Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.0

Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series Blu-ray Movie Review

Don't worry for 2014 and beyond, Red Sox fans; "The Curse of the Jacoby" just doesn't have the same ring to it.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman December 12, 2013

NOTE: Users with the Sony BDP-S700 may not be able to access menu options; the player showed only the animated screen and played a note of music every few seconds, failing to highlight or allow for the scrolling through of the three menu options. The PS3 allowed menu maneuvering but failed to play music beyond the same single intermittent note.

Congratulations, Boston. A year that saw the city suffer a terrorist attack early in the baseball season and the Red Sox hold down first place in the AL East for the long haul ended as it was supposed to end, as 2001 seemed destined to end for the rival Yankees, with a World Championship in the wake of tragedy. The Red Sox were certainly one of the year's biggest stories, for a number of reasons, though perhaps still playing second-fiddle in that regard to the resurgent Pittsburgh Pirates, a club that went from 20 straight losing seasons to 94 wins, a dramatic one-game Wild Card win over the hated Reds ("Cue-to! Cue-to!"), and a five-game, to-the-max series with the eventual National League champion St. Louis Cardinals. It wasn't meant to be for the Battlin' Bucs (next year!) but it was time for Boston to show its strength, for the beards to be feared, for the city to celebrate its third World Championship of the 2000s and its first at Fenway since way back in 1918, before the Curse and weeks before the end of World War I. Yup, it was that long of a wait for Red Sox Nation to celebrate at Fenway Park, and who knew after the 2012 season the day would come so quickly?

Since the self-proclaimed "Idiots" of the Kevin Millar era won the whole shebang in 2004, the Red Sox have enjoyed a steady rise in success while the rival Yankees have appeared in, and won, the Series only once, knocking off Charlie Manuel's Phillies in 2009. And beating the Yankees, seeing them fall, and keeping them down is pretty much a religion in Boston, anyway, and the next-best thing to crowning the Sox World Champions. The Yanks missed out on the Series in 2012 and Red Sox fans at least enjoyed watching the Miguel Cabrera-led Tigers take out their rivals in pinstripes, denying them yet another shot at glory. Nevertheless, Sox fans understandably felt a bit of panic. To call 2012 a disaster would be an understatement. Prior to the season, the club parted ways with hero manager Terry Francona. Wonder-boy General Manager Theo Epstein darted out of Beantown for a gig as team president in Chitown, hoping to save another hapless club from two curses, that of Bartman and that of a billy goat. The team hired "master of disguise" Bobby Valentine to helm the squad in the dugout and replaced Epstein with his protégé, Ben Cherington. The former Mets and Far East skipper wouldn't fare so well, and neither would his team. The 2012 Boston squad showed all the signs of a team that didn't care, a team that couldn't take instruction, that wouldn't play hard even for pride. The team was too talented for that sort of mental breakdown and leaderless direction. Valentine was let go and the club searched for a new voice that could lead the Sox back to the promised land.

That voice would come from up north in the form of division rival Toronto Blue Jays skipper John Farrell, who served under Francona as Boston's pitching coach several years prior. With the signings of star players like Mike Napoli and Shane Victorino, the emergence of Clay Buchholz, the re-emegence of Jon Lester, and a return from injury by John Lackey, play on the field was almost guaranteed to improve. And improve it did. With Farrell calling the shots and commanding the respect of his players, the Red Sox dominated baseball for the entire season, racking up 97 wins, tied for an MLB-best with World Series opponent St. Louis. The club easily dispatched the red-hot Tampa Bay Rays in four games, finished off the balanced and fearsome Tigers in six, and won the World Series in six. And they won it at home. It was jubilation, the emotional highlight of the year in sports, and for a few moments, at least outside of St. Louis, everything in the world just felt right.

Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series is narrated by a surprisingly dry Ben Affleck. The film opens with a few minutes on the Patriots Day bombing and the aftermath that followed, including the team's game in Cleveland the following night, David Ortiz's pre-game speech during the following home stand, and the team's dramatic victory that same day on a three-run home run in the eighth off the bat of Daniel Nava. The film briefly explores the remainder of the season but quickly jumps to the team's victories over the Rays and Tigers before reaching the World Series, on which it dedicates more than an hour of its runtime. Each game is studied in some detail, with as much emphasis on pre- and post-game footage as the games themselves. It's a rather typical sports retrospective film, something diehard baseball and Red Sox fans will want to add to their collections. It's a quality recap, but each game in its entirety would make for a much more productive release.

Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series features a 720p high definition picture inside a 1.78:1 frame. Generally, picture quality satisfies, even at 720p. Colors are, for the most part, well defined and robust. The palette is dominated by Red Sox and Cardinals red, with plenty of green grasses and shots of the green monster furthering the transfer's color reproduction prowess. Details are fairly crisp and nicely defined. More stagnant shots fare best, where facial definition, scruffy beards, and mesh batting practice caps show off some quality textures. Image clarity is fine and but there are some obvious compression/break-up issues throughout the program on distant objects. The video source does right by the material, generally, and the presentation is fine for casual viewing (which is all that's really needed here). Videophiles, however, won't be thrilled with the quality of the production.

Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series arrives on Blu-ray with a passable, but hardly noteworthy, DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Overlay support music enjoys sufficient, but never terrific, clarity. Notes are nicely spaced around the stage, and the track makes use of a fairly prominent surround element. Bass, too, can be rather deep and, for the most part, is consistently even. Dialogue, both in interview shots and when reproducing authentic sounds from pre-game, post-game, and in-game commentary, plays evenly and with mostly natural pitch from the center speaker. A few sound effects, such as the bat striking the ball, play with fair authority and precision. This is by no means a reference quality track, but it serves its purpose admirably enough.

Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series contains a handful of bonuses. Like the main program, all supplements are presented in 720p high definition.

• Clinching Celebrations (HD, 1:33): On-field celebration clips from winning the division, the ALDS, and the ALCS.
• World Series Highlights (10:39): Clips from the Fall Classic, including the final pitch and celebration.
• World Series Parade (HD, 3:23): Highlights from the November 2, 2013 parade.
• Mission October: Red Sox (HD, 2:33): Weight room and clubhouse clips.
• MLB Player Poll: Pedroia/Ortiz (HD, 3:51): MLB players talk up Pedroia and Ortiz for "best second baseman" and "best clutch player," respectively.
• Hall of Fame: 2013 World Series (HD, 1:23): A look at some of the memorabilia from the series that has been taken to Cooperstown.
• Music Video (HD, 3:42): "This Beard Came Here to Party."
• President Obama Calls John Farrell (HD, 0:59): The president makes a congratulatory phone call.
• More Official MLB DVDs: Previews for other MLB releases.

Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

The Boston Red Sox painted their own worst-to-first picture, following up a disastrous 2012 season and an emotionally challenging 2013 campaign with the first World Series victory won in the city of Boston since 1918. Despite the loss of Jacoby Ellsbury, the Red Sox look primed to continue to dominate in 2014, but watch out for the reloaded Seattle Mariners out West. Lionsgate's Blu-ray release of Boston Red Sox 2013 World Series features good video even at 720p, passable audio, and a few supplements. Recommended to baseball and Red Sox fans.