Fans of the new film, and there are many, chime in with reviews
Saw Miracle over the weekend. Loved it. Hockey scenes were very realistic. Boston accents were actually good for once. Kurt Russell was great as Herb Brooks. Historical significance of the time also was captured very well.
Hopefully will spur an interest in "retro" USAH memorabilia ...
--Steve Burke
I ran out on Friday at lunch to buy my tickets for Miracle because I couldn't wait to see it! I was 5-years-old when the real Miracle on Ice happened, and I started taking ice skating lessons later that year. Of course, my Mom's idea was for me to be more like Linda Fratianne than Mike Eruzione. I maxed out of figure skating class at T-stops, but I loved watching the mite kids play hockey before my classes. Since playing hockey wasn't what most little girls did back then (little did I know there would be a women's Olympic team in 1998!), there was zero chance I was going to end up playing hockey with the boys. Plus, there was that pesky T-stop thing that pretty much ended my figure skating experience before it even started. I wasn't that graceful anyway, so it was probably for the best! I still always wanted to play hockey.
Fast forward many years and in the fall of 2002, I decided to give a learn to skate class a chance. I'm living in Durham, N.C., now and I'm thrilled that we not only have the Hurricanes in town, but also more rinks close by than even I had back home in Pittsburgh. I started playing in a women's league over the summer and this fall I started playing on a women's recreational team in Raleigh. Our first tournament is this weekend.
I thought the movie was absolutely wonderful and I'm sure that I will go and see it again. I was too young to get much of what was going on when I was a kid, so hearing the story of what went on behind the scenes of Team USA was very interesting. And, in case that the thought of suicides didn't scare me to death before, the sound of a whistle and "again" sends a cold chill down my spine!
One thing that caught my eye was the 1960 photo that Coach Brooks pulls out of his desk after a heated exchange with his wife. You just see that it's Coach Brooks on the front row and some names at the bottom of the picture. In the left part of the shot, I noticed "Alm" as one of the names and I wanted to know if that's what it was or am I seeing things? I'm just curious because that is my last name as well. How amazing (and pretty cool) would that be? My grandfather came to the US from Sweden in 1928 and while I'm sure there are plenty of Swedish kids playing hockey with my last name, I wondered if there were any American ones!
Thanks!
--Amy L. Alm [Ed. note: Larry Alm was credited with two assists for the 1959-60 U.S. National Team.]
I thought the movie was great!! It made me cry all over again!! Thanks for the memories.
--Bruce Johnson
I thought 'Miracle' was awesome! Much better than expected-actually captured the rush you get when you walk into an ice arena!
Thanks,
Ann-Marie
WONDERFUL JUST WONDERFUL!
--Tonni Gortman, PSR
Moore Family Care PA-Vass
I loved this movie! Kurt Russell was great, and all the guys were great as well. It was so fun to watch, the whole theatre got into it and was clapping. I'm so glad this movie got made and wasn't too entirely cheesy (disney, after all!). I will definitely buy it when it comes out on DVD.
--B. Alyson Ange
Excellent Film! Hollywood made this one for Americans like us! I just got back from the theatre, what an experience! This film is a MUST SEE! What was also nice to see was the huge crowd in the theatre to see this film, not an empty seat in the house. The film received a standing ovation from the audience, most even staying to view the credits, where the bios of all the players was shown ... Kurt Russell deserves an Oscar next year! This film deserves our support, big time!
GO USA HOCKEY!!
--Jon Alvarez
My family and I saw it on Saturday and what else can you say but wow!!! Russell nailed Brooks perfectly, you could really see it come through. For a game that was played 24 years ago, we were on the edge of our seats. I pumped my fist when Eruzione scored. It was like it was happening in front of us. The fact that almost every character was a virtual unknown actor made it seem more real, because in '80, nobody knew who these kids were. This is the greatest SPORTS movie ever made, ahead of Hoosiers and Slapshot. To think Herb Brooks never saw it just makes you think that all the good ones are always gone too soon. Thanks to everyone for an event captured on film that defined a country's will to succeed. Sincerely, Chris Tartaglia and family.
--Christian Targtaglia
I decided at the age of 18 to put down the hockey skates pursue my other love in life, music. I loved hockey but travel hockey had ruined the game for me. The coaches I had were "win-freaks." They did anything and everything to win. I am still convinced after running into one of my most hated coaches recently that they still are. He sat me on the bench and made me believe I was worthless; that I wasn't good. That I had nothing to offer to the team. I would work my tail off, harder than any kid out there because I constantly felt like my hard work would pay off and that he would stop looking at his son all the time and see that I could skate and play smart and score. Despite the hard work and despite all the pucks I was putting into the net, I froze on the bench most of the time. I still do not understand why, but I believe part of it had to deal with pride and him wanting his son to be in the spotlight and get scouted. Anyways, I was young at the time and needless to say I was scarred from this and it's visible in me even to this day. I put away hockey and hoped to put away the hurt. 'Miracle' came out and I saw it on opening night. I knew the story of how the beat the Soviets and won the gold medal, but I learned that night I did not know anything. The story captivated me. It was done so wonderfully. The joys of hockey that I had experienced came back and I remembered what it was like to be innocent again. To just slip on the skates and skate with the puck from one end of the ice to the other. I couldn't stop crying. I remembered the good times and then I realized that despite what my coach did to me, I was good. I was really good. Next weekend when I go back home from college, I plan on packing up my hockey bag and bringing it back to the dorm. As of now, I don't plan on joining any club or team. I just want to slip the skates on and see if I still have the magic that my father always said I had and that left him in awe. I'm doing this for anyone else, just for me. Just to be happy once again. If something comes of it, who knows, but for now, I just want to feel a stick in my hands and a puck on the end of my blade.
--Mario Vinti
I saw the movie Miracle, on Saturday Feb. 7 and Sunday Feb. 8. It was fantastic and I was really pumped up and so were my friends when we were leaving the theater. The boys on that team and the coach had more heart and tenacity then I have ever seen except maybe the soldiers in the movie Blackhawk Down.
--Tiffany Harper
What a great movie. I would watch it a million times if i could. GO CANADA!!!
--Norman Jacobs
Personally, I think that miracle is by far the greatest movie ever. My mother knew Jim Craig personally, and she could not believe the resemblance. I love the movie and have already seen it twice. My whole high school hockey team came with me to see it, and was it amazing. It is by far the best movie I have ever seen in my life!
Sincerely,
--Brendon Rothfuss
This movie is one of the greatest sports movies of all time! It was not only great to be able to take my Squirt to see a hockey movie, but for him to come away from the movie with a strong message regarding the importance of teamwork and dedication, that is priceless! It would be great to work this movie into the threadwork of the youth hockey programs!
--Jennifer Ollero
The movie was great! It portrayed American courage, determination, and the molding of a superb team.
--S. Amato
I'm 11-years-old and I watched miracle before it came out with my girls hockey team for Baltimore Youth Hockey. It was such a good movie. It was better then the parents made it sound. It has inspired me to do has hard as i can on the ice and that miracles can happen .It was like u were actully there watching the game live. When the USA was play the Russian team and the US scored my friend jumped up and cheered it was so funny but really great . It made me work as hard as I can so that i will be the best i can be. I think it is a great movie wheather you play hockey or not.
--Casey
I was 12-years-old when our hockey Team ultimately shocked the world and defeated the Soviet Union. I can remember watching all the games with my Dad. He and I both played hockey at the time and as many fathers and sons do, we thoroughly enjoyed spending time together watching sports. I still consider myself a big fan of Eruzione, Craig, and O'Callahan as I grew up in Rhode Island and cheered for them prior to the Olympics in Lake Placid. Watching the movie was almost like reliving that dream in some small way of being a kid who loved the game and watching history unfold. The key for me was that it was obvious that every member of that team also loved the game and loved the fact that they were playing for their country. The movie stayed true to that.
I can say with a laugh that the week after the gold medal game I was at my hockey practice with a replica jersey with a big number 21 on the back with the letters E-R-U-Z-I-O-N-E above it and I was the coolest kid in the rink that day! I think I was even a little bit faster than everyone that day also. I felt the same way coming out of the movie theatre on February 8, 2004, almost 24 years later.
Those Olympics, That Game, That Team, and Herb will always be the best moment in sports and arguably one of the best moments in US history. I was very fortunate to be able to see it as it happened and I feel grateful that I can share it with my children just like I shared it with my Dad. Great movie!
--Tom Labrie
Miracle was a great movie! It brought back many memories. Also, it shows the true American spirit that still carries on today. I left the theatre feeling proud to be an American -- Go USA!
--Daniel Daly
I thought the movie was great....and not because of its historical accuracy or attention to detail...for me, as a 16 year old at the time, the movie brought back all of those feelings of innocence, of enjoying the games with family who has since passed away, at the pride of being an American for all the right reasons. We were, for that moment, the greatest in the world. The team proved that the impossible could be done! The movie captured all of that and so much more!
--Timothy O.
Just as the replays of Mike Eruzione's slap shot for the 4-3 lead over the USSR still give me tingles up the spine and bring a tear to my eyes, the movie Miracle's replay of the same event brought out the same emotions.
--Chris Husing |