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Community
Community
CRYSTAL FALLS - Crystal Theatre salutes winter and competitive ice hockey by showing the 2004 sports film Miracle Saturday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m.
Celebrating its 20th anniversary, the film is an inspirational story based on fact. When the United States men’s ice hockey team won the gold medal in the 1980 Winter Olympics over the heavily favored Soviet professional team, the win was dubbed the “Miracle on Ice.” Even today, the win is considered by many to be the “Greatest Sports Moment of the 20th Century.”
Director Gavin O’Connor and producer Mark Ciardi focused on the determination and sheer grit of the team’s head coach, Herb Brooks. Kurt Russell, who received praise for his performance, was cast as Coach Brooks because of his athletic background and his fiery passion for sports.
With a total of 133 different hockey plays included in the film, real hockey players were cast as the team. The director thought it would be easier to teach hockey players to act than to teach actors to play hockey.
Released on Feb. 6, 2004, the film grossed $64.5 million on a $28 million budget, citing another reason to call it “Miracle”.
The film is still a favorite of all who love a true underdog story.
Looking ahead, mark your calendars for the showing of “Mulan” Feb. 10, scheduled to coincide with the Chinese New year of the Dragon.
Admission to both movies is by donation.