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USA Home Video presents

Greatest Moments in Super Bowl History (2000)

"When the game ended, there was such a feeling of elation, joy... tickling explosion inside... the teammates: 'We did it! We did it!' Y'know? It was wonderful!"- Joe Namath, New York Jets quarterback

Manufacturer: DVCC
MPAA Rating: Not RatedRun Time: 02h:50m:00s
Release Date: 2000-10-10
Genre: sports

Style
Grade
Substance
Grade
Image Transfer
Grade
Audio Transfer
Grade
Extras
Grade
A- A-B+B C+

 

DVD Review

When I was younger there were two things about sports I enjoyed. One was delving into a well-thumbed book that compiled endless statistics about the sport and the other was reading stories about the unusual and amazing occurrences in the games. I have often said that one of the fascinations of sport is to have the endlessly repeated circumstances of the rules of the games producing an equally endless variation of events. The Super Bowl has assumed a unique status in the world of sport and spectacle. It is the championship game of a sport that is played almost solely in the United States, yet has become a worldwide annual phenomena. It has generated reams of statistics and many "unusual and amazing" occurrences.

Greatest Moments in Super Bowl History does an excellent job of displaying those elements on various levels for viewers of different interests. It focuses on the game and its players, which is the truly central element of any sport. It is ultimately the human equation that makes for the fascination as a spectacle that lures in millions of viewers—many of whom only watch one football game a year.

A novice about football will find the show interesting, as it does a fine job of demonstrating some of the special qualities that make football interesting as a sport. More avid fans will enjoy the many ways in which this disc provides insights and details about the various games. It serves as a primer of Super Bowl history, showing both the evolution of the game itself and way the game is played.

At the heart of this program is the marvelous footage provided by NFL films. Executive producer Steve Sabol and his crew have, year in and year out, provided amazing and compelling glimpses in the contest of football. The multiple, unique shooting angles combine with the narration and music to tell the stories in unexpected and captivating ways; NFL Films always has a special way of capturing the essence of the game. Added to this are interviews with the participants who describe their feelings, reactions and the effects of the games and plays.The program is arranged by focusing on the groups that make up football. Following the opening remarks, the second chapter is called "Masters of the Game" and focuses on the players who have made indelible marks as leaders. "Run to Daylight" focuses on the running backs who had great games in the Super Bowl. Defense is emphasized in "Dominant Defenses." The rest of the chapters focus on other parts of the games and players with sections about more great running backs, return men, quarterbacks, coaches and special teams.

The interactive viewing provides more extensive coverage of the content. There are special views of great plays in the "Super Bowl Playbook" that focus on the inner workings of these plays that led to spectacular results. There are extensive interview segments with players, coaches and media people. Other interactive elements include alternate audio tracks that feature the call of the plays by game announcers and statistics about particular players.Unfortunately I must confess that I never got the multiple angles to work on either my DVD player or my computer. Perhaps it is some failure on my part or some weakness in my equipment, but I did get all the other features to work.

However, despite this, I recommend this disc to football fans who want to enjoy compelling and entertaining stories about the Super Bowl, told by the players that played the game. There have been some great Super Bowls and many great moments in the history of the game. Quarterback Joe Namath and others tell of the shock of his guarantee that the New York Jets would win the third Super Bowl. The description of John Elway winning his first Super Bowl after three humiliating defeats is great. There are many more tasty tidbits of Super Bowl lore that fill this disc.

Rating for Style: A-
Rating for Substance: A-

 

Image Transfer

 One
Aspect Ratio1.33:1 - Full Frame
Original Aspect Ratioyes
Anamorphicno


Image Transfer Review: Of course, the more recent Super Bowls look much better because of the age of the source and the improvement of video technology, but this transfer is good all the way through. I don't remember every seeing the clips from the early Super Bowls looking this good. There is occasional pixelization and graininess but nothing that distracts from viewing pleasure. This is a way above average transfer by USA with good consistency mixing many different sources. Makes me definitely want to see more DVDs with more NFL films material.

Image Transfer Grade: B+
 

Audio Transfer

 LanguageRemote Access
Dolby Digital
5.1
Englishyes


Audio Transfer Review: The Dolby 5.1 Surround adds some ambience to the viewing but the sound is mostly narration and interview in the front channels. I didn't hear any pops or drop outs and, like the video, there is a wide range of material presented solidly and consistently. There are definite moments when the sound captures the largeness of the event.

Audio Transfer Grade:

Disc Extras

Animated menu with music
Scene Access with 12 cues and remote access
Subtitles/Captions in English with remote access
6 Multiple Angles with remote access
Packaging: Amaray
Picture Disc
1 Disc
1-Sided disc(s)
Layers: dual

Extra Extras:
  1. Interactive Viewing: Player statistics, alternate audio, extra game and interview clips
  2. Super Bowl Record Book
  3. DVD-ROM materials:
    • Pictures of Super Bowl rings, programs, patches
    • MVP Section with pictures, bios and stats
    • Unsung heroes section
    • Screensavers and action stills
Extras Review: The interactive viewing takes this to a different place for sports documentaries and is fantastic for viewers who watch documentaries and wish that they could hear more interviews and other enhancements. Although these are pretty well used here, it only seems to hint at the possibilities for the future. The chapter selection also provided direct access to the 41 behind-the-scenes clips including the interview segments and game clips.

Greatest Moments in Super Bowl History gets high marks for providing compatibility with the Macintosh in its DVD-ROM materials. I was able to browse the disc on my computer and view some of the graphics and movies but I could not get the multimedia application to launch. I got a disc error everytime, even though I tried mounting the disc differently for more compatibility.

The statistical data in the Super Bowl Record Book was interesting reading and could serve as a great place to look for answers to those nagging questions that come up in bar room discussions of the great Super Bowl games.

Extras Grade: C+
 

Final Comments

This disc goes a long way toward answering that question that gets asked each year when a Super Bowl rolls around: "What is it about this game?" Greatest Moments in Super Bowl History looks past the hype at the men who play the game in a compelling pastiche of interviews with the players and clips of the great plays.

Jesse Shanks 2000-10-16