Miracle is about a coach, Herb Brooks, who embarks on a mission to assemble the perfect hockey team to beat the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympic Winter Games. The team goes through some initial growing pains, but soon comes together to attempt the seemingly impossible task of beating the best hockey team in the world. Based on a true story.
Commitment: Herb Brooks addresses the team right after the team has been chosen and says, “take a good look gentleman, because they [the ones who did not make the team] are the ones getting off easy. The final roster will have 20 names on it so more of you are going home." (15m)
Leadership: Mike Eruzione shows his leadership when he tells Herb Brooks that he plays for the USA after they had been made to skate after an exhibition game in Europe. Herb Brooks had been asking this question throughout the movie and the players kept giving their college names instead of saying they played for the USA. (45m)
Motivation: Herb Brooks uses a variety of motivational tactics throughout the movie. He tells goaltender Jim Craig that he is thinking of benching him after the exhibition loss to the Soviet Union. (1h 16m) During an intermission, Herb uses a player's bruised leg as a way to fire the team up when they are losing by calling him a quitter and to be a hockey player. Herb knows this will fire the rest of the team up because of how close they are to one another. (1h, 24m) And finally, he gives his famous speech, starting with, "Great moments...are born from great opportunity." (1h 37m)
Social Forces: Opening scenes show the Cold War problems, inflation, and around the Christmas party scene Jimmy Carter gives his famous speech discussing how there was a “question of confidence in America.” (65m) It shows where the country was at this time and how the hockey game versus the Soviet Union meant everything.
Teamwork: Mike Eruzione and a few other players talk to Herb about bringing in an all-star college player three months before the Olympic Games and tell him that they are a “family” so Herb should send the all-star home even though he is an incredible talent. (61m)
Underdogs: Team USA are the underdogs in the Olympics, but primarily when they face the Soviet Union in the semi-final game, where they beat them.
Confidence: Louden's confidence grows throughout his quest to face Shute.
Eating Disorders: Louden must cut weight to face Shute, so he eats sparingly and overtrains, causing nosebleeds.
Focus: Louden focuses on Shute every day, even when Shute shows up at a match to get in his head.
Imagery: He imagines the six minutes on the mat with Shute, but his friend tell him, "It's not the six minutes, its what happens in those six minutes that counts!"
Underdogs: Louden is the underdog because no one has beaten Shute and he is a monster.
The Longest Yard is about former popular professional quarterback Paul Crewe who is sent to prison. He decides to create a makeshift team of inmates to face off against a team of prison guards in a game of football.
Release Years: 1974, 2005
Rating: R (1974), PG-13 (2005)
Length: 121m (1974), 113m (2005)
For more information, view its pages at the Internet Movie Database (1974 and 2005) and Rotten Tomatoes (1974 and 2005) or purchase it from Amazon.
Aggression: Both the inmate and guard teams are extremely aggressive towards each other when playing.
Coaching: Paul (played by Adam Sandler) coaches the inmates despite many of them not knowing much about football.
Motivation: Paul uses a variety of tactics to motivate his team, but none is more motivating then the mean prison warden.
Substance Abuse: A major alcohol problem at the beginning of the movie was the reason the quarterback was imprisoned.
Teamwork: The inmates helped each other in many ways to pull off the win against the prison guards.
Underdogs: The inmates' football team is clearly the underdog in the movie; at first they don't even believe they have a chance at winning.
Hoosiers is about a basketball coach in a small town in Indiana where basketball is top priority and where the community feels they are part of the coaching staff.
Coaching: His style of coaching was evident in the first practice when he did not use a ball. And when the players kept bothering him about using a ball he did not give in and let them know that this is his team and how he coaches. Later in the movie he played a game with only four players to make his point.
Fans: They tried to play a part in how he coached, what he should do, who he should play and even if he should be fired. They held a town meeting to try to fire him.
Underdogs: They were always outnumbered, too short, not quick enough, and did not seem to have some of the facilities other teams they played had. But they did have heart and dedication.
Teamwork: The coach frequently talked about what they could accomplish if they played together and believed in each other. This was evident in the last game in the movie where he measured the court and showed that it was the same size as their home court; the size of a court never changes and if they played together as a team, anything is possible.
