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REVIEW:- The Rise & Fall of WCW (2009) (DVD)

Sam — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:25:03 +0000

Review written by forum member MegaHentai.

Region: 1
Discs: 3
Publisher: WWE Home Video
Length: 9 hrs
Video: 1.33:1
Audio: Dolby Digital English
Subtitles: none
UPC: 741952929734
Release Date: August 25, 2009
MSRP: $34.95 US

PROS:

interesting story covered
interviews with legends of the business
plentiful, valuable bonus features

CONS:

heavily biased
surprising omissions
time wasted on axe-grinding
shallow coverage

MAIN FEATURE

In the mid-1990s, professional wrestling was the hottest thing on cable television. This was mostly due to an all-out war between the two biggest companies in the business: WCW (World Championship Wrestling, owned by Time Warner) and the WWF (World Wrestling Federation, owned by Vince McMahon, now called WWE). At the height of the war, WCW was doing especially well for itself — it became a household name, dominated its adversary in the ratings for over a year and a half, made hundreds of millions of dollars, and nearly drove the WWF into bankruptcy.

Just three years later, WCW was dead, sold to the WWF in a fire sale for a mere $4 million.

The story of WCW’s demise is one that should be studied by any wrestling fan, of course, but also by anyone with a general interest (or a job) in the entertainment business. It is an object lesson in what happens when a cultural product is placed in the hands of executives who neither understand nor appreciate it, when some of the talent is given too much creative freedom while others are given none at all, and when fans are treated as a nuisance or ignored altogether. It’s a story that remains relevant today; WWE’s main competitor, TNA (Total Nonstop Action), seems determined to make as many of the same mistakes that killed WCW as they possibly can these days.

However, if you are not yet familiar with this story, The Rise & Fall of WCW is probably not the best place to learn about it. History, as the saying goes, is written by the conquerors — in this case WWE, who produced and released this DVD. For that reason alone, the documentary cannot help but be heavily spun in WWE’s favour.

Many important factors are either glossed over or ignored completely. There is, for example, surprisingly little mention of Vince Russo, the booker (i.e. scriptwriter) whose work was so thoroughly rejected by WCW fans that the company lost $60 million in the one year of his employ. The title reign of David Arquette, possibly the single biggest error in judgment the company ever made, is likewise underplayed. And there is, of course, no mention of how thoroughly WWE botched the “Invasion” storyline upon their purchase of WCW, one which should have been a license to print money.

Wrestler Jeff Jarrett receives about as much coverage as Russo and Arquette do. In Jarrett’s case, however, it’s far too much, as Jarrett was never a major player in the company and most fans do not even recall that he was its champion at one point. He is trashed for one reason in this doc: at the time it was made, Jarrett was in command of TNA. This kind of petty axe-grinding is common in wrestling, but does nothing to improve this DVD.

The documentary is not without some merit. It features many exclusive interviews with the men behind WCW at various points in its history, such as Bill Watts and Dr. Harvey Schiller, who offer up inside information and new perspectives. For the most part, though, The Rise & Fall of WCW is content to skim the surface of these events without digging any deeper than it has to.

BONUS FEATURES

As with most WWE DVDs, the set is packed with bonuses. It contains two full discs of important matches from WCW’s history. Most of them are truly outstanding, probably worth the purchase price by themselves. There are also some interesting snippets of interviews covering such subjects as the marketing of Bill Goldberg and Eric Bischoff’s controversial practice of giving away spoilers of WWE shows on live television.

A/V

While some of the footage in this documentary is 20 years old or more, the overall show looks and sounds fine. It’s doubtful that any of the classic matches in the Bonus Features were cleaned up for this release, but they too are acceptable by current standards.

PACKAGING

The set uses a gatefold Digipak with an insert listing the disc contents.

OVERALL

The Rise & Fall of WCW tells a fascinating story, but never really sinks its teeth into it. The definitive work on this series of events has already been written: The Death of WCW, by Bryan Alvarez and R. D. Reynolds. This DVD makes an excellent companion to the book, but should not be considered an acceptable substitute for it.

You can buy this DVD from Amazon.com, Amazon.ca and Amazon.co.uk

Review written by forum member MegaHentai.

DVD Releases for North America: 27th October 2009

Sam — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:40:01 +0000

Here are the standard DVD releases due out for release in North America on 27th October 2009:

+ Many, many, more…

DVD Releases for UK: 26th October 2009

Sam — Sat, 24 Oct 2009 13:39:07 +0000

Here are the standard DVD releases due out for the UK on 26th October 2009:

+ Many, many, more

DVD Releases for North America: 20th October 2009

Sam — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:47:43 +0000

Here are the standard DVD releases due out in North America, 20th October 2009:

+ Many Many More

DVD Releases for UK: 19th October 2009

Sam — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 11:46:34 +0000

Here are the standard DVD releases due out in the UK on the 19th October 2009:

+ Many Many More

REVIEW:- Prom Night III: The Last Kiss (1990) (DVD)

Sam — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 20:03:24 +0000

Region: 2
Country of Release: United Kingdom
Country of Origin: America
Distributor: Network

Pros:

It’s the third part of a series that isn’t complete crap. It managed average and should be bought by fans/horror hardcore only. I think that’s a pro?
Original stereo soundtrack.

Cons:

It’s the softer TV version.
Could’ve done with a more atmospheric 5.1 upmix to complement the stereo track.
Just a trailer? Would’ve liked a featurette about the problems on set meaning two directors fusing their work together.
It’s just a joke of itself.

The Film:
After the success of Prom Night and Prom Night II, it was only a matter of time before a third installment was unleashed amongst the cult following of the first two. The third film of the series follows high school student Alex (Tim Conlon) who aspires to become a medical student and achieve his dream of one day becoming a doctor. One problem though. He’s an average student. He’s of average height. He even has the average sized feet. Nothing is particularly great about Alex’s life apart from his relationships with his girlfriend Sarah (Cyndy Preston) and his best friend Shane (David Stratton). However, these relationships quickly deteriorate as the film progresses forming a nice sort of sub plot. Why do they deteriorate? Well, Mary Lou is back from the dead and helping Alex become an honour role student, a star of the football team and a bit more popular. One minor problem. To do this, Mary Lou is killing anyone that stands in Alex’s way and then using her sexual prowess in order to get Alex to dispose of the bodies. But things get worse. Much worse. With ‘Prom Night’ fast approaching, his parents buy him a motorcycle to celebrate his continued success with his schoolwork but both his girlfriend Sarah and best friend Shane cut themselves off to him. When the bodies are discovered, Alex decides to dump Mary Lou which just infuriates her and her homicidal tendencies.

Prom Night III is a very average film. During the late 1980’s the whole teen slasher thing was starting to wind down (before being resurrected in the late 1990’s) and unfortunately, this film is one of many second rate sequels that came out in this time. The film does it’s best to mix comedy and horror, which, when done right, can make way for a great and entertaining film. The comedy here, however, just makes you groan. The film would’ve been better had it followed the same styling as the first film (which starred Jamie Lee Curtis in her ‘glory’ years) but unfortunately, it would rather try and make fun of itself. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a watchable enough film, but it’s just not a true slasher. The second problem for me, are that several scenes seem to be shot in different styles. This is probably a problem stemming from the usage of two directors (who aren’t brothers) who more than likely had different ideas and different visions for the film.

As a whole, I would recommend this film to the horror hardcore, or those looking for a night in with mates and a few beers. Those looking for a serious horror film, will be deeply disappointed.

The DVD:

Video:
Network DVD have presented the film in the original aspect ratio of 4:3. The picture is pretty average and there are no unwatchable parts on the print. The first scene comes across as very grainy but after that, it’s a decent enough print. The colours are clear (though ever so slightly dark), but it is a lot better than the extremely poor VHS quality picture of the American release.

Audio:
Only one audio track to report of, but it’s the original English stereo track which is fine by me. A 5.1 track would’ve been nice for the creepy atmospheric music for the film, but not absolutely neccessary. Dialogue is clear throughout and at a constant level. Again, distinctly average.

Extras:
Network have given us more than what you normally get for a horror sequel from the late 80’s. A trailer. Unfortunately, that’s the lot, although the trailer is pretty entertaining and doesn’t give away the major plot points of the film. An audio commentary or some interviews would’ve been nice.

You can purchase this release from Amazon.co.uk

DVD Releases for North America: 13th October 2009

Sam — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 21:20:29 +0000

The following are the main releases for standard DVD’s in North America for the 13th October 2009:

There are another 150 releases also due out. Click here for the full list.

DVD Releases for UK: 12th October 2009

Sam — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 18:43:58 +0000

Here are the standard DVD releases due out in the UK, October 12th 2009: