7 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
The story of Brandon Burlsworth, possibly the greatest walk-on in the history of college football.
Starring: Neal McDonough, Leslie Easterbrook, Christopher Severio, Michael Parks, Nick SearcyFamily | 100% |
Sport | 60% |
Biography | 41% |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.39:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English SDH
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Note: Greater deals with the real life story of Brandon Burlsworth, which is (not to state the obvious) part of the public record. If
you’re unfamiliar with Burlsworth’s tale, you may want to skip down to the technical portions of this review, since a number of facts which will be
outlined
as part of the film’s summary are unavoidable, but which some may feel constitute “spoilers”.
1993’s Rudy is one of the few sports related films that even non
sports loving types have taken to heart. Rudy Ruettiger’s story seemed tailor made for a cinematic treatment, dealing in all sorts of well worn but
still
powerful ideas like stick-to-itiveness, overcoming seemingly insurmountable odds, belief in oneself (despite appearances to the contrary and a general
consensus that such belief is delusion), and, finally, unexpected triumph. The whole football aspect of Rudy is almost tangential in a way,
since the film’s “real” message is of a more spiritual variety, probably one reason that the film resonated so strongly with audiences back when it was
released and continues to do so to this day. Greater wants to follow in Rudy’s footsteps, and kind of oddly it features another
alliteratively named real life figure who managed to conquer the gridiron under obstacle laden circumstances. In this case Greater
documents the unexpected rise and then tragic demise of Brandon Burlsworth (Christopher Severio), a kid with a dream to play football who wasn’t
quite as scrawny as Rudy was, but who still was told he didn’t have “the right stuff”, at least insofar as an athletic scholarship was concerned.
Already Greater is on kind of tenuous “inspirational” ground due to the fact that the real life Brandon had already proven himself as a rather
capable high school football player, and in fact evidently had been offered athletic scholarships at several small schools. But Brandon’s dream was
focused on the University of Arkansas, where the only way he could matriculate to that team was as a so-called “walk on” (i.e., a non-scholarship
player). That doesn’t seem like that much of a hurdle to overcome when you get right down to it, but Greater uses it as a
launching pad to detail Brandon’s efforts to realize his dream. The film’s real emotional impact may actually come from the sad legacy of Brandon’s
unfortunate death at the untimely age of 22.
Greater is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Well Go USA with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is a workmanlike, proficient looking visual presentation that is nonetheless unlikely to really consistently impress ardent videophiles. Fine detail is routinely excellent in close-ups, and while some sequences (notably some of the "debates" with the film's Doubting Thomas character) are almost weirdly desaturated, the bulk of the film offers a natural and vivid looking palette. As is sometimes the case with Arri Alexa shot material, some dimly lit interior scenes don't offer a wealth of shadow detail. There are a couple of noticeable instances of banding, tending to be most serious in some segues where light values change suddenly, but otherwise this is a problem free presentation.
The disc's audio menu lists Dolby Digital, and the release's slipcover and back cover list a stereo option, but the only audio (aside from the commentary) I was able to find was a good old fashioned DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. The track delivers the goods when the film is on the gridiron, with nice immersion and some good "thunks" and "whacks" as tackles are made. There's also the ubiquitous use of "I'll Fly Away" in a number of renditions which spread their wings (sorry) rather effectively through the side and rear channels. Ambient environmental sounds are kind of subtle, but some of the contemporary debate scenes in the bleachers have occasional discrete placement that can be effective. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly on this problem free track.
It's hard not to have a lump in your throat by the end of Greater, but unlike that similar lump that arises for many when they watch Rudy, this particular one feels manipulated and kind of saccharine feeling, simply because the film wants to beat the viewer over the head with ideas of faith and service, rather than simply letting the characters' lives speak to those elements. Lovers of inspirationally skewed sports films are almost certain to like if not love Greater, and for those folks this release comes Recommended.
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