ABBA
Forever: The Winner Takes It All
(2019/MVD/Weinerworld DVD)/Tell
My Story (2021/Cinema
Libre DVD)/World Series
Champions 2021: Atlanta Braves
(Shout! Factory Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
C+/C+/B- Sound: C+/C+/B- Extras: D/C+/C Main Programs:
B-/B-/B+
Now
for some recent documentary releases...
We'll
start with the hour-long ABBA
Forever: The Winner Takes It All
(2019) that was made to celebrate the band as they reunite to cut
their first new singles in decades and celebrate 50 years of
existence. The footage, old and sometimes new, is usually very high
quality and has plenty of their original music throughout, so this is
not some 'unauthorized' B-grade garbage. Though it has to sacrifice
details on the making and success of their many hits, it is
surprising thorough and accurate with some good interview moments. I
just wish it had been longer.
Mocked
for being 'too happy' or 'too positive' or 'too cheerful' like other
music of the time (like The Bee Gees, et al) as if there is somehow
something wrong with such music (there is not, unless you are out of
your mind) shows how success was not as instant for the band as many
think, even when they broke up by 1982, they were one of the
biggest-selling bands of all time behind The Beatles despite limited
U.S. success and still are all these decades later. Having a great
label like A&M Records did not hurt that cause at all.
Many
video programs have been issued on the band, but several are duds and
some others the label handled need upgraded now. Many bands are
having their music videos retransferred and if on actual film (16mm
or 35mm as most ABBA clips were,) scanned for 2K and 4K. Fans should
note that the classic filmed videos have had the tops and bottoms
slightly cropped (one PAL videotape appearance in Euro TV is actually
stretched!) and diehard fans might not like that. Of course, they
are in their original block style 1.33 X 1 framing on the old ABBA:
Gold DVD, which means
fans ought to push for a Blu-ray (or even 4K disc?) edition with the
songs in new 5.1 or 12-track (DTS: X and/or Dolby Atmos) mixes. The
fan base still buying their vinyl would certain buy that up.
Give
or take COVID, the band plans a reunion tour in 2022, so the band is
back. This is a good way to catch up with them.
There
are sadly no extras.
David
Freid's Tell My Story
(2021) tells the sad, ugly and continuing for others story of on-line
bullying and how this keeps leading to record child suicide and no
one (including the authorities or lawmakers who mostly seem to care
less) and plays into larger, continuing issues of parents and
families not being able to see warning signs of depression and
potential threats and harassment.
This
can happen to anyone, no matter how rich or educated or successful
(Tina Turner even recently noted the pure-depression causes she
missed when this happened to her son, long before the arrival of the
Internet. In a time that has only become uglier and more hateful
since this program was completed, it is a too-rare, too-vital look at
a national (even international) crisis that points to even huger
issues we are now suffering in our society, without making lite or
taking away from what is happening here.
The
father of the child lost here has done what he could after the shock
of his life and why parents of all ages need to quickly understand
that the world we were even in 10 years ago is gone and immediate
action and total awareness of how out of control this all is. Now
more than ever, we are losing a better future by losing such children
who need more protection, help and care. I wish this were even
longer than its 109 minutes and definitely hope we see more such
programs very soon. The national media need to get behind this far
more than they are.
Extended
interviews and a trailer are the only extras, plus you can get
updates at...
www.tellmystory.com
Finally,
we have the 8-Blu-ray collectable set World
Series Champions 2021: Atlanta Braves
baseball set in the long-running series Major League Baseball has had
on going for decades and it is as thorough as the previous editions
with the full-length presentations of all the games up to the final
pennant winner beat the Milwaukee Brewers after some interesting ups
and downs. More than just for the winning team, these sets go the
long way as the many we have covered before on this site.
The
Braves (controversy over their name and logo notwithstanding)
continue to be one of the most popular teams in the history of the
game and this set manages to convey that love and energy. Another
archival winner, it is a set worth getting while you can.
Extras
include a booklet with statistics.
The
1080p 1.78 X 1 digital High Definition image transfers on Atlanta
can be a little lite since each disc contains so much image and audio
data, but this looks as good as any previous set and all the previous
such sets we've looked at over the years, while the multiple audio
options (including one in Spanish and several radio play-by-plays)
sound even a little better than in previous sets and all are here in
DTS-HD MA
(Master Audio) 2.0 Stereo lossless mixes.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image on both DVDs look as good as
they can in the format, though Story might have a few shots
that are darker or a little more off than expected, while both offer
lossy Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound that is sufficient for the
programs. The ABBA songs sound like they are from new audio
masters, so too bad they are not here in at least 5.1 mixes.
-
Nicholas Sheffo
