Plot: What’s it about?
It’s hard to imagine that the single most watched television show every year is under 40 years old. That’s to say that the Super Bowl doesn’t have the history of the World Series or the Stanley Cup. Then again, the Super Bowl is just one game whereas the others are a series of games. It all began on January 15, 1967 when the Green Bay Packers took on the Kansas City Chiefs (oddly enough, a team that looks like it will once again appear in the Super Bowl this year). The rest, as they say, is history. Gaining popularity every year, this is what every little kid who plays football dreams of. Warner has developed a series of recaps starting with this initial installment covering Super Bowl’s I through X. Now before the rabid football fans out there go too crazy, this isn’t the actual televised games of the Super Bowls. There’s highlights and clips, but not the actual game. I’m sure they will exist on DVD someday, but rest assured, that’s another way for them to get our hard-earned dollars for sure. This five disc set covers the first ten years with several segments per disc.
Disc One contains the ’66 NFL Championship game (Cowboys vs. the Packers) and we know who wins, as the Packers won the Bowl that year. Also found on the disc is the story of the first Super Bowl telecast and a lengthy segment on Bart Starr, the “Spiritual Leader” of the first two Super Bowl’s. Also covered is a segment on the Raiders “Front Four of the 60’s”. Disc Two contains a feature on George Sauer, the leading receiver in the New York Jets victory in Super Bowl III. A biography on Webb Ewbank is also featured for the wonderful coach that he was. On an interesting note is a segment on Hank Stram, who brought a very important element to the Super Bowl…sound! Onto Disc Three which focuses on the Legacy of Tom Landry. Landry would become synonymous with the Super Bowl as for the first time he brought the Dallas Cowboys to the bowl where they lost to Baltimore, but won against Miami the next year. Disc Four focuses on what has become known as the Holy Grail of football. The ’72 Miami Dolphins and their perfect season (culminating in their win of the Bowl over Washington. Another feature has a “Class of ‘72” reunion as well and some little-known facts about Super Bowl VIII. Lastly, Disc Five shows us the emergence of Terry Bradshaw as one of the most dominating Quarterbacks to ever play the game and his arch rival, Roger Staubach of the Dallas Cowboys. For every Super Bowl fan, this has about all you’re looking for except for the actual games. There’s more volumes to come, of course as each year gives us the thrill of the game.
Video: How does it look?
The video quality for the release is fairly hard to assign a grade. Most of the footage is through clips and segments that was done at the time of the games and as such, it looks as old as it really is. These weren’t glossy Hollywood movies, but rather televised coverage of sports in its near infancy. The quality is rough and sometimes I wonder how people “back then” watched the games. Still, with the footage being on DVD, they look cleaner and more crisp that compared to that of, say, ESPN Classic. You know what you’re in for here, so don’t expect too much.
Audio: How does it sound?
The audio is of the same nature. Though encoded in Dolby Digital Stereo, the track has a slight muffled sound, especially that of the narrator. This certainly isn’t something that you’d want to show off your home theater system with, but at the same time it’s not that bad. There are new segments as well and those sound like we might expect, free of any distortion. Again, don’t expect a whole lot as you won’t get a lot.
Supplements: What are the extras?
As for the supplements, there aren’t a whole lot. You get a commemorative booklet and an authentic replica ticket. Aside from that, nothing…
