full Review Source: San Francisco Examiner | comment Comment
    03/02/09
    Rossiter Drake
    Rossiter Drake
    San Francisco Examiner

    Simply by letting the onetime gridiron stars talk about the game they played and the era it was played in, the capsule cracks open and you're sucked inside and you cannot believe, even if you know the details, how that game turned out the way it did.

    Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | comment Comment
    02/20/09
    Michael Phillips
    Michael Phillips
    Chicago Tribune
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic

    Not just a great sports movie, Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 captures a pivotal moment in recent history.

    Full Review Source: Philadelphia Inquirer | comment Comment
    02/19/09
    Steven Rea
    Steven Rea
    Philadelphia Inquirer
    Top Critic Icon Top Critic
     
     
    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
    Text View | 1 2 >> >|
    all

    Latest News for Harvard Beats Yale 29-29

    March 01, 2009: Trailer & Poster review Opens in new window
    More...

    See All

    More DVDs

    Close
    Top Rentals
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    15% 15% The Ugly Truth
    98% 98% Up
    36% 36% G.I. Joe: The Rise of …
    52% 52% The Taking of Pelham 1…
    45% 45% Ice Age: Dawn of the D…

    More Rentals…

    New On DVD This Week
    Tomatometer Percentage Movie
    36% 36% Angels & Demons
    68% 68% Funny People
    25% 25% Four Christmases
    45% 45% Shorts

    More New Releases…

    See All

    RT On Current TV

    The Rotten Tomatoes Show on Current TV

    DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...

    Learn how you can be part of the show

    More...

    What’s Hot On RT

    Total Recall

    Total Recall

    John Travolta's best reviewed movies

    RT on DVD

    RT on DVD

    Find the latest DVD and Blu-ray releases!

    RT's Gift Guide

    RT's Gift Guide

    Give the best movies, gear, and more!

    Ninja Assassin

    Ninja Assassin

    Learn to train like a ninja in this clip!

    Other News

    Close
    • Top Stories
    • Popular
    • Interviews
     
     

    Comments

     
     
    Top Stories
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Natalie Portman Says Kat Denning Is in Thor Source: MTV
    24
    • Disney Restructuring Has Broad Implications Source: Los Angeles Times
    10
    • Joel Silver Talks Ninja Assassin, Sgt. Rock, Lobo, and More Source: Collider.com
    1
    • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
    108
    • Idris Elba Joins Thor Source: Hollywood Reporter
    112
    • Jackass 3D Coming in 2010? Source: Collider.com
    32
    • 6 Reasons 'Twilight' Is Doomed Source: The Wrap
    64
    • Forbes Names Hollywood's Most Overpaid Actors Source: Forbes
    20
    • Chris Weitz Says He's (Almost) Done with Directing Source: Film School Rejects
    26
    • Spider-Man 4 Casting Rumors Multiply Like Rabbits Source: Deadline Hollywood Daily
    51
    Popular
    Headlines Comments
      
    • Box Office Guru Wrapup: New Moon Shatters Records
    165
    • Critics Consensus: New Moon Wanes
    129
    • Tomatometer Watch: Will Twilight's New Moon Dazzle?
    97
    • Total Recall: Star-Crossed Lovers
    75
    • Total Recall: John Travolta's Best Movies
    60
    • Weekly Ketchup: Idris Elba cast in Thor, more Spider-Man 4 rumors
    54
    • Five Favorite Films with Werner Herzog
    50
    • Friday Harvest: New Moon, Avatar, and more!
    32
    • RT on DVD & Blu-Ray: Angels & Demons, Funny People, and Superman
    18
    • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
    8
    Interviews
    Headlines Comments
      
    • "I Don't Hate Women": Lars von Trier on Antichrist
    8
    • Eric Bana talks Love the Beast - RT Interview
    8
    • Fight Club Sound Designer Reflects on Film's 10th Anniversary
    19
    • James Schamus talks Taking Woodstock - RT Interview
    6
    • John Hurt Talks Harry Potter, Quentin Crisp and Alien - The RT Interview
    15
    • Terry Gilliam Talks Doctor Parnassus
    19
    • Wes Anderson Talks Fantastic Mr. Fox - RT Interview
    8
    • Wolverine Creator Len Wein Talks About the Film
    28
    • Gavin Hood Talks Wolverine; Possible Sequel
    28
    • Duncan Jones talks Moon, Sam Rockwell, and Mute
    14
     
     

    Sponsored Links

    Around The Network

    • Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 at Rotten Tomatoes

    Fresh Links

    Featured
    Wes Anderson on Fox
    Wes Anderson on Fox External Link

    The director talks about puppetry perfection and his film, Fantastic Mr. Fox

    The New Cult Canon
    The New Cult Canon External Link

    AV Club looks at a beloved cult classic, Sam Raimi's Army of Darkness.

    New Moon Portraits
    New Moon Portraits External Link

    TIME offers us a closer look at the characters from the latest Twilight film.

    Unsexiest Men Alive
    Unsexiest Men Alive External Link

    Moviefone lists their choices for the least attractive men in Hollywood.

    Promos
    Follow RT on Twitter
    Follow RT on Twitter External Link

    Get the latest Tomatometer updates on upcoming movies!

     
     
    About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
    IGN Logo

    IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
    TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
    AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


    By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
    Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
    IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
    Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.