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![[img]](http://www.sportsrant.com/forums/vbmynews/viewthu.php?id=190504-226558) I am not professional writer, or movie critic. I am a simple hockey fan, and former player. I did not see Miracle in the theater, so I waited until yesterday to partake in Disney’s version of the game that made me a hockey fan for life.
Some of my Canadian friends will argue that it wasn’t a miracle, and that it was not in fact the greatest moment in sporting history. I suppose that could be argued either way, and my only response to them would be “where was team Canada in 1980?”
The fact is, the Soviets had won 40+ games IN A ROW and were not expected to lose any in Lake Placid. But they did. And that is something miraculous.
I must admit, I was hesitant to get excited about it. It was, in fact made by Disney, and could easily be turned in to “The Mighty Ducks 4 – Olympic Style”. I also did not have much faith in Kurt Russell. However, I threw caution to the wind, and bought a copy. I was not disappointed.
The movie spans from the summer of 1979 until the winter games in Lake Placid NY, in February of 1980. Kurt Russell simply amazed me, and I forgot that I was watching him, and actually felt that it was Herb Brooks on the screen.
Having recruited hockey players that looked like the original athletes, and them teaching them to act, may seem like a backwards thing to do. However, It was genius. The hockey was real…very real. I won’t go into every detail of the movie, as I imagine that only hockey fans are still reading at this point, and most of you have probably already seen it.
The special features on the two-disc set are phenomenal. There are over four hours of entertainment, aside from the movie.
One of my favorite special features is “The Sound Of Miracle”. As you all know, the sounds of a hockey game are incredibly intense, and have never been successfully transformed on to the big screen. Never, that is, until now.
The crew of Miracle details how they created the sound effects, all the way down to the crowd (Canadians btw) chanting USA! USA! USA! The attention to detail is outstanding.
Also noteworthy is the ESPN roundtable discussion between Linda Cohn, Kurt Russell, Mike Eruzione, Buzz Schneider, and Jim Craig. The five of them spend over 40 minutes discussing the making of the movie, the Soviet team and psychology, and Herb Brooks. It was great insight into the event and the movie.
Of course, the out takes and bloopers are entertaining and funny. There is even a shot of the players losing their tempers, and a line brawl breaking out. Obviously, this was not part of the movie.
My favorite special feature is entitled “First Impressions”. It is a variety of very rough footage of Herb Brooks preparing Kurt Russell and the filmmakers for the movie. It is almost a candid look at the man behind the story.
Unfortunately, my hero, Herb Brooks did not get to see the completed movie. He was taken from us by a car accident several months before its release. To me, this just adds to the mystique of the movie.
There are so many things to praise about the movie and the DVD, that really the best thing for me to do is suggest that you go out and buy it, or at the very least rent it. Remember it’s not just a movie about a hockey game; it’s a movie about an event that gave a nation confidence again.
In the words of one young woman at the game “The last time I saw that many American flags in one place, they were on fire”.
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