Rewatchables Reference

• The entire third period of the USSR game.
• Herb picks the 26-man roster in an hour – 'I'm not looking for the best players, I'm looking for the right ones.'
• OC fighting McClanahan over the cheap shot – classic Boston-Minnesota rivalry.
• Herb makes everyone do sprints ('herbies') after the exhibition game until Rizzo says 'I play for the United States of America.'
• Herb's pregame speech: 'If we played them 10 times, they might win nine. But not this game. Not tonight.'
• Herb before the third period: 'Listen to them' – pointing at the crowd.
• OC finding out he made the team – 'I swear to God, Herb, if you're not being serious right now.'
• Herb goading McClanahan into playing injured: 'A bruise on the leg is a hell of a long way from the heart, Candy.'

• The opening credits Cold War history lesson – Watergate, gas shortage, Ayatollah Khomeini, Carter malaise speech.
• The hockey filming – using real hockey players instead of actors was a genius choice.
• Al Michaels re-recording his play-by-play audio for the movie, narrating the entire third act.
• Noah Emmerich's performance as Craig Patrick.
• The BU vs. Minnesota rivalry stuff.
• Herb's line in the third period: 'He doesn't know what to do' – about the Soviet coach not pulling his goalie.

• Herb Brooks died in a car accident before the movie came out and never saw it.
• This movie ruined all subsequent USA Olympic hockey expectations – everyone wanted lightning to strike twice.
• The Patricia Clarkson wife character – a terrible example of the thankless 'sports movie wife' trope.
• No profanity – these hockey players absolutely swore constantly, and the PG rating robs the movie of authenticity.

• O'Connor was locked on Kurt Russell from the start.
• 4,000 people auditioned for the 20 player roles.
• Michael Mantenuto got cast as OC after getting in a real fight during auditions.
• Chris suggests 2004-era actors: Ryan Gosling, Paul Dano, Josh Hartnett, Taylor Kitsch (who was basically a professional hockey player from Canada).

• Eddie Cahill as Jim Craig – 'that guy from CSI: New York.'
• Kenneth Welsh as Doc – 'he's in Twin Peaks, he's in everything.'
• Sean McCann as Walter, the guy who gets Herb the coaching job.

• Kurt Russell in the 'Again!' sprints scene – dialing it up to 11.
• Some of the hockey player-actors in the bar scenes.

• Al Michaels – essentially narrating the climax of the movie as himself.
• The Russian coach – no lines but great facial expressions: evil, confused, angry, then begrudging respect.
• OC (Michael Mantenuto).

• Kurt Russell took a pay cut so extras could get hot meals instead of brown bag lunches.
• Russell is right-handed but used his left hand because Herb Brooks was a lefty.
• The USSR game was filmed at the PNE Agrodome in Vancouver – the same venue as 'Rocky' IV's Drago fight.
• 'Dream On' by Aerosmith plays in the closing credits.
• Michael Mantenuto left acting, joined the Green Berets, fought ISIS, and committed suicide in 2017.
• Jim Craig really did stop 39 shots (shots were 39-16).

• Kurt Russell: 'Tombstone' is the consensus apex.
• Gavin O'Connor: No.
• Olympic hockey / Winter Olympics: Yes.
• Sports Illustrated: Bill argues 1980 was the apex – the 'Miracle' on Ice cover was iconic.
• Al Michaels: The 1980 call was the greatest moment of his career, then re-voicing the movie in 2004 at the pinnacle of his Monday Night Football powers.
• Best motivational speech in sports movie history? Top 3: 'Miracle', 'Friday Night Lights', Al Pacino in 'Any Given Sunday'.

• Soviet coach benching Tretiak – the all-time worst coaching decision, still inexplicable.
• The Lake Placid crowd doesn't feel big enough – only 800-1,000 extras for what should be 8,500 fans.
• They skip over the Finland gold medal game.
• The movie is 2 hours 17 minutes, which is too long – Disney sports movies are always 20 minutes too long.
• The transition between the second and third periods of the USSR game is clumsy.

• Bill thinks it could work, especially given the HBO Lakers series proving the concept.
• Chris suggests cross-cutting between the Russian and American sides.
• Chris: Explore what happens to the players after – how do you live up to the biggest sports moment ever?

• Chris: Herb's plaid bell-bottom pants.
• Bill: The Rizzo jersey (Mike Eruzione USA jersey).
• Chris: Jim Craig's post-game outfit – hockey pants, suspenders, tank top, beanie.
• Bill owns two unripped tickets from the actual 1980 USA-Russia game, purchased for $800-1,000 at a collectors convention.

• Would Woj/Twitter ruin the tape-delay surprise of the 1980 game if it happened today?
• The Ralph Cox sequel – what happened to Coxie after getting cut?
• Could a team galvanize the entire country the way the 1980 team did today?

Kurt Russell – unanimous, not even a debate.

• Craig Horlbeck says this is really up there for sports movies, though Remember the Titans is still his favorite.
• Most impressed by the filming – the real hockey hits and the fluid camera work.