Rating: 
Summary: A great victory in a very dark time of the world
Review: I remember back in 1980 watching the Americans beat the Russian Olympic Hockey team, at Lake Placid. At the time, I didn't realize the Russion intimidation factor nor did I realize what an upset the American victory represented to the Russians. The American were an amateur hockey team and the Russians were a professional hockey team with some of the worlds best players. I remember being impressed by the American Hockey team as they passed puck with fluidiness and team coordination and the creative of the patterns. The American seems very good and did not seek like an under dog team even though the average age was 21. The legs beat the wolf. I felt great after the American's won, stood up and cheered, and thought about the game all day.
Rating: 
Summary: Okay, already!
Review: I remember seeing this U!S!A! victory live on TV: "Do you believe in miracles!!!" Yeah, yeah. My friends and I couldn't wait for the ending, so we could play Missile Command on Atari 2600. The Olympic game itself was a yawn for this kid, as I played hockey. I didn't need to watch the game, I lived it. To see the Russkies defeated, try the DVD Thirteen Days, and Reagan and Walesa biographies. Really, study any Cold War President, except Carter... who, okay, cross-checked those Soviets on human rights issues. If sports is *really* a metaphor for war (but with better beer commercials, massages, hot tubs, hype announcers, and referees), why not study the real thing? Time to grow up, people!
Rating:
Summary: Okay, already!
Review: I remember seeing this U!S!A! victory live on TV: "Do you believe in miracles!!!" Yeah, yeah. My friends and I couldn't wait for the ending, so we could play Missile Command on Atari 2600. The Olympic game itself was a yawn for this kid, as I played hockey. I didn't need to watch the game, I lived it. To see the Russkies defeated, try the DVD Thirteen Days, and Reagan and Walesa biographies. Really, study any Cold War President, except Carter... who, okay, cross-checked those Soviets on human rights issues. If sports is *really* a metaphor for war (but with better beer commercials, massages, hot tubs, hype announcers, and referees), why not study the real thing? Time to grow up, people!
Rating:
Summary: Where were you?
Review: I remember the game against the Czechs, visiting my sister at Ill. State, trying to get someones attention, anyones. The USA was up 5-2, then 6-2, it was incredible, final 7-3. The stadium was rocking to the chant of USA, USA, USA, louder and louder. Then watching it on DVD, those memories flooding back as tears of joy, watching those awesome kids. They beat the Russians, the best in the world. But they needed to win that last game or no medal. What memories, think I will watch it again.
Rating:
Summary: Great production of a great story
Review: I saw this on HBO and immediately started checking their website to buy the video; finally it is available. They did an excellent job on it. There are a lot of behind the scenes details that were forgotten or never known. Great gift for the casual or serious hockey fan.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing
Review: I still get chills just thinking of this video. HBO really put together a masterful documentary. This is a must see before the movie comes out on Feb 6th, 2004.
Rating:
Summary: Best sports documentary ever? Quite possibly.
Review: I was 12 when all of this went down...and a pretty naive 12 at that. I wasn't a follower of politics and I hadn't even been to a hockey game (and the Flames were still in my hometown of Atlanta at the time) and had no point-of-reference for the sport...until the 1980 Winter Olympic Games at Lake Placid. With time I've come to appreciate what the late master coach Herb Brooks and his unheralded team of amateurs were able to accomplish...and it gets more impressive every year. With hindsight I also appreciate the boost they were able to give the American collective psyche at a time when our leadership was in doubt (to put it kindly) at the international level and our domestic economy was floundering. We had a focal point over which we could rally...and it didn't hurt that they happened to be a helluva team of hockey players that were able to hit the old Soviet Union where it really hurt. But this video really tugs at the heartstrings of anyone who even remotely considers themselves a sports fan...the players from the team even today seem incredulous with the results of their efforts...and by the time Al Michaels utters his immortal line as the epic game with the Soviets concludes, the tears will be flowing freely. Would it have been nice to have the US-USSR game included in its entirety as well? Yes, most definitely...but the amount of action that is included is more than sufficient to convey the sense of accomplishment gained from the efforts of Eruzione, Craig, O'Callahan, Baker, Christian, and the rest of "America's Team". Nowadays NHL players dominate Olympic hockey rosters, making the ice hockey gold medal Canada's to lose every four years; we'll likely never see a story like this one again (Salt Lake City 2002 drove this point home vividly) until the NHL gets over itself and allows the spirit of the game rather than its own need for self-promotion and sense of financial desperation to shine through. Lake Placid 1980 proved what the Olympic movement was really all about...it's good to return to a time to show what the human spirit is capable of. This documentary shows the best side of it all.
Rating:
Summary: The greatest sporting event ever
Review: I was only five when the U.S. beat the vaunted hockey juggernaut from the U.S.S.R., but the memory is one of the most distinct that I have from my early childhood. Of course at the time I couldn't appreciate the full significance of the victory, but as I've grown older I've become more and more impressed by what occurred. This just wasn't a hockey game, it was great power politics played out on ice, and if you think otherwise, just watch this disc. That's what makes this such an intriguing documentary, in addition to the expected player background and game highlights, and of course Al Michael's famous call, the state of the world in 1979-80 is examined. What is revealed in the process is that literally nothing had gone right for the U.S. in the year leading up to the Olympics. The Iran hostages, the invasion of Afghanistan, oil shortages, etc., etc. Then, along came a group of college kids playing a sport that most Americans knew nothing about, and they started something amazing: people started getting excited about being Americans again. For at least a little while, they were America's team, and the whole country's hopes and fears were placed squarely on their backs. And lo and behold, they delivered in a situation where no rational observer would have expected anything but defeat. Perhaps I'm being overly sentimental, but even if you're only interested in the hockey, this is a great disc. The background material on the players, coach and the team as a whole is superb. Moreover, the build-up to the Olympics is deftly handled; such that by the time the viewer reaches Lake Placid the tension is unbearable. My only complaint, which I've seen in other reviews, is that the entire game is not included on the disc. This is not a particularly long documentary, and there aren't any DVD bonus features, so there would have been more than enough room. Ultimately, though, that's a small complaint about an otherwise superb documentary. This is a must have for any hockey fan...or student of international politics!
Rating:
Summary: Are today's athletes really worthy of their fame and fortune
Review: In a time when athletes are nothing but overpaid babys playing sports that are too boring to watch comes this story of how a bunch of college kids to unite the country. I have been a long time college hockey fan (Go Gophers!) and this story of how a coach from Minnesota built a team of amateurs that take on the worlds best, and win. This story shows why we shouldn't be letting our cry-baby pro athletes into the olympics. What pride is in the dream team anyway? Watch this movie and you cannot help but agree there is something about beating the rest of the world and doing it with college kids. Maybe someday our country will find the pride it once found that this story tells so well.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous Documentary
Review: Incredible docementary! Great behind the scenes footage and interviews with players from both sides. Incorporates amazing video footage to recreate the social and political climate of that time.
A real "feel good" video that will bring a tear to your eye during the climatic game against the seemingly unbeatable Soviet team.
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