Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		3.5

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman October 9, 2015

A good biographical documentary needs more than a popular subject. It can thrive on an interesting person with a rich history and some accomplishment in his or her field, yes, but it can also impress in a portrait someone whose popular appeal may be limited to a niche fan base but whose story can transcend the boundaries of interest and reach into the hearts and minds of people who may not even know the subject exists. Several fine documentaries have recently released from the art world, The Salt of the Earth -- the story of acclaimed photographer Sebastião Salgado -- being the standout amongst them. There's something innately fascinating about watching a person at the top of his or her craft, something inspiring about achieving goals and, especially, someone who can take an everyday activity -- in the case of The Salt of the Earth taking photographs -- and make an art form of it. Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot follows suit, telling the story of a talented basketball player and his journey from star German pupil to NBA champion and surefire future Hall-of-Famer. As everyone can relate to taking a picture, even if it's just a casual shot at the park on the cell phone, so too can people relate to shooting a basketball, even if it's jut on the playground or through that Nerf hoop the sports nut at the office has on his door. Dirk Nowitzki takes shooting the basketball and makes it an art form. That relatable core certainly helps this film along, but its impresses in other areas, too.

Whatever it takes.

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot takes a linear look through the athlete's life, beginning with a raw, young player with not just athleticism but skill in the art of the game. It looks at the people who honed him into one of the most gifted basketball players of his, or any, generation, including his relationship with Holger Geschwindner, Nowtizki's mentor, the man behind the science of the perfect jumpshot, and founder of the "Institute for Applied Nonsense." The film follows Nowitzki's maturation and his entry into the NBA and move to Dallas, Texas to begin his career with the Mavericks, a career that, even surrounded by players like Michael Finley and Steve Nash, didn't begin well. Yet Nowitzki's game ultimately translated to the NBA and he matured into a superstar, leading the Mavericks to two NBA Finals appearances, both against the Miami Heat, losing the first series after leading two games to none and, in the 2010-2011 season, winning it all.

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot yields a fairly straightforward Documentary approach, including a number of interviews, vintage footage, and retrospective storytelling. It's not remarkably constructed in the least and instead banks on its subject to sell the film. Dirk Nowitzki makes for an intriguing interview and story. His isn't remarkably complex and there's not much of an angle beyond his foreign roots and work with Holger Geschwindner, but it's a solid portrait of a man who honed his raw skill and dedicated himself to his profession, a lethal combination considering the sheer number of athletes who have either banked on talent alone to take them to the top or gotten by on less talent and a stronger work ethic. Few manage to combine both. Nowitzki represents, then, the peak for professional athleticism, someone who has it all working together to elevate his game and turn not just skill into a career, but a career into legend.

The film's undercurrent -- the detail that truly propels Nowitzki from talented, lanky kid to NBA champion -- stems from Nowitzki's relationship with Holger Geschwindner whose computer models of "the prefect jump shot" are put into practice by Nowitzki's picture-perfect release. The film's examination of the relationship feels a little more superficial than it should be, but there's some good general depth while still making Nowitzki the focus. The film further enjoys a broad range of interviewees, notably Nowitzki's parents and wife Jessica as well as a plethora of NBA talent on the court and the sidelines, including Don and Donnie Nelson, Rick Carlisle, Michael Finley, Yao Ming, Kobe Bryant, and Steve Nash. Yet the real star here is, as it should be, Nowitzki himself. The film finds an intimacy with him that gets a bit beyond his natural shyness in front of the camera to explore not only his talent on the court -- that's actually one of the least interesting components, largely because that's what basketball fans know him for -- but the man he is off of it. Much of that is shaped by his parents and the interviews they provide, but Dirk's smile, charitable work, and glimpses into his private life -- including his quick rebound from a messy situation involving a former live-in girlfriend -- give the film a dynamic shape that would be missing were it only to focus on his on-court accomplishments, accomplishments which are certainly the reason why the movie was made but not the reason why the movie is great.

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot's 1080p transfer may not be quite so elegant as Dirk's famous fadeaway but it satisfies across the board. Details are frequently exacting, including a few early shots that showcase the seven-footer working out in the team gym. The brick walls look beautifully textured, skin and clothing precise, and the image strikingly clear. Interview segments push a little smoother and flatter but never want for fine detail, with faces in particular revealing complex wrinkles, pores, stubble, and other details with exacting precision. Colors are neutral and pleasing, with the palette appearing sufficiently robust and accurate. It never screams, and it never whimpers, instead offering a lifelike authenticity that's at its best with Maverick blue but appearing well versed with other shades, too. Flesh tones appear accurate and black levels raise no alarms. Minor noise creeps in, but the transfer doesn't suffer through any noticeable banding, macroblocking, or aliasing. Overall, this is a solid image from Magnolia.

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot dribbles onto Blu-ray with a proficient DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. Music enjoys effortlessly wide placement and surround envelopment, lacking the finest, most realistic, transparent, "melt the speakers" clarity but never wanting for fundamentally sound quality throughout the entire range. Plenty of little atmospherics impress, beginning with clanking plates at the gym early on and expanding into basic outside ambient effects. Crowd cheers can be thunderously immersive, squeaky shoes on the court realistically reverberating in a largely empty gym, and that classic basketball "swoosh" sound nicely presented, if not a little amplified for effect. Dialogue definition is clear with a good foundational center focus. Note that there's no shortage of German language in the film. English subtitles must be selected for translation, and the subtitles, in this instance, only appear when needed, not for English dialogue.

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot contains a handful of deleted scenes and an interview with the star.

• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Holger in Senegal (2:52), Back Again, in Rattelsdorf/The Eternal Rattelsdorf (4:05), Back in School (4:46), Fire! Shoot! (5:29), The Texans are Coming (3:17), Dirk, The Rookie (6:47), The Owner (3:45), Dirk, The Testimonial (1:47), and The Dirk Nowitzki Foundation (2:15).
• Interview with Dirk Nowitzki (1080i, 12:56): The NBA Superstar discuses having to open up for the movie, some of the basic subjects the movie covers, his mother's involvement, the film's premiere, the filmmaking process, the people involved in the movie, the movie's core narrative arcs, some of the film's content, promoting the movie, and more.
• Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 1:51).
• Also From Magnolia Home Entertainment (1080p): Additional Magnolia property trailers.

Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Viewers need not be basketball fans, or even Dirk Nowitzki or Dallas Mavericks fans, to get a lot of mileage out of Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot. It will certainly speak more to basketball fans and it doesn't have quite the wider appeal, artistic merit, and strikingly dense content found in the aforementioned The Salt of the Earth, but it's a solid, accessible human interest story of a gifted person taking his astronomical talents to the next level, and doing so in an unfamiliar land. The film paints Nowitzki as an affable, approachable, likable person off the court, and the talent on the court goes without saying. The film does a good job of capturing the spirit of the man and the game alike in a Documentary that's a fun ride and very well made. Magnolia's Blu-ray release of Nowitzki: The Perfect Shot delivers crisp video and satisfying audio. Extras are a little on the thin side, but fine. This is a must-own for Mavericks fans, highly recommended to basketball fans, and well worth a look for everyone else.