Antarctic
Edge: 70-Degrees South
(2014/First Run DVD)/72%
(2014/Cinedigm DVD)/Seventeen
(1982/Icarus DVD)/TT
Formula One Years: 1987 - 1994
(2015/Duke Video/MVD DVD)
Picture:
C+/C+/C+/C Sound: C+/C+/C+/C Extras: C/C+/D/D
Documentaries: B/B/B-/B
Here's
a solid set of new documentary releases....
Dina
Seidel's Antarctic
Edge: 70-Degrees South
(2014) is a solid, if slightly short look at scientists and what they
are enduring and sacrificing to do vital, priceless studies of our
planet earth and how we've caused more damage from more than just
global warming: a 100% total reality. I believe the problem is that
the situation has not been described or articulated well enough, but
this impressive program does a thorough, excellent job of explaining
everything in ways anyone could grasp. This should be must-see
viewing and get a big push during the 2016 Election cycle already
begun.
Scientists
and others are interviewed, locales shown, endangered animals
revealed and the dire situation spelled out. A very pleasant, if
disturbing surprise of a gutsy, honest work, it is my favorite here
and is highly recommended. I also cannot thank these skilled workers
enough for their incredible work. See it!!!
Extras
include a Stills/Photo Gallery and 3 shorts.
Jeremy
Batchelor's 72%
(2014) belatedly included a subtitle about the 'baby mama' syndrome
which is justifying the insane amount of children born without
married parents and absent fathers, almost tripling since the crisis
was first recognized. Another important look at issues in the
African American community from the prolific Moguldom Studios,
experts, people in the know and those living the life are tied
together by narration and shows how a combination of poverty, bad
social planning, bad politics, some racism, at least as much sexism
and problematic cultural norms created the situation. It is a
must-see explaining the exploitation going on and how some key
individuals in this vicious cycle need to make changes and grow up,
or things will just get worse.
Extras
include Deleted Scenes and Extended Interviews.
Joel
Demott & Jeff Kreines' Seventeen
(1982) has now been issued separately from the Middletown
TV mini-series we reviewed a few years ago at this link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/10352/Middletown+(1982/Documentary+TV+Mini-Series/I
My specific thoughts on
the film then remain... ''...runs the longest at 118 minutes and was
considered so controversial that it was banned from PBS, so it
instead was released theatrically and did business, plus won the
Grand Jury Prize at a new film festival called Sundance in 1985.
Focusing on Seniors at Muncie's Southside High School, it few in the
face of happy, mostly all-white, phony, ''happy to go to malls and
spend all our money'' artificial teen portraits of the time and makes
it a vital documentary record of the teens and future young
generations left behind by Neo-Conservatism.'' Now I'm wondering if
I was too optimistic and not peeling back more layers in the
declining situation we see here.
There are no extras.
Finally
we have TT
Formula One Years: 1987 - 1994
(2015) which groups 8 years of professional motorcycle racing videos
together on one disc. Before the great series of Blu-rays in HD the
company started issuing a few years ago (which seem to only stay in
print so long, some of which are reviewed elsewhere on this site),
Duke Video apparently want to dig back to older standard definition
era programs and these are just fine. Just know they can be trying
to sit through in parts since the video source is inconsistent, but
more on that below, but diehard fans will want this one.
There
are no extras.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on Edge
& 72%
are decent digital shoots, with Edge
offering some remarkable location shots, but both have some softness.
The 1.33 X 1 color transfer of the 16mm-shot Seventeen
is the same from the larger DVD set it comes from and can look as
good since it was also shot well, but could use an HD upgrade with
the other two. That leaves the softer standard definition video
shoot is on Years
softer from a set of secondary copies with aliasing errors and
staircasing that gets in the way of the fun.
The
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo on Edge
& 72%,
plus lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono on Seventeen
and Years
are as good as they are going to get, but Years
is still a generation more down than I would have liked and is the
weakest of them all.
-
Nicholas Sheffo