2022 World Series Champions Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

2022 World Series Champions Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 6, 2023

When the Houston Astros moved into the American League West in 2013, the team lost 111 games. "Lastros" was a common nickname being bandied about as the club faced an uphill battle in a stacked division with teams like the A's, Rangers, and Angels seemingly insurmountable obstacles both in the immediate and distant future. But that was the bottom of the club's fortunes. The club improved by 19 games in 2014, another 14 in 2015 to earn a postseason appearance, and the Astros won the division in 2017, winning 101 games and also winning a World Series. It was a remarkable turnaround from laughingstock to World Series champions, and since 2017 the club has not won fewer than 95 games (discounting the shortened 2020 season in which a sub-.500 record was still enough to propel the team to the postseason and a trip to the ALCS). In those years, there were two more return trips to the Fall Classic, losing to both the Nationals in 2019 and the Braves in 2021. For such a dominant stretch, a single world championship was a disappointment, and the Astros would face a tough opponent in the upstart Phillies in the 2022 World Series en route to that elusive second World Series title.

This is a documentary-style release chronicling the 2022 World Series with a cinematic flair and perspective. The full games can be found in the companion eight-disc release (click here for more). As with previous releases (such as last year's), this program offers some in-depth insight into each game. It is focused primarily on the World Series, granting precious little screen time to the regular season or the earlier postseason rounds. It does take some time to build some narrative elements, especially centered on Astors skipper Dusty Baker and his pursuit of that elusive managerial World Series title, but the focus is rightly on the games. These are basically extended highlight reels but often presented with a dramatic flair and video quality that is superior to the blah broadcast presentation. There are some support elements, too, such as press conference clips and interview snippets, but this is mostly baseball action presented in grand style.

The film is a technical treat beyond the baseball action. It is passionately narrated by native Houstonian and rapper Bernard "Bun B" Freeman who turns the content from nuts-and-bolts narrative to larger-than-life storytelling. While he's only hitting high points -- this not a play-by-play but rather an exciting highlight reel of not just the biggest moments but what they mean to the game, the teams, the sport, the cities, and the fans -- the high points sell the story and build the narrative, so the film is on-point in its execution. The games are exciting, too, and while the full games can be found elsewhere (see link above), there's no mistaking that MLB has put together a first-class story about the 2022 Fall Classic that will live on for decades to come as a reminder of the incredible season that was for the Houston Astros.

2022 World Series Champions Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

While most of the supplements are presented in 1080p, the program proper is presented in 1080i. Nevertheless, and as has been the case with previous releases, the image looks very good despite the 1080i encode. Details are full and sharp, capturing essential facial and uniform details with commanding ease and efficiency throughout the film. There are various grades to quality depending on the camera quality, but the bulk of the program looks remarkably good. Some noise peppers parts of the film. There are some compression issues, but generally such are not bothersome or even all that noticeable, especially if one is not actively looking in the background. There are also some jaggies/aliasing and other issues, especially evident on some of the lower grade video footage. The bulk of the content, however, looks very good. Colors pop, especially red Phillies accents, orange Houston colors, and green grass on the field. There is very good color depth and accuracy on display, which extends to crisp, bright uniform whites. Black levels are solid and skin tones look realistic. This is a very pleasing image.

2022 World Series Champions Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

This Blu-ray release of 2021 World Series Champions: Houston Astros features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track is very stable and clear. It holds to a fairly consistent front end placement, lacking significant surround content, whether considering crowd cheers and ambient stadium sounds or baseball action. There is certainly a good bit of front-end stretch, though, so the content is not contained, but it is also not allowed to flourish through the back. Overall clarity is fine and balance is OK, though there are some minor issues in this area when various sounds clash, like commentary, narration, and crowd noise and music. Dialogue is clear and centered, with only some minor drift towards the left and right channels. This holds whether in-game play-by-play or color commentary, narration, or interview and press dialogue.

2022 World Series Champions Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

2022 World Series Champions: Houston Astros includes a sparse selection of extra content. A DVD copy of the program is included with purchase. No digital code is included. This release does not ship with a slipcover.

• How They Got There: Houston Astros (1080p, 7:15): Looking back at the team's fortunes over the past few years, team additions and subtractions following last year's World Series appearance, the club's regular season highlights, and journey through the postseason.
• Dusty Baker 2,000 Win Feature (1080p, 4:54): Looking back at the skipper's storied career and a milestone reached in 2022.
• Astros Walk-Off Wins (1080p, 9:55): A look at the Astros' walk-off wins from 2022.
• Astros Combine No-Hitter vs Yankees - June 25, 2022 (1080p, 4:53): All of the outs from the no-hitter in New York.
• "M-V-Pena" (1080p, 6:36): Highlighting the Astors' electric young rookie shortstop.
• Clinching Moments (1080p, 5:50): A highlight reel featuring the moments the team clinched the division title, followed by highlights from the team's ALDS win over the Mariners and ALCS win over the Yankees.

2022 World Series Champions Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

2022 World Series Champions: Houston Astros offers unique content in a familiar Blu-ray package. Technically, the presentation is pretty much identical to recent releases from previous seasons in terms of structure and style. Bernard "Bun B" Freeman narrates with passion and command of the material. The games are exciting and the documentary style is well done. This is a solid effort that is a must-own for every Astros fan. The supplements are thin, but the video and audio qualities are fine, even if the former presents in 1080i. Recommended.