Generation
Iron (2013/Anchor Bay
DVD)/Kids' Rights
(2014/Cinema Libre DVD)/Visitors
(2014/Cinedigm Blu-ray w/DVD)/Weekend
Of A Champion (1971/MPI
DVD)
Picture:
C+/C/B &
C+/C+
Sound: C+/C+/B
& B-/C+
Extras: B/C-/C+/C-
Films: B/B-/C+/B
Here
are some new documentaries, including an upgraded edition of an older
one...
Vlad
Yudin's Generation
Iron
(2013) is the latest bodybuilding documentary from the producer of
the original Pumping
Iron
that is an excellent latest look at that world, Mr. Olympia and how
times have changed, yet how all the hard work has not. Mickey Rourke
does an excellent narration job as we meet the new generation of
elite bodybuilders, hear their stories and see how they fight to be
at the top where fame, fortune and now, big money awaits.
What
could have been the same old tired, run-of-the-mill work is instead
engaging, thorough and understand the world, the legacy, the
commitment and so much more. Legends of the past are interviewed and
nothing is left hidden in what is as much a character study of this
world as it is of its competitors. Nice to see this world alive and
well.
Extras
include Deleted Scenes, Extended Interview with Lou Ferrigno, a
Behind The Scenes featurette and feature length audio commentary
track with Writer/Producer/Director Yudin and Bodybuilder Phil Heath.
Michael
Dudko & Olga Rudnieva co-directed Kids'
Rights
(2014) in which they try to adopt a child in the face of the long,
tough road it can be, including the story of how Elton
John & David Furnish tried to do just that and how things fell
through. The 94 minutes is very thorough on the subject and really
makes one think on the necessity of adoption with the failure of so
many biological parents (plus children having children, all becoming
a worse and worse situation) at such a critical time. You can see
why people go to China and other countries to adopt.
A
trailer and brief clips with Elton John & David Furnish and Bill
Roedy (former MTV CEO) are the only extras.
Godfrey
Reggio's Visitors
(2014) is the filmmakers fourth esoteric film after his famous Qatsi
Trilogy
(issued on Blu-ray by Criterion) looking at the human race as
continued victims and passive participants in technology rapidly
rising and taking over far beyond our ability to keep up with it.
Better than Naqoyqatsi
(2002), Reggio and his collaborators are in a quandary of repeating
themselves while trying to tell the tale they continue to see unfold.
There are no words, no narrative or dialogue, but he is speaking in
purely visual cinematic terms again much as Ron Fricke did with
Cronos,
Baraka
and Samsara
(all reviewed on Blu-ray elsewhere on this site).
This
has its points and its moments, but the results only said and did so
much for me despite being obviously a painstaking, ambitious work.
You should see it for yourself and decide.
Extras
include a Making Of featurette, Original Theatrical Trailers, Behind
The Scenes featurette and separate interviews with Glass, Reggio,
Soderbergh and Associate Director/Editor Jon Kane.
Frank
Simon's Weekend
Of A Champion
(1971) is a film Roman Polanski co-produced and really co-stars in as
he joins a good friend of his in formula racing great Jackie Stewart
as he takes on a rainy Monaco Grand Prix. Even Princess grace shows
up, but Stewart is having mixed feelings as some of his friends in
the sport have died in horrible accidents and he is able to explain
in a very advanced way how to win one of these races. Will he win
this one?
This
is a time capsule, an amazing document of the race at the time and
this new version adds over 10 minutes of new footage at the end as
Stewart and Polanski reunite to discuss the past, who else has died
in the sport, how it has changed and reveal more than a few secrets.
I really liked this one and highly recommend it.
A
re-release trailer is the only extra, but you can enjoy more racing
action by checking out these Blu-ray releases:
Grand
Prix
(1966 in 70mm!)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11120/David+Cronenberg%E2%80%99s+Fast+Company
Le
Mans
(1971, the same year as this documentary)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/11866/James+Bond+Gadgets+(2002+%E2%80%93+4/A
Snake
& Mongoo$e
(2013)
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/12705/Confession+Of+Murder+(2012/Well+Go+USA+Blu-
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital 4K-shot black and white High Definition image
transfer on Visitors
is easily the best-looking performer on the list, shot with RED
cameras, then painstakingly converted to look like old monochrome gel
plate photography. I think they succeeded more than you might think
and though I would not mistake this for film all the way, it is more
successful than several such previous attempts like Frank Darabont's
The
Mist
(2007). The
anamorphically enhanced DVD version ties with similar color
presentations on Iron
and Champion
for solid standard definition playback performance. However, the
35mm EastmanColor shot Champion
has its new footage in simple HD with some motion blur, but the
original footage has been nicely restored and the color the best on
this list. That leaves Rights
well edited, but the anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image
presentation has motion blur and aliasing errors throughout and is a
little too soft overall.
As
for sound, the DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix on Visitors
is the sonic winner showing off the Philip Glass score to fine
effect, but that is the extent of the sound. Its lossy Dolby Digital
5.1 DVD counterpart is second best on this list and is one of the
better 5.1 mixes in the format we have heard in a while. The
remaining DVDs with their lossy Dolby Digital sound (5.1 on
Generation,
2.0 Stereo on Rights,
5.1 & 2.0 Mono on Champion)
tie for third and last place, but they are documentaries and one can
only expect so much from them sonically.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
