6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.8 |
When DJ, a troubled youth from Los Angeles, moves to Atlanta to attend Truth University, he discovers "stepping," the age-old style of dance traditionally done in African-American Fraternities, where teams demonstrate complex moves and create rhythmic sounds by using their bodies. DJ’s raw talent and hip-hop inspired moves quickly place him at the center of a fierce rivalry between two fraternities, the winner of which will be determined in front of a sold-out arena at the annual stepping championships. But before he can help his teammates, he must battle his own demons and learn the true meaning of brotherhood.
Starring: Columbus Short, Meagan Good, Ne-Yo, Darrin Dewitt Henson, Brian WhiteRomance | 100% |
Teen | 64% |
Music | 39% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.40:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.39:1
English: LPCM 5.1 (48kHz, 16-bit)
English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
French: Dolby Digital 5.1
English, English SDH, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Cantonese, Korean, Thai
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Region A (locked)
Movie | 2.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
Welcome to the wide world of stepping, and yes, I know you already know how to walk. I’m talking about the crisp form of dancing, started by African-American fraternities and sororities in the mid- 1900s, that combines collective showboating, synchronized martial moves, hand claps, foot stomps, and whole lot of group pride. Stepping is to Stomp the Yard what football is to Rudy, and basketball to Hoosiers. Meaning, what we have here is just another sports film about a group of ragtag underdogs surmounting the odds and besting the champions, only, the sport is actually a regimented dance routine, a cross between soft shoe, hip hop, and the demented vision of an R. Lee Ermey-type Marine Corp drill instructor. Stepping is fascinating to watch on a purely visceral level—like a bellicose display of tribal aggression—and a guided tour of the collegiate competition circuit would make for a must-see documentary. That said, director Sylvain White’s Stomp the Yard faces the dilemma of all fictional, sports-structured movies—how to capture the intensity of the subject on film and tell a gripping story. He gets the former right using all the tricks of his music video director’s trade, but the latter falters under the weight of the script’s melodrama and the film’s excessive length.
Consider the yard properly stomped...
The film's 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer looked fantastic when it first stomped Blu-ray's yard in May 2007—our apologies for the extremely belated review—and it holds up just as well today. Stylized and visually tricked out from LA to Atlanta and back again, all of director Sylvain White and DP Scott Kevan's aesthetic choices—some might call them excesses—are faithfully and impressively reproduced here. The film's color palette jumps around just as wildly as its dancers, from the stark and gritty desaturation of the opening B-boy battle, to sultry Georgian afternoons on campus, soaked with sunlight. Primaries are bold—just check out the Mu Gamma Xi crew's red jackets—and the various creamy, chocolatey skintones are warm and full of life. Contrast is intentionally pushed to give the picture eye-popping presence, but black levels are even keeled and highlights never peak and washout. Clarity is consistent, even during the shakiest hand-held dance-offs, and from the tightest close-ups to the widest angles, the image looks detailed and resolved, without any ringing or other traces of overt edge enhancement. A fine grain structure gives rich filmic texture, and aside from one or two extremely dark scenes, noise is never excessive. Finally, the technical presentation is solid, with no banding, blocking, or other compression-related issues apparent. Fans of the film who own the DVD should definitely consider this a worthy upgrade.
When Stomp the Yard first released on Blu-ray, it had audiophiles all worked up—in a good way—over the fact that it included both Linear PCM and Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround tracks, allowing home viewers to decide for themselves whether any discernable difference could be heard in the two formats. Truth be told, they sound just about identical to me, and both are chest-poundingly, baseboard rattlingly good, with wide and hefty dynamics, continent-grinding, earthquake-producing LFE output, and tight high end clarity. I'm sure delegates of both sonic parties will have a say in the matter, but take your pick; both of these tracks are, to put it simply, solid. The surround channels supply endless amounts of over-the-top activity during the rock 'em, sock 'em dance sequences, and though much of it is absurd—flying whooshes, crowds cheering when clearly no one in the image actually is—it makes sense that a film that's so visually stylized would have equally impressionistic audio design. Expectedly, there's not as much going on during the quieter, drama-driven scenes, but there's a generous amount of on-campus ambience filling out the soundfield. The music is surprisingly varied, and all of it sounds excellent, from krunky hip-hop to the Explosions in the Sky-style instrumental rock score. Voices are sometimes overwhelmed in the mix during the party and dance scenes—realistically, I should add—but when it counts, the dialogue is always easy to understand.
Filmmakers Commentary
Director Sylvain White, editor David Checel, and cinematographer Scott Kevan join forces for a
low-key track that's heavy on production details and technical insights. Not a must-listen by any
means, but fans of the film will likely want to give it a go at least once.
Battles. Rivals. Brothers. (1080i, 17:33)
This is your average making-of featurette, but I found it worth watching if only for the behind-
the-scenes look at the film's choreography. I also thought it was interesting how director Sylvain
White chose to keep the Theta Nu and Mu Gamma crews separate for most of the training and
filming so as to encourage some healthy competition. Features interviews with all the key
players.
Deleted/Extended Scenes (SD, 6:06)
Includes two extended dance sequences, plus a STOMP-inspired scene that takes place
outside the fraternity house.
Gag Reel (SD, 1:54)
A standard montage of crack ups, slip ups, and missteps.
Previews
Includes high definition trailers for The Covenant, XXX: State of the Union,
Little Man, Hitch, Into the Blue, Stealth, The
Benchwarmers, and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby.
I have to deduct points for cliché, unoriginality, and narrative clumsiness from my scorecard of Stomp the Yard's routine, but for fans of stepping and other more street-wise forms of dancing, the film's boundless energy might just make up for it. If you're on the edge of a purchase and you're the sort who's easily swayed by technical presentation, note that the 1080p image is just as fine as Meagan Good, and the audio will make you want to get up off the couch and bust a few moves of your own.
2004
Special Edition
2002
2012
2006
Dance-Off Edition
2008
2017
2010
2007
2001
40th Anniversary Edition
1984
2009
2004
2015
2008
2011
The Double-Shot Edition
2000
2003
35th Anniversary Edition
1987
2014
2014