‹ All movies
Miracle poster

Miracle

year 2004decade 00sdirector Gavin O'Connorgenre Sportsgenre Biographicalgenre Drama

136 minutes

Cast

Selected cast credits · Film reference

Kurt Russell Herb Brooks
Patricia Clarkson Patti Brooks
Noah Emmerich Craig Patrick
Sean McCann Walter Bush
Kenneth Welsh George "Doc" Nagobads
Eddie Cahill Jim Craig
Patrick O'Brien Demsey Mike Eruzione
Michael Mantenuto Jack O'Callahan
Nathan West Rob McClanahan
Billy Schneider Buzz Schneider
Nate Miller John Harrington

Miracle | The Rewatchables

host Bill Simmonshost Chris Ryan
Explore episodeClose episode

Producer credits not yet identified.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Would a news-breaker spoil the tape-delayed game now; a Ralph Cox sequel; Kurt Russell movie ranking; greatest sports-movie speech

In the discussion (8)
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:54Read transcript
  • A possibly unanswerable question: would a news-breaker ruin this tape-delayed game in 2020 by announcing "USA wins 4-3"? (ASR "Woge"/"Walsh").
  • A top five Russell movies list is deferred to Probably Unanswerable Questions.
  • A Ralph Cox sequel would be watched, perhaps as season two where he becomes super successful.
  • Asked where this ranks, one list is hedged as "six or seven, maybe five": Escape from New York one, The Thing two, Tombstone three, Tango & Cash four, Miracle five; Big Trouble in Little China is loved less by one host than the other.
  • Russell is also really good in Silkwood and great in Death Proof and The Hateful Eight; a "Silkwood shower" line once made the other host laugh hard.
  • Is this the greatest motivational speech in sports movie history? It was forgotten for Apex Mountain; top three are this, Friday Night Lights and Al Pacino in Any Given Sunday, with Pacino first.
  • The chef's Pele story in Vision Quest must be mentioned; Friday Night Lights is good but Pacino is still the apex; Vanderbeek at halftime in Varsity Blues is a good bad one.
  • The through-line: coaches say nothing matters more than winning, then say they will love the players anyway, like Hackman in Hoosiers.

Roger Ebert's review

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:27:04Read transcript
  • Ebert gave the movie two stars.
  • The speaker was still disappointed in the score, thought it was at least a two and a half, and notes Ebert was not a hockey guy.
  • Ebert wrote that Miracle is a sports movie more about the coach and the team, and that is a miracle too.
  • Ebert has some thoughts on the wife; the speaker clarifies it is the wife character itself, not Ebert's thoughts, that is saved for the aged-worst discussion.

Most Rewatchable Scene

Third period of the USSR game

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:29:39Read transcript
  • Picking the 26-man tryout team in an hour, with Noah Emrick as assistant Craig Patrick reacting "What?", is an early candidate; the coach wants the right players, not the best ones.
  • O.C. fighting McLeanhan to get back at a cheap shot is great; O.C. is a classic Charlestown kid holding a grudge.
  • Suggestion that O.C. could have been worked into The Town as one of the drivers; his beating of McClanhan is called realistic.
  • Herb making everyone skate sprints after the exhibition game ("Again!") until the lights go out, with the "team of common men" speech, ends with Eruzione's answer that he plays for the United States of America.
  • The four players intervening with Herb over Timmy Herr is another good scene; maybe Herb should have kept the ringer, who had led the country in goals.
  • Ralph Cox getting cut is really good acting; a son watching called it unfair, prompting a lesson that people get cut.
  • Herb goading McLean in the Sweden-game locker room to get him going ("a bruise on the leg is a hell of a long way from the heart") is highlighted.
  • Herb's pregame speech before the USSR game is one of the best sports-movie speeches and gets played before more or less every sporting event in America.
  • The move from the second to the third period without a locker-room scene is a little clumsy, but Herb's talk at the start of the third period works.
  • The whole third period is fantastic; for most rewatchable you have to go with the third period of the USSR game.
  • The again-again scene is also loved, and Herb telling O.C. he made the team is called the most moving moment; the answer settles on the third period.

What’s Aged the Best?

Opening-credits 1970s history lesson; real hockey players in the roles; Bill Ranford in goal; Al Michaels re-recording his call; Michaels' game intro; keeping O.C. on the team; the Russians' style of play; Noah Emmerich; the BUM stuff; "He doesn't know what to do"; Dream On

In the discussion (11)
Approx. transcript time · 00:38:13Read transcript
  • The opening credits history lesson on the 1970s (Watergate, the gas shortage) is liked, though it asks whether the fall of Saigon relates to a hockey game; the Carter malaise speech is an important piece.
  • Casting hockey players instead of actors, because it is easier to teach hockey players to act, makes you believe you are watching them really do it.
  • Bill Ranford, a longtime goalie who played for the Bruins, is essentially Jim Craig under the equipment, the one organic place to cheat.
  • Realism is not always needed (Teen Wolf, Stallone as an arm wrestler), but it helped here.
  • Having Al Michaels redo his audio so he narrates the third act is an incredible wrinkle; the last seconds use his real, higher-pitched call.
  • Michaels' underrated intro to the game ("two teams on a sheet of frozen ice in Lake Placid") would have signaled history was about to happen.
  • The decision to let O.C. play is both a great scene and a good job by Herb Brooks, since there were only 20 spots and most coaches probably would have cut him.
  • The Russians played like a different sport in their use of space, and Herb wanted a hybrid of Russian and Canadian styles and to go right at them.
  • Noah Emmerich as Craig Patrick is added; this and Beautiful Girls are called his Apex Mountain combo, though for most of the movie he seems like a glorified water guy.
  • The BUM stuff was awesome, and a favorite little moment is late in the third period when Herb Brooks does not know what to do.
  • Dream On in the closing credits is recalled as something that belonged in the aged-best category.

What’s Aged the Worst?

Herb Brooks dying before release; the burden on later U.S. Olympic hockey teams; the wife role; a 2004 column ending; no profanity

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 00:47:43Read transcript
  • Herb Brooks died in a car accident before the movie came out and never saw it, which the credits note.
  • The win ruined later USA Olympic hockey teams because everyone wanted it to happen again; if the game were played 10 times, Russia wins nine.
  • The 1980 players were pleased with the film but pointed out Herb did not go to holiday parties; they respected him but did not like him.
  • The wife is the wet-blanket sports-movie trope and one of the worst examples; there is a case she should not be in the movie at all.
  • Ebert wrote that Patricia Clarkson has the thankless role of a spouse who only complains that his job takes time from his family, proposing future workaholics be bachelors; the host agrees.
  • It wastes Patricia Clarkson; a real argument or a wife who is mad all the time would have been better.
  • Modern sports movies moved past the trope (Robin Wright in Moneyball), while Adrian is essential in Rocky 3 and Rocky 4 is the opposite.
  • A 2004 ESPN the Magazine column ended by saying no movie could top the real thing; the magazine, because of Disney, had "by the way, I'm seeing it on Friday" added, an ironically funnier ending.
  • ADR profanity should be added for a special edition because these hockey players surely swore; the clean version was so four-year-olds could watch.

Casting What-Ifs

No casting what-if selection

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:54:09Read transcript
  • O'Connor was focused on Kurt Russell the whole time, so there was no casting what-if.
  • Buzz Schneider is played by his son Billy, which they did not realize until after casting; 4,000 people auditioned for the 20 roles, all real hockey players.
  • The actor who played O.C., Michael Mantonuto, got into a fight at tryouts, apologized, and O'Connor cast him because he was the first to drop the gloves.
  • Gavin O'Connor has a cameo draping the flag on Jim Craig; a director should try to appear in his own movie like Scorsese in Taxi Driver.

The Joey Pants “That Guy” Award

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:55:31Read transcript
  • Noah Emmerich is ruled ineligible because he is in too much of it and has done a lot, such as The Truman Show.
  • One answer is Eddie Cahill, who played Jim Craig and is that guy from CSI: New York.
  • Another pick is Kenneth Walsh as the doc, who is in Twin Peaks and in everything.
  • Sean McCain as Walter, who gets Herb the job and taps Eruzione before the gold medal game, is added and called a good one.

Recasting Couch

Ryan Gosling; Taylor Kitsch as McClanahan

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 00:57:47Read transcript
  • The 2004-era actor class is floated to add to the roster; Josh Hartnett is a little old.
  • Get Gosling in here: he could have played somebody and would have learned to skate.
  • Paul Dano and Josh Hartnett are also listed, along with the two Riggins, Taylor Kitch and Garrett Headland.
  • Taylor Kitch, from Canada and basically a hockey player, should have been in it; not as O.C., but maybe as McClanahan.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Russell's pay cut for extras' meals; Russell playing left-handed; the Vancouver arena shared with Rocky IV; other Dream On uses; Michael Mantenuto's later life; Jim Craig's 39 saves; Jim Craig's DUI

In the discussion (7)
Approx. transcript time · 00:58:47Read transcript
  • Russell took a pay cut so the 800 to 1,000 extras playing fans could get a full hot meal instead of a brown-bag lunch.
  • Russell, right-handed, used his left hand in the movie; Herb Brooks was a lefty.
  • The Soviet game was filmed in Vancouver at the P&E Agrodome, which also hosted the Rocky-Drago fight for Rocky 4, the Cold War sports mecca.
  • Dream On has also appeared in a live orchestrated Last Action Hero, The Virgin Suicides, Cold Case episode 49 and Glee.
  • Michael Mantonuto, who played O.C., left acting, joined the Army, served with the Green Berets, came home and died by suicide; he was good enough to have been an actor.
  • Jim Craig really did stop 39 shots, 39 to 16 in shots, and the movie seems to show all of them.
  • Jim Craig had a DUI in the 80s that the speaker thinks was a manslaughter; he has rebuilt to some degree.

Apex Mountain

Olympic hockey; Winter Olympics; Al Michaels

In the discussion (9)
Approx. transcript time · 01:00:19Read transcript
  • Kurt Russell: no. His apex is the Tango & Cash / Escape from L.A. era leading to Tombstone, where he had the most juice; Escape from New York is his best.
  • Gavin O'Connor, no; Olympic hockey, yes; the Winter Olympics, yeah.
  • One remark calls it an Apex Mountain in life, much less sports; the subject is not stated explicitly.
  • Noah Emmerich: not Beautiful Girls or The Truman Show, maybe The Americans.
  • The P&E Agrodome apex is still Rocky 4, where Stallone broke his ribs and filming stopped for two weeks.
  • Al Michaels: 1980 no, but 2004 yes, when as the voice of Monday Night Football at the pinnacle of his powers he came back to voice Miracle.
  • Jokes about Michaels later working with Collinsworth and Collinsworth calling the 1980 game.
  • Sports Illustrated peaked in 1980, not the movie, when the covers meant the most, and this cover arguably was its apex.
  • For evil mute Russian sports-movie villains, Drago versus the hockey coach: the movie does not give enough of the coach to make him a villain.

The Dion Waiters Award for Best Heat Check Performance

Al Michaels

In the discussion (4)
Approx. transcript time · 01:03:54Read transcript
  • Dion Waiters had been forgotten; the nominees were O.C. or the Russian coach, who has no lines but three expressions, and his eyebrows are nominated.
  • Asked whether Al Michaels would count, the reply is "Oh, that's amazing."
  • O.C. may be in too much of the movie; his two best scenes are learning he made the team and Jim Craig's bench confrontation.
  • The answer goes with Michaels (transcribed "let's go without Michaels" after a contrast with the O.C. case), and it is accepted.

Picking Nits

Soviet coach benching Tretiak; undersized Lake Placid crowd; skipped Finland game and podium; missing "take this to your graves" speech; runtime

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:30Read transcript
  • The Soviet coach benching Trediak is like Mahomes throwing a first-quarter pick in a playoff game and being benched for Chad Henne for the rest of the game, but in the Super Bowl; they panicked because no one had ever hit them with a haymaker.
  • The small, packed 8,500-seat Lake Placid crowd is not captured: the 800 to 1,000 extras are shoehorned into close-ups, and some wear 2004 outfits.
  • Al Michaels noting the most expensive face-value ticket was $67 is an inflation aside.
  • The movie skips the Finland game and Eruzione calling everyone onto the podium, and Brooks' between-periods line that losing it would go with them to their graves.
  • At two hours 17 minutes it is too long, like many Disney sports movies; cut the wife rather than the Finland material, though ending with the Russia game is the right move.

Sequel, Prequel, Limited Series, or All-Black Remake

Could be remade but not needed

In the discussion (3)
Approx. transcript time · 01:08:16Read transcript
  • Initially against it; the Lakers HBO show shows it could be done, but there is no need and hopefully they do not.
  • Ideas: combine the Hawk documentary with Miracle, cross-cutting Russians and Americans, or a season about what happens to these guys after the biggest moment.
  • Joke version in the style of Yellowjackets: Team USA crashes in Minnesota and has to eat each other.

What Piece of Memorabilia Would You Want From This Movie?

Herb's plaid bell-bottoms; Eruzione jersey; Jim Craig's post-game outfit; unripped USA-USSR game tickets

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:12:28Read transcript
  • Herb's plaid pants, the plaid bell-bottoms, are one choice.
  • The Eruzione jersey is another.
  • Jim Craig's post-game outfit of hockey pants, suspenders, tank top and beanie would be worn if the speaker became a bartender.
  • At the Sports Collectors Convention the speaker bought two unripped tickets to the Lake Placid U.S.-Russia game with a friend, one of his better memorabilia purchases as ticket prices have risen.
  • Team jerseys were once high but are coming down; you cannot wear a hockey jersey casually.

Producer review

Up there among sports movies

In the discussion (5)
Approx. transcript time · 01:15:47Read transcript
  • The invited producer was not alive for the 1980 game, was 10 when the movie came out, and has seen it a couple of times.
  • The floor for sports movies is really high, and with a story this good the movie is really up there among sports movies.
  • Remember the Titans remains the favorite, with the Will Patton speech.
  • The filming of the real hits into the boards is unbelievable, raising how it was planned; the reply is that liberties were few, such as a slashing penalty.
  • The Joey Pants award needs a younger-generation version, since picks like Noah Emmerich are that guys to people in their 20s and 30s; it is called a really fair point.

More from the conversation

Network plugs for the Bill Simmons podcast and The Watch with Chris Ryan, then a movie-audio cold open.
Approx. transcript time · 00:01:35Read transcript
Every Winter Olympics brings back the 1980 U.S. win over the Russians; a son who doubted it was the greatest moment of a childhood watched the movie, which is on Disney Plus, and loved it.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:18Read transcript
In 1980 there were four channels and no cable or internet; the Sweden tie and the Bill Baker goal were heard on a clock radio because they were not televised.
Approx. transcript time · 00:02:54Read transcript
The Russia game was tape-delayed on a Friday night; the score 2-2 was overheard at Star Market in Brookline, and Jim McKay hinted viewers would want to watch; the last 10 minutes felt endless.
Approx. transcript time · 00:04:16Read transcript
The movie skips over the gold-medal game against Finland; it is 42 years ago and remembered in full.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:28Read transcript
The original footage is terribly shot, so the dramatic version is welcome; the event is associated with Al Michaels' "Do you believe in miracles" call.
Approx. transcript time · 00:06:49Read transcript
Gavin O'Connor ranks with Ron Shelton as a sports-movie director; the hockey filming was groundbreaking for 2004, beyond Slapshot, Mystery Alaska and Mighty Ducks.
Approx. transcript time · 00:07:33Read transcript
Focusing on Herb Brooks was smart; the movie embodies his more-than-the-sum-of-its-parts philosophy, with few players singled out and no distracting movie stars.
Approx. transcript time · 00:09:04Read transcript
The Boston versus Minnesota rivalry and Cold War context; Soviet players were paid while the U.S. sent college kids, and pulling Trediak is called the worst coaching decision ever.
Approx. transcript time · 00:11:07Read transcript
The Sports Illustrated cover had no cover lines; Eruzione became "America's house guest".
Approx. transcript time · 00:12:11Read transcript
Question about street celebrations, compared with Landon Donovan's goal against Algeria.
Approx. transcript time · 00:13:02Read transcript
Amateurism: these were players the NHL did not want; Buzz Schneider was 25; Ken Morrow won a Cup with the Islanders four months later; Jim Craig held off turning pro because of his mom.
Approx. transcript time · 00:14:41Read transcript
Casting: Costner might overpower the role and Hanks is too soft; Russell has the edge and disappears into Herb Brooks, who is in almost every scene; the Christmas party is an added moment.
Approx. transcript time · 00:17:03Read transcript
The movie has flaws; the Patricia Clarkson personal side does not come off, but Russell and the speeches are incredible.
Approx. transcript time · 00:18:16Read transcript
A clip from Kurt Russell's appearance on the Bill Simmons podcast four and a half years earlier: a mediocre script but not a mediocre movie; Herb's stakes had to be clear.
Approx. transcript time · 00:19:11Read transcript
Russell arrived alone in a leather jacket with Marlboro Reds; he met Herb Brooks through his son Wyatt's hockey, and Brooks describing that year as "lonely" shaped the film; Brooks was the last cut from the 1960 team.
Approx. transcript time · 00:20:04Read transcript
The one-star-on-the-poster sports-movie era from 97 to 05 (For Love of the Game, Varsity Blues, Remember the Titans, The Replacements, Hardball, The Rookie, Summer Catch, Miracle, Coach Carter) ends with Gridiron Gang; The Blind Side is suggested.
Approx. transcript time · 00:23:09Read transcript
Disney sports movies McFarland and Million Dollar Arm; a 30 for 30 told the game from the Russian side.
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:06Read transcript
Russell was not nominated for Best Actor; Johnny Depp in Finding Neverland is the flimsy nominee he could have replaced. Budget $28 million, gross $64 million.
Approx. transcript time · 00:25:42Read transcript
This era should be mined for sports movies because the original broadcasts had one camera and poor sound.
Approx. transcript time · 00:40:39Read transcript
Either host could have played Jim Craig's father; it was not a hard role.
Approx. transcript time · 01:05:08Read transcript
Sports movies were pop-culture currency for older generations; the producer's generation was the last to grow up on them.
Approx. transcript time · 01:18:20Read transcript
Ideas for another Miracle-style film: an Eagles joke, the Red Sox-Yankees games, Villanova-Georgetown as a miniseries, and the upcoming Lakers series on HBO.
Approx. transcript time · 01:19:18Read transcript
Watching sports movies with a son now: Rudy, Slapshot, Rocky 3, Hoosiers and that era's movies still hold up.
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:00Read transcript
Next week is a big A-list movie people have long asked for.
Approx. transcript time · 01:21:36Read transcript