Miracle (film)

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Miracle

Theatrical Release Poster
Directed by Gavin O'Connor
Produced by Mark Ciardi
Gordon Gray
Ross Greenburg
Justis Greene
Jon Mone
Greg O'Connor
Written by Eric Guggenheim
Starring Kurt Russell
Patricia Clarkson
Noah Emmerich
Sean McCann
Kenneth Welsh
Eddie Cahill
Patrick O'Brien Demsey
Release date(s) 6 February 2004
Running time 135 min.
Language English
IMDb profile

Miracle (2004) is an American biographical sports film about the United States men's hockey team, led by head coach, Herb Brooks, that won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The USA team's victory over the heavily favored Soviet team in the medal round was dubbed the Miracle on Ice. Miracle was directed by Gavin O'Connor and written by Eric Guggenheim.

Contents

[edit] Plot Summary

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The movie chronicles the journey of the 1980 US Olympic Men's ice hockey team. The opening credits feature a montage of the 1970s, depicting events such as Watergate and the Iran hostage crisis. Then University of Minnesota head coach Herb Brooks (played by Kurt Russell) interviews with the United States Olympic Committee, discussing his philosophy on how to beat the Soviet team. Despite the fact that they seem very skeptical of his ambitious goal, Brooks is hired.

Brooks meets his assistant coach Craig Patrick at the tryouts in Colorado Springs. However, Brooks has already preselected a preliminary roster of 26 -- later to be cut to a final roster of 20 -- indifferent of the tryouts and the preferences of USOC hockey members. Brooks tells Patrick, "I'm not looking for the best players, I'm looking for the right ones." He convinces Walter Bush, the executive director of the committee that he has the best interests at heart. Brooks says that he selected these 26 players through preparation in advance, talking with coaches and scouts about the players. Bush sides with Brooks and agrees to take the heat from the committee, saying, "I'll back you up on this one."

During the initial practice, tempers flare as forward Rob McClanahan and defenseman Jack O'Callahan get into a fight based on their college rivalry. Brooks lectures the players that they are to let go of old rivalries and start becoming a team. He then calls for introductions, in which each player states his name, his hometown, and for whom he plays. The team begins an exhausting conditioning drill (which became known as "Herbies"), in which the players sprint from the goal line to the other lines and back.

During an exhibition game against the Norwegian National Team in Oslo that ends in a 3-3 tie, Brooks notices the players are distracted and not playing up to their potential. After the game, in a wrenching scene, he makes them run "Herbies" as punishment for their lack of effort. Although the arena empties and the lights are turned off, Brooks continues the brutal drill; several players are on the verge of collapse; Doc Nagobads gets angry and accuses Brooks of sabotaging his players but Brooks wouldn't listen. Finally exhausted forward Mike Eruzione shouts, "Mike Eruzione, (from) Winthrop, Massachusetts;" when Brooks asks him "Who do you play for?," Eruzione responds with the answer that Herb had wanted all along, "I play for the United States of America!" Brooks then concludes the drill.

Brooks also brings in Tim Harrer, a star from Brooks' University of Minnesota team, to test the players commitment. Despite having a good year playing with his current team, the University of Minnesota, some feel Harrer is an obstacle to them making the final roster, but mainly he didn't fit within their "family". Just before the Olympic Games are to begin, Brooks cuts the roster down to the required 20 with Ralph Cox, or "Coxie" as everyone calls him being the last to go. The team plays the Soviets in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. The Russians manhandle the young American team, winning by a score of 10-3. During the game, O'Callahan receives an injury that could keep him out of the entire Olympics, and starting goaltender Jim Craig is told he may be benched in favor of back-up goalie Steve Janaszak. Craig ends up retaining his starting job.

As the Olympic tournament begins, the Americans trail Sweden, 2-1 in the first game. Brooks fires up the team during the break by accusing injured McClanahan (ignoring Doc's comments about McClanahan being done for the night) of quitting and slamming a table against the wall. McClanahan ends up playing despite his pain, and the inspired American team came through as Bill Baker scores a goal in the final minute for a dramatic 2-2 tie. They follow that up with a 7-3 win over heavily favored Czechoslovakia, then victories over Norway, Romania and West Germany to earn a spot in the medal round.

The Americans are considered overwhelming underdogs to the Soviets in the first medal round game. Before the game Brooks gives the team an inspirational speech in which he tells them, "You were born to be hockey players ... and you were meant to be here tonight.... This is your time. I'm sick and tired of hearing what a great team the Soviets have...screw them!" The game begins and following a questionable uncalled slashing penalty, the Russians score the first goal. Then O'Callahan, having healed enough from his injury, enters the game for the first time. He makes an immediate impact by knocking down Vladimir Krutov on a play that leads to a goal by Buzz Schneider. Following another Soviet goal the first period winds down. In the final seconds the Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak stops a long shot by Dave Christian, but Mark Johnson gets the rebound and scores with one second left in the period. Despite the protests of the Soviet coach, Tikhonov, the goal counts, and the teams leave the ice tied 2-2.

During the first intermission the Soviet coach replaces Tretiak with backup Vladimir Myshkin, causing Brooks to tell his players, "Boys, he's just put the best goaltender in the world on the bench. Give 'em hell." Early in the second period the Soviets score a goal to go up 3-2, and Craig is knocked down on the play. As the third period is about to begin, Brooks calls the team over for one final inspiration, telling them, as the crowd chants "USA, USA" over and over again and says, "Listen to them. That is what you've done here tonight. Now we've come from behind in every game in this tournament, and we can do it again...We can beat these guys!" Early in the final period the Soviet team is called for a penalty, giving the Americans a man advantage. Johnson scores his second goal of the game just as the penalty is about to expire. Television announcer Al Michaels asks his partner Ken Dryden, "A couple of months ago, did you think this was even remotely possible?" Later Eruzione enters the game and scores to give the US a 4-3 lead; it would turn out to be the game-winning goal. The entire team skates onto the ice as the crowd celebrates.

Now, however, the US team goes into a bunker mode, as the Soviet team becomes increasingly aggressive to score in the final ten minutes. As the game winds down, Brooks reminds the team to remain poised and play their game, while the now-desperate Soviet coach unravels and forgets to pull his goalie. In the final seconds Michaels gives his famous exclamation, "Do you believe in miracles?! Yes!!!" The players rush onto the ice in ecstasy and mob USA captain Mike Eruzione and goalie Jim Craig, and Brooks, after receiving a hug from his assistant Craig Patrick, a nod from the Soviet coach, and a smile from wife Patti in the stands, leaves the ice for a moment of solitude. The Americans go on to defeat Finland to clinch the gold medal. The movie ends with Brooks beaming with pride as the entire team crowds together on the gold medal platform.

[edit] Cast

[edit] Context

The true power of this event is in the historical context. The United States and the Soviet Union were arch rivals and competing superpowers in what became known as the Cold War. Reeling from the disillusionment of the Vietnam War, the Watergate scandal, and the Iran hostage crisis, the American spirit was rekindled by the impossible task of beating the Soviet Union in an event they regularly dominated. The 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, provided the perfect venue for the United States to reclaim its national pride by defeating the Soviet Union in spirit. It's been said that the greatest battle of the Cold War was fought that night in Lake Placid.

[edit] Trivia

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  • The movie was filmed in Canada. According to the DVD commentary, the extras who are shouting "USA, USA" are really Canadians.
  • Over 280 miles of film were shot, more than any other Disney movie.
  • Buzz Schneider was portrayed by his son, Billy Schneider, though when they made the decision as to who would portray Buzz, they didn't know about the father-son relation until after casting Billy.
  • This movie is dedicated to the real Herb Brooks, who died a year before the movie was released. His dedication said, "He never saw it. He lived it".
  • Before the match against Norway, the sentence "Seier'n er vår" (Victory is ours) is heard as the stadium is shown. This is a popular sports related "song" in Norway.
  • The PNE Forum at Hastings Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, served as the location of the final fight in Rocky IV for Rocky Balboa's Soviet bout against Ivan Drago.
  • The scene where Herb Brooks makes the team skate back and forth on the ice all night, after their 3-3 tie with Norway, was actually done by the real actors over a span of three days - 12 hours a day. The director wanted the moment to be as realistic as possible. Also, the events that ended the sprints were altered for the movie. In real life, Mark Johnson ended the drill when he smashed his stick on the side of the rink in frustration. The actors mentioned on the DVD that they all agreed that was their least favorite part of the shoot.
  • Many shots of Lake Placid were actually filmed in Rossland, British Columbia.
  • During filming at a residence of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, rowdy residents disturbed filming by hanging USSR flags in the residence windows, reporting the shoot to the fire marshal, yelling distracting taunts at the actors, and even stealing Kurt Russell's chair.
  • Much of Al Michaels' play-by-play during the "Miracle on Ice" game was re-created for the movie. However the final seconds, featuring the famous "Do you believe in miracles?" call from the actual game, was preserved and edited into the film.
  • The movie remains mostly faithful to the actual events, with few changes. In the second period of the Soviet game, the Russians scored the goal and Craig was injured later in the period. In the movie, the producers combined the two plays into one. The Americans scored their third goal at 8:39 of the third period; in the movie this goal is moved up to 4:45.
  • The shot of the scoreboard during the West Germany game showing the caption "GDR" (the IOC abbreviation for East Germany) is historically accurate. The mistake was made at the actual game in 1980. Many viewers mistakenly assume this to be a "goof" in the movie.
  • The Aerosmith song "Dream On" is played in the closing credits.
  • Pacific Coliseum was the arena used in the Madison Square Garden scene.
  • In the bonus features, in an interview, Rob McClanahan says that he never really understood why Brooks acted the way he did toward Rob during the break of the Sweden game until he saw the scene of the incident in the film.
  • ReelSports was contracted to help make the hockey action look realistic.

[edit] Awards

  • Best Sports Movie, ESPY Awards (2004)

[edit] See also

[edit] External links