One Night in Turin Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.5

One Night in Turin Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov June 23, 2010

Based on Pete Davies' book "All Played Out", James Erskine's documentary film "One Night in Turing" (2010) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Kaleidoscope Entertainment. The supplemental features on the disc include an audio commentary with director James Erskine and editor Robin Peters; behind the scenes featurette; interview with Pete Davies; and storyboards. In English, without optional English subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

More football, more drama

One Night in Turing is a fascinating documentary film chronicling England’s performance during the FIFA World Cup in Italy, in 1990. It is directed by James Erskine and narrated by award-winning British actor Gary Oldman.

One Night in Turin begins with the end - a penalty kick by Chris Waddle during the final moments of the clash between England and West Germany, a fascinating game that is regarded by many football pundits as one of the greatest England has ever played on foreign soil. Waddle kicks the ball and the screen goes black.

What we see next are images from massive melees between British policemen and football fans, the fall of the Berlin Wall, and the release of Nelson Mandela. Oldman quietly explains that while the world was changing, the British stayed on their island, looking for someone or something to inspire and unite them.

Football and Sir Bobby Robson, the then-current England manager, had the honor. At the eve of England’s departure for Italy, however, the local media apparently wasn’t particularly impressed with the two. The Haysel tragedy had already tarnished England's international reputation, while Robson, who had previously failed to impress after his team was eliminated by Diego Maradona's "Hand of God" during the FIFA World Cup Finals in Mexico, in 1986, was seen by many casual football fans and journalists as the wrong man to lead England's national football team yet again.

A collage of archival interviews with Robson, however, offers an alternative point of view. In one of them, the now late England manager passionately argues that the reason why England failed at the FIFA World Cup Finals in Mexico, and consequently the European Football Championship in West Germany, had absolutely nothing to do with managing and everything to do with certain players not executing.

After Robson's interviews, we are quickly introduced to some of the men he selected to represent England in Italy - Chris Waddle, Gary "Golden Boot" Lineker, David Platt, John Barnes, Bryan Robson, and, of course, the colorful Paul "Gazza" Gascoigne. Later on, we are shown the entire England squad training under Robson's supervision.

Then we are off to Sardinia, where England was to face the other three teams in their group - Egypt, Ireland, and the Netherlands. After an ugly draw with Ireland (1:1) and a slightly more pleasing draw with the Netherlands (0:0), England had a decisive clash with Egypt. They won (1:0) and the party started.

In the Round of 16 England met Belgium. They won the match after David Platt scored a fantastic goal (1:0), and a lot of people back home suddenly started believing. England's next opponent was Cameroon, a team that had already impressed a number of football pundits. The two nations clashed in Naples, and once again, England delivered, winning in a spectacular fashion (3:2).

England faced West Germany in Turin. Only a game away from the coveted final, Robson and his boys believed that this was the year when England could finally go all the way. The Germans scored first, but a brilliant shot from Lineker leveled the game. In extra time no one could score. Then, England lost in a penalty shootout (3:4).

Note: One Night in Turin features a wonderful soundtrack with tunes from New Order, The Farm, Happy Mondays, Joy Division, The Stone Roses, Inspiral Carpets, James, The Charlatans, and others.

One Night in Turin Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.85:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, James Erskine's One Night in Turin arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of British distributors Kaleidoscope Entertainment.

Because of the abundance of archival footage used in the film, the image quality varies quite a lot. There are some minor stability issues with the original footage from the football games, but the original content looks great. The interviews with Bobby Robson also look good. As far as the actual high-definition transfer is concerned, all I could say is that I did not see any purely technical issues to report in this review. All in all, I believe that this is a very strong presentation of a terrific documentary film. (Note: This is a Region-Free Blu-ray disc. Therefore, you will be able to play it on your PS3 and SA regardless of your geographical location. For the record, there is no problematic PAL or 1080/50i content preceding the disc's main menu).

One Night in Turin Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one audio track on this Blu-ray disc: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1. For the record, Kaleidoscope Entertainment have not provided optional English subtitles for the main feature.

The English DTS-HD Master 5.1 track serves the film well. The wonderful music soundtrack often comes alive and Gary Oldman's narration sounds great. The bass and rear channels, however, are rarely active. Finally, I did not detect any disturbing pops, cracks, or hissings to report in this review.

The lack of optional English subtitles is very disappointing. I thought that this was a terrific documentary film, which I believe a lot of people outside of certain English-speaking markets will want to see. Optional English subtitles should have been included.

One Night in Turin Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Note: All of the supplemental features on this Blu-ray disc are encoded in 720p. Therefore, they are perfectly playable on all North American PS3s and SAs.

Behind the Scenes - a very interesting featurette showing how some of the big riots seen in the film were done, how some of the controversial interviews were recreated, etc. In English, not subtitled. (15 min, 720p).

Storyboards - (12 min, 720p).

Interview with Pete Davies - in 1989/1990, Pete Davies traveled with Sir Bobby Robson's England team, witnessing the entire world cup campaign from the players' and the fans' point of view. After he returned from Italia '90, he wrote about his experience in a bestselling book, titled "All Played Out". In this interview, Davies addresses the culture of violence, British football, his friendship with Robson, etc. In English, not subtitled. (13 min, 720p).

Commentary - a terrific audio commentary with director James Erskine and editor Robin Peters in which the two gentlemen discuss how One Night in Turin came to exist, how certain scenes were shot, where the archival footage seen in the film came from, the film's message, etc.

One Night in Turin Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One Night in Turin is a fantastic documentary film. The archival footage in it is incredibly well selected and Gary Oldman's narration outstanding. If you are a fan of the beautiful game, take a look at this film. I guarantee you would have a great time with it. The Blu-ray disc herein reviewed, courtesy of British distributors Kaleidoscope Entertainment, looks and sounds good. It is also Region-Free. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.