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Miracle (2004 film)
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Wikipedia article
'Miracle' is a 2004 American sports film about the United States men's ice hockey team, led by head coach Herb Brooks, portrayed by Kurt Russell, who won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics. The American team's victory over the heavily favored Soviet professionals in the medal round was dubbed the "Miracle on Ice". 'Miracle' was directed by Gavin O'Connor and written by Eric Guggenheim and Mike Rich.Turan, Kenneth (February 6, 2004). [http://articles.latimes.com/2004/feb/06/entertainment/et-kenny6 "Do you believe?"]. 'Los Angeles Times'. Retrieved November 5, 2016.Vattiat, Drew (February 21, 2015). [http://photos.oregonlive.com/oregonian/2015/02/miracle_on_ice_35_years_later_1.html "Miracle on Ice 35 years later"]. 'The Oregonian'. Retrieved November 5, 2016. It was released on February 20, 2004, where it grossed $64.5 million on a $28 million budget and received positive reviews, with Russell's performance garnering the most praise from critics.
Plot
Herb Brooks (Kurt Russell), head ice hockey coach at the University of Minnesota, interviews with the United States Olympic Committee for the national team coach's job, discussing his philosophy on how to beat the dominant Soviet team who have won the gold medal in the previous four Olympics, calling for changes to the practice schedule and strategy. The USOC is skeptical, but ultimately gives Brooks the job.
Brooks meets his assistant coach Craig Patrick (Noah Emmerich) at the tryouts in Colorado Springs. Brooks selects a preliminary roster of 26, indifferent to the preferences of senior USOC hockey officials, after only a day. Needing to cut the roster to 20 before the Olympics, he convinces USOC executive director Walter Bush (Sean McCann) that he has their best interests at heart. Bush reluctantly agrees to take the heat from the committee for Brooks' decisions.
During the initial practice, tempers flare as forward Rob McClanahan (Nathan West) and defenseman Jack O'Callahan (Michael Mantenuto) get into a fight based on college rivalry. Brooks allows the fight to go on so they can get the bad blood out of their systems and then he bluntly tells all the players that they are to let go of old rivalries and start becoming a team. He then calls for introductions and the players each tell their name, hometown and which team they play for. As practices continue, Brooks uses unorthodox methods to reduce the roster down to 20 players. The players themselves worry about being cut at any time, knowing that Brooks himself was the last player cut from the 1960 Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal, so he will do anything to win.
During an exhibition game against Norway in Oslo that ends in a 33 tie, Brooks notices the players are distracted and not playing up to their potential. After the game, he orders them back on the ice for a bag skate. Brooks has them skate from one end of the ice to the other several times (doing, in other words, his infamous "Herbies," as the team would call them colloquially), continuing the drill even after the rink manager cuts the power. Exhausted, forward and team captain Mike Eruzione (Patrick O'Brien Demsey) re-introduces himself in the same manner from the initial practice and cries out that he plays for the United States. Getting the answer that he wanted all along, Brooks finally allows the team to go home. Eventually, the team comes together, with the players thinking of themselves as a family representing the United States. With their roster finalized, just before heading to Lake Placid, the Americans play the Soviets in an exhibition game at Madison Square Garden. The Soviets manhandle the young American team, winning by a score of 103. During the game, O'Callahan suffers a knee injury that could keep him out of the entire Olympics and starting goaltender Jim Craig (Eddie Cahill) is shockingly told he may be benched in favor of backup Steve Janaszak (Sam Skoryna). Brooks tells him that he hasn't been giving his very best and ultimately decides to keep Craig as the starter for the Olympics.
As the 1980 Winter Olympics begins, the Americans trail Sweden 21 in the first game. Brooks fires up the team during an intermission by throwing a table and accuses McClanahan, who suffered a relatively minor leg injury, of quitting. McClanahan ends up playing despite his injury, which inspires the team. Bill Baker (Nick Postle) scores a goal with only 27 seconds remaining in the third period for a dramatic 22 tie. They then follow up with a 73 win over heavily favored Czechoslovakia. As the Olympics continue, the team defeats 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. The game begins and the Soviets 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 heavily checking Vladimir Krutov on a play that leads to a goal by Buzz Schneider (Billy Schneider). The Soviets score again to retake the lead. In the final seconds, Soviet goalie Vladislav Tretiak stops a long shot by Dave Christian (Stephen Kovalcik), but Mark Johnson (Eric Peter-Kaiser) gets the rebound and scores with less than one second left in the period.
During the first intermission, Soviet coach Viktor Tikhonov (Zinaid Memievi) replaces Tretiak with backup Vladimir Myshkin. In the second period, the Soviets score a goal to go up 32. Early in the final period, the Soviet team is called for a penalty for slashing, putting the Americans on the power play. Johnson scores his second goal of the game just as the penalty is about to expire. Later, Eruzione puts them ahead 43 with 10 minutes left. The Americans hold off the Soviets to win the game, completing one of the biggest upsets in sports history. Two days later, the team would go on to defeat Finland 42 to win the gold medal. The movie ends with Brooks staring out over his team with pride as the entire team crowds together on the gold medal platform.
Before the credits, the film is dedicated to Herb Brooks who died right before principal photography was finished and states "He never saw it. He lived it."
Cast
Production
Gavin O'Connor directed and Mark Ciardi produced the movie. Both are drawn to inspirational stories and they decided to take on the "Greatest Sports Moment of the 20th Century".Fitzgerald, Brian (January 7, 2000). [http://www.bu.edu/bridge/archive/2000/01-07/features6.html "1980 'Miracle on Ice' named Greatest Sports Moment of the Century"]. 'B.U. Bridge', vol. 3 no. 18. Retrieved October 31, 2012. They chose to focus on the determination and focus of coach Herb Brooks. O'Connor knew from the beginning that he wanted to cast Kurt Russell as Herb Brooks because he needed someone with an athletic background and a fiery passion for sports. The casting of the team consisted of real hockey players to give the film a raw and accurate feel. O'Connor figured it would be easier to teach hockey players to act than to teach actors to play hockey. On-ice tryouts were held in New York, Boston, Minneapolis, Los Angeles, Toronto, and Vancouver. Another tryout was held in Vancouver for the Soviet and European teams.
There are a total of 133 different hockey plays in the film. To accomplish this, the directors turned to ReelSports Solutions, who had helped with the producers on a previous movie, 'The Rookie'. The ReelSports team referred to coach Herb Brooks for information on practices, plays, equipment, and uniform styles. Each fight and stunt scene was choreographed to ensure the actors' safety. Players went through a six-week training camp to relearn the game in older equipment.[https://web.archive.org/web/20071107013624/https://www.hollywoodjesus.com/miracle_about.htm "'Miracle' (2004) About the Production"]. (January 30, 2004). HollywoodJesus.com. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
All of the locations of the real life hockey games are replicated by hockey arenas in British Columbia. The team tryouts, set in Colorado Springs, were filmed at the Queen's Park Arena in New Westminster. The team practices were filmed at the M.S.A. Arena in Abbotsford. The exhibition game in which the USA team lost to the USSR team at Madison Square Garden was filmed at the Pacific Coliseum, former home of the Vancouver Canucks. The Exhibition against Norway, the subsequent bag skate, and all Olympic game scenes were filmed at the PNE Agrodome.[https://moviemaps.org/movies/em "'Miracle' Filming Locations]. MovieMaps.org. Retrieved January 20, 2022.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349825/locations?ref_=tt_dt_loc "'Miracle' (2004) Filming & Production"]. IMDb. Retrieved January 20, 2022.
Al Michaels re-recorded most of his television commentary for the film. However, the last 30 seconds of the USA-Soviet game, including "Do you believe in miracles?" used the original audio, as Michaels didn't feel he could re-create the call effectively.
Coach Brooks died in a car accident before the movie was released. At the end, before the credits it states, "This film is dedicated to the memory of Herb Brooks, who died shortly following principal photography. He never saw it. He lived it."
Music
*"Mr. Boogie"
*"You Can Suit Yourself" by Bobby Charles
*"Time and Time Again"
*"Don't Fear the Reaper" by Blue yster Cult
*"Must of Got Lost" by The J. Geils Band
*"Thunder Island" by Jay Ferguson
*"Rockford Files Theme" by Mike Post
*"Universal Logo"
*"Nightly News Theme '82"
*"White Christmas" by Louis Armstrong
*"Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" by Brenda Lee
*"Star-Spangled Banner" by Lauren Hart
*"Bugler's Dream" by John Williams and the Boston Pops Orchestra
*"Dream On" by Aerosmith
*"Brandenburg Concerto No. 4 in G, 1st movement Allegro" by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349825/soundtrack "Soundtracks for 'Miracle'"]. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved October 31, 2012.
Release
'Miracle' was released with a rating of PG, meaning that Parental Guidance is suggested.
Reception
Box office
'Miracle' grossed $19,377,577 on its opening weekend, February 8, on 2,605 screens. It closed with a worldwide gross of $64,445,708.[https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0349825/business "Box office / business for 'Miracle'"]. Internet Movie Database. Retrieved February 6, 2011.Critical response
On Rotten Tomatoes, 'Miracle' has an approval rating of 81% based on 165 reviews, with an average rating of 7.01/10. The site's critical consensus reads: "Kurt Russell's performance guides this cliche-ridden tale into the realm of inspirational, nostalgic goodness."[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/miracle/ "'Miracle'"]. Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved August 8, 2020. On Metacritic the film has a weighted average score of 68 out of 100, based on 36 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[http://www.metacritic.com/movie/miracle "'Miracle'"]. Metacritic. Retrieved November 5, 2016. Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.Elvis Mitchell of 'The New York Times' stated that the movie "does a yeoman's job of recycling the day-old dough that passes for its story."Mitchell, Elvis (February 6, 2004). [https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/review?res=9F01EFDF103BF935A35751C0A9629C8B63 "'Miracle': A Hollywood Ending From Real Life"]. 'The New York Times'. Retrieved April 3, 2011. Kenneth Turan of the 'Los Angeles Times' referred to the movie as "a classically well-made studio entertainment that, like 'The Rookie' of a few years back, has the knack of being moving without shamelessly overdoing a sure thing." O'Callahan said in an interview that while the fight between him and McClanahan was fictional, the film accurately portrayed the "pretty intense" rivalry between Boston Terriers and Minnesota Gophers players, and was overall "pretty darn close" to actual events.
As of January 2017 'Miracle' was rated the number two sports movie of all time with a rating of 8.85 out of 10 in the ongoing poll at 'Sports In Movies', after maintaining the number one spot for several years.[http://www.sportsinmovies.com/list-sports-movies.asp "Guide to Sports Movies"]. SportsInMovies.com. Retrieved January 31, 2017.
Accolades
'Miracle' won the Best Sports Movie ESPY Award for 2004.[http://www.espn.com/espy2004/s/04nomineesindex.html "The 2004 ESPY Awards winners"]. ESPN. Retrieved August 21, 2016.Year-end lists
In 2006, the American Film Institute nominated this film for AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers. And In 2008, AFI nominated this film for its Top 10 Sports Films list.See also
*List of sports films
*'Miracle on Ice' (1981 film)
References
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