Disney's "Miracle" starring Kurt Russell

[Mike]

Saw the trailer for this when I went to see "Cheaper By The Dozen". It looks like it's going to be an awesome and well put together movie. I might be sounding like a real dork but I'm so looking foward to seeing this movie, I can't wait! I'm thinking about camping out in front of the theater the night before like those Star Wars people. :laugh:
I posted a sweep for any New Jersey residents to win a private screening of the movie with 100 friends. Here's the link but it ends this Friday Jan 16th.
New Jersey Devils - "Miracle" Sweepstakes (http://www.newjerseydevils.com/2004/html/fanzone/miracle.php)
...and here's the website for the movie if anyone hasn't seen the previews yet.
Disney's "Miracle" (http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/miracle/home.html)

Enjoy! :cool2:

[allie]

Yanno I was going to call you a cheeseball (not sure why) when I read this thread, then I viewed the trailor for it and saw the guy in the hockey uniform and I understood why YOU were drawn to this. :laugh:

It does look good though!! I hadn't heard of it until now and we have two free tickets that expire this month. :D

[rojo13864]

Wow!! I just viewed the trailer and it looks great! Thanks for posting this!! :gvibes:

[Mike]

For anyone that doesn't know or is to young to know. This is from a true story about the "Miracle on Ice" 1980 US olympic team and their coach Herb Brooks who had just passed away last year when he fell asleep at the wheel.

[mvir9]

It's an amazing story of perservance, talent, integrity, and patriotism -- and, of course -- HOCKEY!!!! I'm taking my daughters to see the movie ASAP.

They are advertising 'Miracle' all over the Disney Channel. All I can say is -- it's about time hockey got a little attention. Usually, hockey is the black sheep of the professional sporting world -- which is really too bad!

Other than the sport itself, I love the fact that most of the players actually got their college degrees before they went pro.

[Mike]

It's an amazing story of perservance, talent, integrity, and patriotism -- and, of course -- HOCKEY!!!! I'm taking my daughters to see the movie ASAP.

They are advertising 'Miracle' all over the Disney Channel. All I can say is -- it's about time hockey got a little attention. Usually, hockey is the black sheep of the professional sporting world -- which is really too bad!

Other than the sport itself, I love the fact that most of the players actually got their college degrees before they went pro.

:bow::bow::bow:

[oldroses]

My Dh is a big hockey fan, I'm sure he'll love this film! Thanks for telling everyone about it! :clap:

[tigerjen77]

Thank you for posting this! Wow! I am a big hockey fan and this movie is soooooooo up my alley! I can't wait to see it!

[Maineiac]

Hockey, hockey, hockey...we live it daily and love every minute of it! This is the one movie I would camp out for too...what a great lesson this has for our youth.

[deborah62]

I too am excited to see this movie,I was 17 when Miracle on Ice happened and its something that I will never forget as long as I live,I think its great that the kids not born yet will get to learn about that day.To them its something they dont even know about or its ancient history to them,I think its one of the greatest sports moments,ever.I can still see Jim Craig with the flag looking for his father in the stands.

[satnick]

Hey, I'm a hockey fan and jerseyite.
Can we make a pack to give up a couple of seats to our OLS friends if one of us wins???

It was quite a time when they won and I became (yes say dork..) a big Jim Craig fan.

[jeanmarie]

My husband will love this movie - thanks for the great date night suggestion! :cheer7:

[ups91]

Saw the trailer back in November when we saw Haunted Mansion. Have been looking forward to it ever since. I was only 8 in 1980, but I remember watching that game. It was probably the greatest moment for US Hockey. My other favorite hockey movie is MYSTERY ALASKA. Great film if you haven't checked it out.

[ResourcePress]

I saw the trailer earlier and wanted to see it even though I am not a huge hockey fan. It looks like a great movie. I thought the coach looked like Kurt Russell but all of the previews I 've seen never said his name. Russell starred in many Disney films when he was a teen/twentrysomething.

[mpumr]

This is going to be an AWESOME movie! Miracle on Ice was one of the greatest moments in Olympic history. Gosh I get goosebumps and chocked up just thinking about it. My dad isn't a big sports nut at all, but we watched all of the games the U.S. team played that year and when they beat the Russians, man oh man, my dad was just as excited as anyone. I saw the commercial for it today on ABC, I just started to cry.

I agree that anyone that was too young at the time or wasn't born yet, may not understand how important this was to our country at that time, until they see this movie.

I've always had a major crush on Kurt Russell since I was little and would watch the Disney movies he was in. He was great as Elvis, awesome as Wyatt Earp and he will be fantastic in this!!

Marsha :gvibes:

[ups91]

I've always had a major crush on Kurt Russell since I was little and would watch the Disney movies he was in. He was great as Elvis, awesome as Wyatt Earp and he will be fantastic in this!!

Remember when he played the kid that kicked Elvis in the World's Fair movie!! Just one of those odd bits of trivia!!

[pharaoh]

NICE WIN 4 U

BUT I COULD USE A Miracle

[Laurie]

We also saw the coming attractions when we saw Cheaper by the Dozen and it looked great! My husband is really looking forward to it. As soon as it came on he needed to make sure that I knew that it was a true story and what it was about.

[mgkamish]

I remember just where I was when the USA won that game. I jumped up and down and screamed all by myself in my little apartment. What a feeling!

[Mike]

Saw the trailer back in November when we saw Haunted Mansion. Have been looking forward to it ever since. I was only 8 in 1980, but I remember watching that game. It was probably the greatest moment for US Hockey. My other favorite hockey movie is MYSTERY ALASKA. Great film if you haven't checked it out.

Mystery Alaska was the first DVD I ever bought :cool2:

[kcy76]

My husband and I can't wait for this to come out. We don't go to the movie theater very often to see movies, but we will be going to this one for sure.

[InterplanetJanet]

I saw the preview and thought it looked like a great movie. Plus I love Kurt Russell!

- MB

[Maineiac]

They're having an early sneak release here tonight! I'm going NOW to get tickets, before Adam's hockey game. I'm sure it will be packed and won't get tickets if we wait for the show at 7PM. You also get a bonus of staying for free to watch "Win A Date With Tad Hamilton". Anyone seen that one?

I'm so psyched about seeing "Miracle"!

[tawneej]

Wow! Glad to hear everyone else is as excited about this movie as we are. We, too, saw the previews when we went to see Cheaper by the Dozen. My five-year-old son immediately said, "I want to see that with Daddy!" And, of course, Daddy is dying to see it too! :)
There's a sneak preview here tonight, too, which we'd planned on seeing but now we're torn. DH's problem is that Carolina Hurricanes are playing Detroit on TV at 7 tonight, and he doesn't want to miss it. My problem is they're showing the movie in one of the "regular" theatres" and I'd rather see it in stadium seating, which is where they'll probably have it when it opens in wide release. That way DS would be able to see better. So now I don't know what we're going to do. :worry:

P.S. Y'all keep your fingers crossed that I win the road trip with the Hurricanes in the RBC Centura sweeps that ends today!! :laugh:

[tesslon]

We won sneak preview tix to this, so I took my 8-year old son last week. We loved it! He was jumping up and down in the theatre yelling every time the US scored a goal. Great feel good movie. And I really love Kurt Russell!!! :jump:

[iwannawin]

I'd like to see this one, too. What really bugs me is that the person who is credited with writing the screenplay, Eric Guggenheim, didn't actually write it; Mike Rich did. Guggenheim's name is on the credits because of a technicality, but he didn't write a word of it. He's going to get not only the credit, but a lot of money in royalties, too. :mad2:

[satnick]

Ok, for those sneak preview people.......should I bring my 5 year old? I know my daughter will like it but not sure if my son will sit for it.

[ccat45]

This is one movie I might pay to see. For those of you who were not around in 1980 to see the actual Olympics the big miracle was that we used only amateurs on our Olympic hockey teams, not like today where pros are allowed to play. It was very exciting to watch and I really want to see the movie.

[tesslon]

To: satnick re taking 5-year old:

As far as taking a 5-year old, it's certainly a decision you have to make. The only male-female interaction was when the coach got upset when the team was checking out the girls in the stands and punished them for it by working them for hours that night. No other situations. The big question would be the language. I recall *ss and b*stard. My son didn't even pick up on the second one because he's never heard it before. The first he did talk about hearing a couple times after the movie. Other than that, nothing that was rough, as far as I can recall. Just the typical hockey fighting.

[Maineiac]

I asked Adam (he's 12) about your 5 year old sitting through it...he thinks he would if your son likes hockey. Adam was in mini-mites hockey at 5 yrs old, so he would have liked it, guess it just depends on your boy.

[tawneej]

I always check out reviews at www.screenit.com to check for content I might find objectionable for my almost-6-year-old. They don't have a review for Miracle up yet, but they will as soon as the movie goes into wide release.

[pantherpaw]

I'm not a hockey fan at all, but I've seen the trailer for this in the theater several times now and it looks like a fantastic movie. I can't wait to see it.

[Karen_246]

My Watch Commander was working security that night in 1980 and he said that when the game was tied, you could feel the momentum in the building change, it was like a quiet roar that just kept getting louder and louder until the whole building was shaking.

I use to live up by Lake Placid in Saranac Lake, and if you have never been to the area, it's a beautiful trip, I would encourage all that can to take a little trip there for a few days. We use to go all the time to watch the trial runs in the skiing, skating, and bobsledding..Very cool stuff!


Karen

[jblues58]

Yeah,''cheaper'' is a remake of an old Henry Fonda movie ,I think.To bad they did'nt honor choach Brooks while he was still alive to enjoy it!

[Mike]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/02/05/review.miracle/index.html

Review: Olympic hockey film 'Miracle' a winner
Solid performances, compelling story
By Paul Clinton
CNN Reviewer
Thursday, February 5, 2004 Posted: 3:30 PM EST (2030 GMT)


(CNN) -- The new Disney movie "Miracle" may blatantly manipulate your emotions -- but it's still inspirational and completely compelling.

This true story about the U.S. hockey team that beat the unbeatable Soviets at the 1980 Winter Olympic Games has all the ingredients for your classic David and Goliath story, and director Gavin O'Connor and screenwriter Eric Guggenheim work it from every angle.

But what makes "Miracle" so good -- and so accessible, even to non-sports fans -- is the way the story is framed in the political and social context of its time.

The Cold War was still raging, the hostages were in Iran, embargoes caused long lines at gas stations, interest rates were high, and Americans needed something to believe in. This Cinderella team of college kids gave the country a reason to stand up and cheer.

Today, this time frame offers a feeling of nostalgia. In the aftermath of September 11, the world feels like an even more hostile and uncertain place than during the Cold War, so a lot of "Miracle's" appeal is that it takes us back to a time when things were more black and white -- us against them.

Shooting for gold
Kurt Russell is wonderful as Herb Brooks, who 20 years earlier had been the last player dropped from the 1960 American hockey team -- a team that went on to win the gold medal. Now he gets another shot at the gold -- this time as a coach.

Brooks' plan was to rethink the way the U.S. team approached the game, from top to bottom. He threw away the game plans used in the NHL and at colleges across the nation. In just six months, he took 20 guys from all over the country and molded them into a well-oiled unit, a team playing in a way tailor-made to defeat the Soviets.

The majority of the cast are unknowns. Gavin made a great move when he decided to cast hockey players and teach them to act, rather than the other way around. Most of the 11 Americans and nine Canadians cast as the U.S. team aren't rookies, having played hockey at the college level or even professionally. They all do a very respectful job as actors, while bringing great authenticity to the many hockey scenes featured in the film.

At the heart of this dramatic story is the way Brooks got these young men to believe in the impossible. The Soviet team was a top-notch, veteran group. Compared to the U.S. team, the Soviets were bigger, stronger, and more seasoned; many of them had played together for 15 years.

But Brooks pushed his team to perform at a level beyond their skills and even beyond their wildest dreams. He was incredibly tough, driving his players to edge of their endurance, but the result was seen by many as nothing short of a miracle.

A valentine to the medalists
The movie isn't just about Brooks and his players. Also pivotal to this story is the Brooks' wife, Patty, whom Academy Award nominee Patricia Clarkson ("Pieces of April") plays to perfection.

Noah Emmerich ("The Truman Show") does a great job as assistant coach Craig Patrick, the "good cop" to Brooks' "bad cop."

Overall, "Miracle" is the first really good movie of 2004. It's a well-executed valentine to the members of the 1980 hockey team, many of whom were consultants on the movie.

Tragically, Herb Brooks died in a car accident shortly after principal photography was completed. "Miracle" serves as a fitting epitaph for the man behind one of the greatest feats in U.S. Olympic history.

[MrDave]

I really enjoyed this movie. I was too young to appreciate what had happened when these games were played. It was really a great moment for the US.

[satnick]

HI folks, thanks for the advice on my 5 yr old. From what you all said, I'm not so worried about the language and content as it seems mild but I'm just wondering if he will SIT! I'm not sure if it will hold his interest. I really want to see the movie. My daughter does too. Maybe we will have to ditch the boys! Thanks!

[deborah62]

I went and saw Miracle yesterday,I was 17 in 1980 and it brought back a lot of memories,Kurt Russell was great as Herb Brooks,he had all of his mannerisms down so well, and the hockey players who played the team were terrific,It is hard to recapture that moment and the feeling and excitement but this movie did good with that,the match with the Russian team was exciting and had me on the edge of my seat,I highly recommend this film to the people who do remember that great moment in sports and to the people to young to remember or not born yet,It truly was a Miracle.

[ups91]

DH and I went and saw MIRACLE Saturday evening as part of our Valentine's date. Even went to the new theatre and sat in the "director's hall", with leather seats and exclusive concession priveleges!! The movie was great!! The montage at the beginning brought back some memories of the 70's. I will probably buy this movie when it comes out on DVD. At the end when they run the credits, anyone else find it funny that most of these guys went into Real Estate Development??? Now I am ready for the Olympics!!!

[Mike]

"Miracle" comes out on DVD May 18th

[ResourcePress]

Thank you! I will get a copy for a Father's Day present. My husband (and I) loved the movie.

[satnick]

Oh thanks. We never got a chance to see this so it would be a great rental. Still on the list of things to see! I'm looking forward to it.