MIRACLE (2004) | FIRST TIME WATCHING | MOVIE REACTION

RIP Michael Mantenuto. He’s the actor who played OC. He joined the Army in 2010. In 2017 he took his own life. Rest in peace, brother!

Was a teenager when this happened. Knew nothing about hockey. Watched all of the games through to the gold medal. It can't be overstated how important to restoring Americans moral and belief in our country and at the same time it was the beginning of the end of the Soviet Union. It's amazing how one sporting event can be so important to American and world history.

"Do you believe in miracles..." For a teen in 1980 w/America suffering gas shortages, hostage crisis & looming threat of nuclear war w/an implacable foe..."yes". This Olympics was everything. Eric Hyden to hockey Gold. It was living a dream. Until Chuch Mangione played "Give It All You Got" as the flame was extinguished. Unforgettable.

This is a moment in history everyone remembers where they were. Like the bronco chase, or Kennedy or 9/11. The miracle game was on tape delay but no one knew. Winning it felt like winning the Cold War. 12 years later we sent our pro basketball players to the Olympics - the dream team - because the international teams were all pros and we had college kids.

"What we have here is the rarest of sporting events: an event that needs no build-up, no superfluous adjectives. In a political or nationalistic sense, I'm sure this game is being viewed with varying perspectives. But manifestly, it is a hockey game. The United States and Soviet Union on a sheet of ice in Lake Placid, New York." More than anything, this movie shows the collective power a major sporting event has in bringing people together.

Only one other American won a gold medal in those games, Eric Heiden. He won all five speed skating races ranging from 500 meters to 10,000 meters.

All the players were actual players except for Eddie Cahill as Jim Craig the goalie and Nathan West as Rob McClanahan (the guy who fought and was bloody). The director decided it was easier to teach players to act than to teach actors to play. He also said the guys became their players and called each other by the name of the player they were portraying. Actual NHL goalie Bill Ranford stood in for Eddie Cahill in actual game play scenes.

If compared to today, this win would be like a college football All-American team beating an NFL All-Pro team. No way to put in words how huge this win was. Its still the greatest sports upset EVER! Whatever comes 2nd, not even close. Its where the "U-S-A" chant was first shouted. I was 21 and after USA beat the Czechs, my friend and I thought about driving through the night from N Indiana to Lake Placid and try to get tix. Silly thought, glad we didn't try. I was in that arena the following summer; what intimate place in a beautiful setting for this epic event.

Brooks' best speech came before the gold medal game against Finland. It was short and to the point. All he said was "If you lose this game, you'll take it to you effing grave."

Al Michaels redid the on ice commentary for the game as close to how he did it on that night in Lake Placid. But he could not replicas the “Do You Believe in Miracles?!?!” So they slowly faded in his famous question from that game. I was just a young boy and I still remember that game.

I was 16 and on crutches during the Olympics. Followed the hockey religiously. I was impressed when they thumped Czechoslovakia but thought the Soviets would win. Living near the Canadian border, we got to see the game live. My uncles kept calling from all over, wanting updates. When the US went up 4-3, my Dad unplugged the phone. When the game was over, everyone in the house screamed and you could hear the neighbors screaming. Everyone, but me, went outside and danced in the snow. One of the three times i seen my father cry. Nothing like it and there never will be again

I remember the patriotism of a whole nation,most people in America today do not realize just how historic this was.Amazing movie

This game was played at 5pm on a Friday. So ABC Sports actually aired the game on tape delay. The world didn't have the internet and sports shows like we do now, so it wasn't known around the world about what happened. I was a very young 9 yr old boy and watched this game while laying in my bed. It was one of the greatest young moments of my life. I am so happy I watched it. Just this past year I listened to Mike Eurozone's book. It was really great and goes into greater depth. Herb Brooks walked into the locker room before the gold medal game and said, "If you lose this game you'll remember it for the rest of your fucking life. Your fucking life!" The rest is history!

I watched this live when I was 12 years old in 1980. Now at 56 you girls made me cry. Thank You.

This damn movie makes me cry every time. The greatest moment in US sports history and one of the greatest of all time. The music at the end, “Do you believe in miracles” all of it is just perfect.

Al Michael's call at the end is absolutely iconic!

I was 14, and watched this game live on TV. When it was over, my parents both were crying their eyes out. It was all anyone talked about for months. For this film, they had legendary sportscaster Al Michaels re-record his play-by play for the film except the last thing he said, "DO YOU BELIEVE IN MIRACLES? YES!" For that, they used his original recording from 1980, because Michaels didn't think he could repeat the emotion involved.

Brooks' speech before the guild medal game was a lot shorter the the one before the Soviets. He just said, "If you lose this game, you'll take it to your f--king graves."

RIP Herb Brooks (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003), aged 66 RIP Bob Suter (May 16, 1957 – September 9, 2014), aged 57 RIP Mark Wells (September 18, 1957 – May 14, 2024), aged 67 RIP Mark Pavelich (February 28, 1958 – March 4, 2021), aged 63 RIP Kenneth Mitchell (November 25, 1974 – February 24, 2024), aged 49 RIP Michael Mantenuto (May 13, 1981 – April 24, 2017), aged 35 RIP Joseph Cure (December 10, 1983 – November 8, 2015), aged 31 You will be remembered as legends.

Our Olympic team besting the Soviets in Lake Placid in 1980 was big. We had double -digit inflation, the US Embassy in Iran was held hostage by Iranian militants, there were massive gas lines because of an oil embargo by OPEC. Finally, deindustrialization was taking place and people lost their Jobs, which hurt the economy. American confidence was at an all-time low. This victory began to lift the American Spirit for the 1980s. Also, the "USA" chant started there. If you want to see another great film, I recommend "The Delta Force" a great 1986 action film based partially off the real 1985 TWA hijacking of a flight out of Athens, Greece by Terrorists. It stars Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin. A great film! This is a great movie.