Miracle is available in separate 2.35:1 widescreen and full screen editions. Both discs contain the same features. Picture quality here is occasionally shaky, but the hockey sequences are some of the best looking moments on the format. Grain is an issue throughout, especially in darker scenes. There's a brief moment with Kurt Russell on a bus that is just ghastly. But, much like the movie, the actual hockey sequences save it. (****)
Sound options include English and French 5.1 surround. This is a dry track for the most part, but (guess what?) is saved by the hockey scenes. Players skate from speaker to speaker, all through the sound field. The puck is passed about, always in the proper speaker. Oddly, the crowd is absent from the rears for the most part, a real missed opportunity. Also, no matter how hard someone gets hit; the bass is extremely limited, making this track severely disappointing. (***)
This 2-disc set is pretty packed, though the "4 hours of special features" on the back of the case is a stretch. Disc one houses an audio commentary from director Gavin O'Connor, editor John Gilroy, and photography director Daniel Stoloff. Also on disc 1 is an 18 minute standard making of feature which aired on the Disney Channel. There is some footage from the actual game tossed in, but the rest is filled with the actors praising each other in the usual manner.
Disc 2 starts with some great outtakes, running about 5 minutes. Oddly, there are some scenes here that are not actually in the film, but no other deleted scenes are present on the disc. Next up is "From Hockey to Hollywood," a nearly half hour look at how the players/actors were sorted through from the hundreds that tried out for the 20 separate roles on the team. There is an ESPN Roundtable segment that runs about 40 minutes. It features 3 of the real players from the team along with Kurt Russell discussing the movie and the events that inspired it.
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