Miracle (Full Screen Edition)
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Actor: Kenneth Welsh, Kurt Russell, Noah Emmerich, Patricia Clarkson, Sean McCannBrand: Team Marketing
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 135 minutes
Published: 2004-05-01
DVD Release Date: 2004-05-18
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Walt Disney Video
Product features:
- Officially Licensed
- Highest Quality Recording
DVD Reviews of Miracle (Full Screen Edition)
DVD Review: An Outstanding Character Study of Herb Brooks
Summary: 4 Stars
There is little question when one looks at what is one of the great sports stories our the 20th Century, the Gold Medal Victory at the 1980 Winter Olympics by the Men's United States Hockey team has to rank up there as one of the top ones. This was highlighted by an improbable victory over the Soviet Union en route to the gold medal. "Miracle" is a movie that tells the story of Herb Brooks (who sadly died in an auto accident shortly before the film's release). He is the coach that led the U.S. team to that 1980 gold medal. This is a movie that is highlighted by one of the great acting performances of recent years by Kurt Russell who would play Brooks.
At the time, when it came to the Olympics - there was still debate over what exactly "amateur" status meant. We took it as those players who did not play in a professional league as being eligible. It was very different in the Eastern Bloc and Communist countries where players basically played for state-controlled hockey teams - thus all had amateur status. As a result, countries like the United States and Canada were not sending the best players to the Olympics. In the case of Men's Hockey, the teams in the 1970s were basically formed as a collection of College All Stars. As a result, our teams were completely overmatched in International competition by these foreign powers. It was Brooks who was selected by the Olympic committee as the coach who would put together a team that would make the improbable run at the gold medal.
The term "Miracle" comes from announcer Al Michaels. Michaels was the play-by-play man for Hockey at the 1980 Olympics (In "Miracle", Michaels' commentary with Ken Dryden is widely featured). When the U.S. would beat the Soviet Union, Michaels coined the famous expression "Do You Believe in Miracles?". As for this movie, this ultimately has an ending that most people know about (although the U.S. had to be Finland following the Soviet Union win in order to get gold - which they did). So the strength of this movie isn't so much the story, it is around the coach - Herb Brooks.
Kurt Russell gives one of the great performances in any movie. It is definitely the top performance he has given in his career. I'm completely surprised that this performance didn't garner a Academy Award nomination (in my opinion, he should have won the award) My memories of Herb Brooks were one as a stoic coach - most notably the stoic coach of some mediocre New York Rangers, Minnesota North Stars, and Pittsburgh Penguins teams. "Miracle" brings out a whole new side to Brooks. Despite the fact that Herb Brooks himself was a consultant to the movie - this side of Brooks was one that can be validated by many of the players who played on that Hockey team. We see a coach who was passionate about the game, winning, and most importantly his country. A good part of this movie is devoted to Brooks' obsession of defeating the Soviets. This is evident when there was talk of a boycott of the Moscow games could cause the Soviets to pull out of the 1980 games. Ultimately it is Russell's performance that is going to make us believe that he really is Herb Brooks. The movie's most emotional scene is when Herb Brooks holds a grueling late night workout - even as the arena was about to shut down and the lights were turned off. While I always thought of Herb as a laid-back coach, this completely changed my perception of him. Another point that I found interesting is how Herb Brooks had to meld the personalities of the players from two the hotbeds of Collegiate Hockey - Boston and Minnesota.
It is worth noting that this is not the first movie made about the U.S. Men's Gold Medal run. Shortly after the victory, ABC did a made for TV movie called "Miracle on Ice". This movie also told the story of the U.S. Men's Gold Medal Run. This movie did feature a much more stoic Herb Brooks - this one was played by Karl Malden. While "Miracle" really focuses more on Brooks himself, "Miracle on Ice" focused more on the team - most notably the relationship of Brooks and his team captain Mike Eruzione (played by Andrew Stevens, but also featured Steve Guttenberg as Jim Craig). "Miracle on Ice" seemed to dramatize things more to make an interesting story. In a lot of ways, I prefer the approach taken in "Miracle" to do a character study on Herb Brooks instead.
Another thing I like about "Miracle" is how they cast the players in the movie. Instead of trying to cast big name actors and try to either make them Hockey players or use doubles, Director Gavin O'Connor goes the opposite route. He decides to cast actual Hockey players and make them actors. The formula seems to work because you get some incredible skating sequences on the ice. In fact real-life U.S. Olympic Hockey Player Buzz Schneider is played by his son Billy. As a result, you aren't going to have the players have as prominent a role in the story, but they still get the job done.
Finally it is worth noting the movie's opening does a great job at setting the tone of the morale of the country in early 1980. The country was still on the heels of Watergate, the Vietnam War, the Energy Crisis, the Iranian Hostage situation, and inflation. The morale was ripe for a bunch of heroes to emerge as boost the morale. Perhaps this is what launched what Ronald Reagan would term "The New Patriotism".
Overall, this is a very good movie. Despite the fact that most people are going to know the ending, it's still a terrific character study. Russell's performance will have you wanting more. Highly recommended.
Description of Miracle (Full Screen Edition)
From the studio that brought you THE ROOKIE and REMEMBER THE TITANS comes the movie everybody loves -- MIRACLE. Filled with exhilarating nonstop hockey action and heart-racing suspense, it's the inspiring true story behind one of the greatest moments in sports history ? the 1980 United States ice hockey team's triumphant Olympic victory against the Soviet Union. Kurt Russell gives a brilliant performance as the dynamic and determined coach Herb Brooks, who had an impossible dream -- beat the seemingly unbeatable Soviets at their own game. Starting with a handpicked group of 26 undisciplined kids, Brooks coached them to play like they never played before, and turned 20 of them into a team that believed they could achieve the unachievable -- and in the process, united a nation with a new feeling of hope.Bestsellers in DVD
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