From The Vault: Miracle Blu Ray Review

With the 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Cerimony happening tomorrow night in Vancouver, what better time to dust off a review of a movie based on one of the biggest moments in Team USA Winter Olympic History? So without further ado, here is my review for the Blu Ray release of Miracle:

When people discuss America’s Olympic Program and their achievements in the Olympics, the 1980 win over the Russians in the finals stands out at the top of the list. What most people get wrong is that America actually beat Sweden to win the gold. They played the Russians in the semi-finals round in a game that was much bigger than the actual medal round. Miracle focuses on the 1980’s team from it’s inception to their ultimately winning the gold. This movie really stresses teamwork and unity over the me first sports star attitude that is often prevelant in all sports today. The majority of the film is the process of selecting the team and watching them form bonds and learn to depend on each other. We follow Herb Brooks and his assistant Craig Patrick as they select the final players and shape them into the winning team that will go down in the history books for their achievements.

Miracle is presented in a 2.40:1 widescreen ratio in 1080p, which is an improvement on the original 2.35.1 video track. There is grain present but only to the level that recreates the feel of sports footage from the late 70’s and early 80’s. Fleshtones are fairly good with a natural look. Colors are presented in a somewhat toned down form as is fitting of the film and detail is crisp. The Blu Ray for Miracle does justice to the film and is a noticable improvement over the dvd release.

The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound track is a nice upgrade over the dvd track. The game sounds are identical to being at a rink and are nicely spread across the channels. the crowd ambiance is huge and puts the viewer into the movie. Dialogue is well prioritized and is always crisp and clear. This is a great audio track.

Leading a cast of virtually unknown actors, Kurt Russell is perfect as coach Herb Brooks. As a longtime fan of Kurt Russell, I was still suprised at his ability to get into character and perfectly portray the coach. Funny enough he is in my favorite sports movie, Miracle and also in one of my favorite horror films, with Carpenter’s classic The Thing. That’s how versatile of an actor he is. Equally as good is Noah Emmerich who portrays assistant coach of the team and former Penguins GM Craig Patrick. His role as good cop so to speak is accurate and perfectly executed. Much like the real 1980’s Olympic team, the players in the movie were virtually unknowns who had skill and all pull off a believable performance that would not have worked with many actors.

The commentary track features the director Gavin O’Connor, editor John Gilroy and cinematographer Dan Stoloff. It is informative but a bit dry at times. They cover topics such as filming the game scenes, casting the actors and keeping the movie historically accurate. The Making of Miracle is an 18 minute behind the scene feature. It focuses a lot on what went into shooting the hockey scenes. From Hockey to Hollywood is a much more interesting feature that focuses on the casting process. To get skilled hockey players to play the teammates they combed the rinks and hockey internet sites for tryouts, placing skill almost above acting experience to make the movie work. There is also some good auditon footage and behind the scenes material in here. Linda Cohen hosts a good Roundtable, featuring Kurt Russel along with real 1980 Olympians Mike Eruzione, Buzz Schneider and Jim Craig. A lot of the feature focuses on memories of manager Herb Brooks and the team’s famous semi-final win over the Russians. With an introduction by Gavin O’Connor, First Impressions is raw footage of the real Herb Brooks sitting down with the crew members prior to filming to share his insight and experiences. This is a must watch piece that is a fitting tribute to the man. The outtakes reel is better than many, as a lot of the fight flubs are quite funny. Saving the best for last though, The Sound Of Miracle is a great featurette that delves into all of the post production work that went into creating the game scenes. This is a fascinating piece that delves into all of the different sound layers that are added to optimize the experience.

You don’t need to be a hockey fan or even an American to appreciate and fully enjoy Miracle. One of the best sports movies ever made, Miracle uses actors that can and do skate, resulting in some of the best and most realistic game scenes of any sports films. Kurt Russell is dead on as the late Herb Brooks. This is just an all around solid film that looks great on Blu Ray. Go out and buy it.

Highly Recommended

Special Features:

Filmmakers Commentary featuring Director Gavin O’Connor, editor John Gilroy, and cinematographer Dan Stoloff
The Making of Miracle
From Hockey to Hollywood
ESPN Roundtable
First Impressions
The Sound of Miracle
Outtakes

Miracle is available on Blu Ray and dvd now.