Plot: What’s it about?
Monday Night Football has now been on the air for some 30 years. Little did we know that the two other networks (NBC and CBS) had already passed on the idea, thinking that no one would be interested. Then, in 1968, ABC gathered Howard Cosell and two ex-Professional football players (Keith Jackson and Don Meredith). The result was history in the making. The story centers around Cosell, then an accomplished sports reporter but more known for his work outside the boxing ring (he was good friends with Muhammad Ali). Cosell had other ambitions for his career and Monday Night Football was a launching pad for him. The essential concept for football on Monday night wasn’t that it was sports, but entertainment. Being broadcast during the week, this was shown in prime time and it was up against some very well-established shows. This wasn’t just showing a football game, it had to be entertaining as well.
They placed three commentators in the booth, as opposed to one. The general idea being that the more men in the booth, the better they could mix it up (verbally) with one another and therefore make football more entertaining to the viewer (who had just watched the games the day before). The first season was a success, though the critics offered their two cents worth to the contrary. Keith Jackson was ousted after the first season, being "demoted" to the college circuit. He remained there for over thirty years becoming known as "Mr. College Football". He was replaced with Frank Gifford and its here that the show reached its stride. So popular was the show that Cosell once said that "We’re bigger than the game". This, of course, was only half of what was really going on.
Major players outside the show are also focused on, namely the director, producer (John Heard) and the on again/off again relationship between Cosell and his two sidekicks. Centering around Cosell, the show makes it clear his ambition to become more than that of interviewing football players; but his dream was never really fully realized. The program covers the show from its inception to when Cosell retired from the booth in 1984. I found it interesting that in the show’s conclusion it stated that though the show is still popular, it still doesn’t compare to the days when Cosell, Gifford and Meredith ruled the Monday Night roost. Though this is a good original movie, it’s not great. John Turturro’s performance of Cosell is the standout performance, but the ensemble cast helps it stick together. For football fans, this is a very interesting watch; for the rest it might be best served as a rental.
Video: How does it look?
The show originally aired on TNT as an original movie. As such, the movie is presented in it’s full-frame format of 1.33:1. Even though the film is new, the lack of anamorphic enhancement is evident. This isn’t a "bad" transfer per se, but when we’ve become so spoiled from countless other films, it’s hard to draw a comparison. Colors seem a bit muted (as Monday Night Football takes place at…night), and some edge enhancement is noticeable in some of the scenes. However, the detail is very crisp and during the opening scenes, Turtorro’s makeup is visibly out of whack (it seems to get better as the film progresses). Aside from those few errors, there isn’t really anything wrong with the transfer, it’s just not something that stands out as being really good.
Audio: How does it sound?
Surprisingly the included Dolby Digital 5.1 track had a few errors. At several times during the movie, the dialogue seemed to have a "hiss" to it that was almost distracting. I’m not sure if they were trying to replicate the sub-par quality audio of the 70’s or not. To keep track of the time going by, several hit songs are played throughout the film, each denoting a particular time for the football season. These sound great and do a lot to really help you to get into the film. On the whole, it’s like the audio–good, but with its faults.
Supplements: What are the extras?
The only supplement are some cast bios.
