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2002 Olympic Winter Games, The
Ventura // Unrated // April 9, 2002
List Price: $19.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
THE STRAIGHT DOPE:
Although I'm not entirely won over by the spectacle of the Olympics, that city-destroying behemoth that rolls over whatever poor place has the honor of hosting it, leaving nothing but abandoned parking lots and useless new buildings in its path, there are times when even a grinch like myself can get caught up in the drama of the moment. This past winter Olympics began under a cloud of controversy after corruption in the Olympic committee was exposed and the games themselves would be rife with weirdness, but there were some really memorable moments. Jim Shea became the first third generation Olympic gold medalist in history. Apolo Anton Ohno saw his hopes for gold in the short track skating race dashed after a bizarre pile-up that left the last place skater in first. And Canada broke a long losing streak in men's hockey. Olympics TV coverage is usually dominated with figure skating which, barring the hysterical Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan drama, isn't my thing. Still, even I got caught up in some of the excitement this time, particularly when Canadian couples skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were robbed of the gold, or was it that Russians Elena Berezhanya and Anton Sikharulidze deserved it? It was too close to call and the eventual sharing of the medal was the Mormon thing to do. Even more incredible was Sarah Hughes' flawless performance in the solo long form women's event. While I may not know much about skating (I know it's bad when they fall) there was clearly something special about the way she performed and the look of astonishment on her own face after she finished said it all. The problem with this DVD wrap-up of the Olympics is that it doesn't show this - or any other event - in its entirety. This makes the presentation too choppy. Even more damaging, however, is that the skating performances are not presented with their original audio. Presumably the rights to the music were too expensive, but that means losing the audience and announcers as well. Instead we get John Tesh-style sounds of relaxation that in no way fits the routines. This is deadly. It turns every routine into a joke. It's not like some independent film company is releasing this DVD. If NBC can't do it right, they shouldn't do it at all. The race events don't suffer from this problem but other than the speed skating pile-up, they don't warrant repeat viewing for anyone other than families of the participants. What's the point of watching a bobsled run six months after it took place? Who cares? Even the events that are allowed to include audio of the crowds and announcers are saddled with cheesy royalty-free-style music. With the resources of NBC available, this disc should be much better. Shoehorning the disparate events into a two hour documentary may be fine for VHS, but the DVD should be an interactive multimedia gold-mine, with each sport available with its original commentary or wrap-up discussion, original events played out in real-time, and insight into the bigger picture of the international games. As it is, only the US-Canada hockey final gets anything resembling respectful coverage. VIDEO:
The video is near broadcast quality and looks fine. AUDIO:
The Dolby stereo audio is also fine, technically, although that music issue kills the show. EXTRAS:
About 45 minutes of additional footage is included. Some events get better coverage here, like the victories by Jim Shea in skeleton and Bode Miller in downhill skiing. FINAL THOUGHTS:
The Olympics may not be as bad to watch as I think (although it better stay the hell away from New York City) but this DVD does it a disservice by rushing through events and then overdubbing audio on the ones that people will be buying this for in the first place. Email Gil Jawetz at [email protected]
Although I'm not entirely won over by the spectacle of the Olympics, that city-destroying behemoth that rolls over whatever poor place has the honor of hosting it, leaving nothing but abandoned parking lots and useless new buildings in its path, there are times when even a grinch like myself can get caught up in the drama of the moment. This past winter Olympics began under a cloud of controversy after corruption in the Olympic committee was exposed and the games themselves would be rife with weirdness, but there were some really memorable moments. Jim Shea became the first third generation Olympic gold medalist in history. Apolo Anton Ohno saw his hopes for gold in the short track skating race dashed after a bizarre pile-up that left the last place skater in first. And Canada broke a long losing streak in men's hockey. Olympics TV coverage is usually dominated with figure skating which, barring the hysterical Tonya Harding-Nancy Kerrigan drama, isn't my thing. Still, even I got caught up in some of the excitement this time, particularly when Canadian couples skaters Jamie Sale and David Pelletier were robbed of the gold, or was it that Russians Elena Berezhanya and Anton Sikharulidze deserved it? It was too close to call and the eventual sharing of the medal was the Mormon thing to do. Even more incredible was Sarah Hughes' flawless performance in the solo long form women's event. While I may not know much about skating (I know it's bad when they fall) there was clearly something special about the way she performed and the look of astonishment on her own face after she finished said it all. The problem with this DVD wrap-up of the Olympics is that it doesn't show this - or any other event - in its entirety. This makes the presentation too choppy. Even more damaging, however, is that the skating performances are not presented with their original audio. Presumably the rights to the music were too expensive, but that means losing the audience and announcers as well. Instead we get John Tesh-style sounds of relaxation that in no way fits the routines. This is deadly. It turns every routine into a joke. It's not like some independent film company is releasing this DVD. If NBC can't do it right, they shouldn't do it at all. The race events don't suffer from this problem but other than the speed skating pile-up, they don't warrant repeat viewing for anyone other than families of the participants. What's the point of watching a bobsled run six months after it took place? Who cares? Even the events that are allowed to include audio of the crowds and announcers are saddled with cheesy royalty-free-style music. With the resources of NBC available, this disc should be much better. Shoehorning the disparate events into a two hour documentary may be fine for VHS, but the DVD should be an interactive multimedia gold-mine, with each sport available with its original commentary or wrap-up discussion, original events played out in real-time, and insight into the bigger picture of the international games. As it is, only the US-Canada hockey final gets anything resembling respectful coverage. VIDEO:
The video is near broadcast quality and looks fine. AUDIO:
The Dolby stereo audio is also fine, technically, although that music issue kills the show. EXTRAS:
About 45 minutes of additional footage is included. Some events get better coverage here, like the victories by Jim Shea in skeleton and Bode Miller in downhill skiing. FINAL THOUGHTS:
The Olympics may not be as bad to watch as I think (although it better stay the hell away from New York City) but this DVD does it a disservice by rushing through events and then overdubbing audio on the ones that people will be buying this for in the first place. Email Gil Jawetz at [email protected]
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