2018 World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.0

2018 World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 16, 2018

Whether baseball fans beyond the borders of Boston and the greater Los Angeles area got the matchup they wanted to see in the 2018 World Series, the Fall Classic did offer a few compelling storylines even if the series was never much in doubt. One has to go back to the year 2000 when the two New York teams -- the Mets and the Yankees -- squared off in the Series to find a matchup featuring two teams from baseball's most gigantic markets (New York, LA, Chicago, Boston) as opponents in the World Series. It's lately been small market teams (Kansas City, Cleveland) and mid-market clubs (Houston, San Francisco, St. Louis) making appearances, and winning, perhaps dispelling the notion that winning baseball can only be achieved through massive payrolls. But for 2018, it was two of the sport's most historic and biggest spending teams in an East vs. West showdown. The American League was represented by the team with the best record in baseball (and its MVP in Mookie Betts) and in the National League by a Dodgers team that had to play a 163rd game to win the division but that was coming off a World Series appearance in 2017 only to lose to the upstart Astros in seven games. Two coasts, big money, massive star power, one 18-inning marathon, and a series that would end in five games ultimately did little to stand apart from the crowd, particularly after three of the last four series had gone seven.

One of the more interesting match-ups was not played out on the field but rather within the context of the Dodgers' present and the Red Sox past. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts played for the Red Sox in 2004 and, with his team down three games to none to the Yankees in the ALCS that year, stole a key base that spurred the Sox on to win the game and, improbably, the series. The Red Sox would go on to win the World Series against the Cardinals, giving Boston its first title since 1918. Roberts became an instant folk hero in Boston and his stolen base has since become one of the most important moments in franchise, and baseball, history. The swiped bag helped propel the previously "cursed team" to World Series relevancy once again, winning in 2007 and 2013. The Dodgers, meanwhile, had not won the Fall Classic since 1988, when Orel Hershisher twirled the team to victory and Kirk Gibson hobbled his way around the base baths in one of the most epic moments in baseball history.

The magic of 1988 would not repeat this year for the Dodgers, except in game three when Max Muncy hit a game-winning home run not in the bottom of the ninth, but rather in the bottom of ther 18th. Though the team was battle-tested, featured stalwart Ace Clayton Kershaw, the up-and-coming Walker Buehler, and All-Star closer Kenley Jansen on the mound and featured a roster filled with talented everyday players like a resurgent Matt Kemp, burgeoning superstar Cody Bellinger, the out-of-nowhere Max Muncy, the highly talented Justin Turner, trade deadline acquisition Manny Machado, and the wild card "Wild Horse" Yasiel Puig, the team seemed primed to take the next step and win the World Series, hoping to follow in the footprints of the Kansas City Royals who lost the series in 2014 but won in 2015.

The Red Sox, under first-year manager Alex Cora, won a team record 108 games in the regular season with a loaded lineup (though with surprisingly little offensive contribution from the catcher position, which is why the team is reportedly kicking the tires on a deal for Pittsburgh's Francisco Cervelli this offseason) that featured season MVP Mookie Betts alongside other "Killer Bs:" Jackie Bradley, Jr., Andrew Benintendi, Xander Bogaerts, and throw in Brock Holt, too. The lineup was anchored by free-agent signing designated hitter J. D. Martinez, a middle of the lineup thumper the team sorely lacked in 2017. Ace Chris Sale was once again of a Cy Young caliber on the mound. The team looked unstoppable throughout the regular season, beat the division rival New York Yankees in four in the ALDS, and took care of the defending World Champion Astros in five to clinch a trip to the World Series.

Narrator Uzo Aduba capably shapes the story of each game in conjunction with exhaustive video highlights that turn each game into a standalone drama within a larger framework of sports history and immortality. The film spends a few minutes, less than four to be precise, setting the stage and recapping the Red Sox season before diving into game one and covering the five (six in terms of length) the Red Sox would need to finish off the Dodgers.

2018 World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

2018 World Series Film swings and misses on Blu-ray with a problematic 1080i, 1.78:1 encoded transfer. Shout! Factory's presentation is riddled with banding and macroblocking evident regularly and in extreme severity for much of the program. A small sample size of just over a minute (the 9:02, 9:19, and 10:23 timestamps) reveal three intense barrages that are similar in intensity and visibility and are representative of what to expect in many other places throughout the show. Noise is also a factor, particularly in the super slow motion shots. The image is culled from various sources, which include a few throwback clips to the 2004 and 1988 World Series, but the bulk of the program is comprised of game footage at varying speeds and angles and quality of delivery (some are sharp, some are riddled with subpar definition, jagged edges, and the like). Interview snippets, whether staged for the film or taken from press conferences, fare a little better in terms of sharpness and clarity, but expect to see more of the banding and macroblocking in some of those shots, too. Colors fare well. The program lacks the finesse and intensive saturation of the best sources but Dodger blue, Boston red, the Green Monster, infield dirt, grasses, and other key colors present with satisfying accuracy. Black levels appear fair enough and skin tones vary based on lighting, camera speed, and other factors but usually hold true within any given shot's visual parameters.

2018 World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

2018 World Series Film features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack which may as well be a 3.0 track. The surrounds are used sparsely and the subwoofer in no meaningful way. The program is front-heavy, with narration, interview clips, and ballgame play-by-play snippets emanating from the front-center channel with no problems of note, impressive given the varying sources. Music spreads nicely to the sides and plays with impressive fidelity, whether lighter score or more pronounced and dramatic notes punctuating some of the most intensive game moments from the series. Crowd noise also extends to the edges when cheering to open a game or accompanying a big hit or strikeout. The track is fairly straightforward with little of sonic interest. It carries the material about as well as can be expected for a program like this one.

2018 World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

2018 World Series Film contains a few extras. A DVD copy of the film and a digital copy code are included with purchase. This release does not appear to ship with a slipcover.

• Regular Season Highlights (720p, 16:35): Highlight packages showcasing the team's first win of the season, Betts' 3-homer games, Kimbrel's 300th career save, Sale's 11K and 1H game, Porcello's double off Scherzer, Pearce's 3-homer game, Procello's 1-hitter, Betts' cycle, a come-from-behind win against Atlanta, and the team's 108th win of the season.
• Clinching Moments (720p, 7:15): A highlight reel featuring the moments the team clinched a postseason birth, the division, the ALDS, and the ALCS.
• Walk-Off Wins (720p, 4:17): A compilation of highlights featuring the moment the Red Sox walked off a few games through the regular season.
• How They Got There: Red Sox (720p, 5:13): A very quick piece highlighting a few key players and moments from the regular season on through the ALDS and ALCS.
• World Series Parade (720p, 2:18): Not the entire parade but rather a rapid highlight reel from it.

2018 World Series Champions: Boston Red Sox Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

2018 World Series Film offers a few introductory minutes but is otherwise little more than a glorified World Series highlight reel. Certainly Red Sox fans would have appreciated a more in-depth look through the regular season, the ALDS, and the ALCS, particularly considering the team won more games in 2018 than in any other season in Boston franchise history. Still, the program is well put together within its confines. Blu-ray video is problematic, audio largely lives across the front, and the supplements are nothing special. For Red Sox Nation only.