Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		2.5
Extras		0.0
Overall		3.0

Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC Blu-ray Movie Review

Ultimate warriors.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 12, 2014

This thing is global and just getting started.

Blood, guts, and intensity. These are what separate the wannabes from the hardcore and the hardcore from the UFC. They're also what's drawn fans by the millions to the UFC universe and are the very qualities that propelled the sport from well-received but politically incorrect and legally embattled entity to worldwide phenomena in just 20 short years. Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC explores those first twenty years in a revealing and always honest look back at the sport's meager beginnings, its instant success, the upheaval that helped carry it to the top and also drop it down in a death spiral, and the resurgence through a reality television program and the emergence of a plethora of great fighters. Though it lacks a selection of complete matches to truly make this a must-have set, the compelling narrative is reason enough for any UFC fan to make haste and add this to their UFC on Blu-ray collections.

Sums it up.

Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC tells the story of the UFC through concise interviews and historic footage and photographs. It begins with a look at how the idea was formed -- the desire to pit various marital artists of different disciplines one against the other -- and placing ads in magazines calling for fighters to participate in UFC 1. The film follows Royce Gracie's road to victory in UFC 1 and his victory's validation of the idea that a deep understanding and execution of the martial arts, particularly from a smaller man, could dominate the largest and most musclebound of combatants. Yet that's not what outsiders saw. Politicians and media analysts decried the violence, calling the UFC "cockfighting" with humans, ignoring the truths behind the sport and the human body's ability to more or less safely participate in it. The so-called "dark ages" of the UFC followed, with Arizona Senator John McCain leading the political charge against the UFC. Fans and the UFC fed off the negativity, however, but legal woes and the struggle to maintain the sport under media scrutiny and cable blackouts would take it to the brink of irrelevance and extinction.

The struggle continued even after the UFC was bought out by the Fertitta family. Bad local rulings on how the fights could be fought yielded poor results and understandable jeers from fans. Revenues continued to decline and costs increased. The family nearly sold but chose instead to go all-in, a move that would ultimately pay huge dividends. The UFC continued to scuffle, its problems encapsulated in a terrible showing in Las Vegas, on its return to cable, and in the weeks after 9/11 with an overlong and over-dull evening of fighting. Fortunes seemed to improve with UFC 40 and the widened national exposure of the highly publicized Shamrock-Ortiz fight. The UFC finally exploded in popularity when the reality program The Ultimate Fighter grew into a sensation, exposing the life of the fighter beyond the Octagon and showing what UFC was about beyond the media's bloodlust for it. That program's culminating fight between Forrest Griffin and Stephan Bonnar remains one of the UFC's premiere moments and, along with an incredible talent pool to come, thrust the UFC into the stratosphere of critical, fan, and financial success.

Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC is a quick watch and features a good bit of information to absorb. Unlike the recently released 50 years of WWE Blu-ray, Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC actually feels complete, due in part to the shorter history but also because of a tighter focus on a storytelling narrative that passionately constructs a detailed history -- with equal attention given to the highest of the highs and the lowest of the lows -- that's presented in such a way as to be both informative and entertaining. No doubt the package is hindered by its failure to include a slate of UFC-defining matches -- good and bad -- particularly with the relative dearth of UFC on Blu-ray beyond the exquisite Ultimate 100 set and a few compilation and retrospective features. Ultimate 100 becomes almost a necessary companion, then, without this set's inclusion of several classic match-ups and moments. The complete UFC 1, the Griffin-Bonner fight, and the post-9/11 UFC would have made an excellent addendum to a package that is, without them, a compelling must-watch and, with them, would have been arguably the ultimate UFC starter presentation or go-to release for the diehard fan.

Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC features a good quality high definition transfer. Though there's some background banding that's more of a nitpick than a serious flaw, the transfer presents very well, with the newly crafted interview clips revealing pinpoint facial details and natural coloring. The HD video sheen isn't too harsh, and there's little in the way of that "glossy" overlay associated with some HD video content. Older footage, of course, lacks the precision and brilliance of HD, but the transfer presents that material as well as can be expected. There's nothing that stands out in the film. It's a simple, effective high definition transfer for material that requires nothing more.

Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There's not much here. Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC arrives on Blu-ray with a serviceable Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack. There's almost nothing beyond interview clips. The spoken word plays neatly and evenly, with solid clarity and intelligibility. A few supportive effects and music enjoy suitably stage presence. Otherwise, this one's all about dialogue, hence the UFC's choice of the most basic sound presentation available.

Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Unfortunately, Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC contains no supplements.

Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC tells the compelling story of the UFC's birth, immediate rise in popularity, dismissal by politicians, and explosion to success in its later years. It's told through well-spoken interviews and timely video and photo support pieces. The absence of a select, never mind expanded, full-length roster of highlight (and lowlight) matches from the last twenty years could have made this one of the must-own packages of 2014. Still, it's a must-see for UFC enthusiasts and newcomers alike wanting to learn more about one of the world's most popular sports. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Fighting for a Generation: 20 Years of the UFC features solid video and adequate two-channel lossy audio. No extras are included. Fans will want to pick this up, and casuals would be smart to rent.