Miracle (Widescreen Edition)

Miracle (Widescreen Edition)

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DVD details

• Picture Format: Widescreen
• Run Time: 2 hr 16 min

DVD Reviews of Miracle (Widescreen Edition)

DVD Review: (4 1/2) More Than A Hockey Game
Summary: 5 Stars

The central character of this story and the film is Herb Brooks, a college coach who believed that he could mold a group of college stars into a cohesive entity with the potential to stun the world and beat a Russian team comprised of veteran players who had dominated "amateur" hockey and won the last four Olympic gold medals. Kurt Russell does an amazing job of portraying Brooks, capturing his intensity and single minded dedication to the achievement of his dream. The movie uses real hockey players in order to realistically portray the skating and play so essential to the story, so most of the cast consists of actors unknown to moviegoers. Patricia Clarkson does an acceptable job as Brook' s wife, a minor but important role in the film, and Noah Emmerich has a key role as Craig Patrick, Brook's assistant coach. The film occasionally touches on such issues as U.S. Olympic Committee politics and egos, but is primarily a hockey story that is, as Clarkson so succinctly states, about a lot more than hockey. This a story of Brook's belief that the right players (not the greatest individual stars) through hard work and dedication could gain the self confidence and skills necessary to accomplish a MIRACLE. Brooks extensively analyzed the reasons for the Russian team's historical dominance, devised a system that gave the U.S. a chance to win, mercilessly trained his players until they were in as good physical condition as the Russians, and then made the tough personnel choices for the final roster spots.

So, this is the history of that achievement and also a chronicle of how a hockey game interacted with history, since the impact of the game was further magnified by the decision by President Carter to boycott the 1980 summer Olympics in Moscow following the USSR invasion of Afghanistan . However, I want to emphasize that THIS IS PRIMARILY A SPORTS STORY, and the long skating sequences and excellent camerawork with amazing closeups of the intricate stickhandling portrayed during the games may be somewhat tedious to viewers with little appreciation for the subtleties of the game or lack of understanding of sports as an analogy for life. SeveraI lukewarm reviews that I read had made me a little apprehensive before seeing this movie, so I was surprised by how good it was. The most amazing element was how it effectively maintained a high level of tension despite the fact that the eventual outcome is already known. As I watched the film depict the Russians destroy an elite NHL All Star squad the year before and then dominate our Olympic team in a exhibition three weeks before the Olympics began, it was hard to believe that the MIRACLE really would occur.

While there is a very nice touch at the end of the film where the audience is informed of the current careers of all the players, my only major complaint about the film is that it would have been nice to have had a little more individual character develoment of the team members during the film. With the exception of goalie Jim Craig (Eddie Cahill) and Mike Eruzione (Peter O'Brien Dempsey), who were perhaps the two key players in Brooks' structuring of the team, the players are presented almost as a collection of interchangeable pieces utilized by their coach to achieve his goal. I also think that it was unfortunate that there was only a passing reference to the championship game with Sweden, few revelations concerning the relationship of Brooks and Patrick, and no discussion at all of how the team avoided a psychological letdown after their triumph over Russia. However, while these and a few other minor flaws kept me from rating the film a full five stars, it was good enough that I had no doubt that I should round up my rating to that level. Before ending this review, I just want to express my sadness with regard to the death of Herb Brooks in an automobile accident before the completion of this film. It was truly unfortunate that he was precluded from viewing this wonderful depiction of the event in which he played so crucial a role and which cheered so many people at a piivotal time in our history. As I viewed this film and watched footage of a youthful Al Michaels broadcasting the events from Lake Placid, I emotionally concluded that MEMORIES ARE MADE OF THIS.

Tucker Andersen

Description of Miracle (Widescreen Edition)