Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		1.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		1.5
Overall		1.5

Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 10, 2020

Oh, snap.

Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash actually made quite a bit of news before it was even in production when a judge (temporarily, it seems) put the kibosh on the project by siding with heirs of Ronnie Van Zant and Steven Gaines that a previous agreement signed by erstwhile Skynyrd drummer Artimus Pyle meant that Pyle couldn’t participate in the piece (let alone have a “piece” of its profits, which was part of Pyle’s deal). In making his decision, the obviously hip judge stated:

Cleopatra is prohibited from making its movie about Lynyrd Skynyrd when its partner [i.e., Pyle] substantively contributes to the project in a way that, in the past, he willingly bargained away the very right to do just that; in any other circumstance, Cleopatra would be as 'free as a bird' to make and distribute its work.

The forces behind this kind of sad and exploitative entry might have been better off just going with the judge’s decision, since the end result here might be seen as actually sullying the memory of the band and how some members met their tragic fate.

Pyle of course does participate here, as well as being featured as the arguable focal character (portrayed by Ian Shultis) in a dramatized account of both the time leading up to the band’s fateful flight, as well as the crash and the aftermath. This is often pretty exploitative stuff that seems willfully designed to create a hagiography for Pyle.

Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cleopatra Entertainment and MVD Visual with an MPEG-2 1080i transfer in 2.67:1. Yes, folks, you read that right: Cleopatra, which has previously released their high definition content encoded via MPEG-2 now "ups the ante" with an interlaced presentation. Making this all the funnier (for those with jaded senses of humor) is that this is contained on a BD-50 (admittedly perhaps to provide adequate real estate for the longer than average making of documentary). The presentation here is decently detailed when lighting conditions allow and especially when some of the intentional "jiggly cam" moments at concerts or parties subside and the frame quiets down for a moment. There are some combing artifacts that can be spotted in some fast movement, and some of the CGI, including the plane crash, is pretty soft looking.

Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Cleopatra continues its head scratching "tradition" of offering only lossy audio on its Blu-ray releases. While the Setup Menu doesn't disclose this, you can toggle between Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0 tracks via the Audio button on your remote. The surround track does open up the musical elements, and there's a bit of lower end oomph in the big crash sequence, but of course persnickety audiophiles are going to wonder how much better these moments would have sounded in lossless audio. Dialogue is rendered cleanly and clearly throughout.

Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Surviving Street Survivors (1080p; 1:27:23) is a making of documentary that offers a lot of candid footage.


• Slideshow (1080i; 3:29)


• Trailer (1080p; 2:20)

Street Survivors: The True Story of the Lynyrd Skynyrd Plane Crash Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Here's an idea: why don't all the survivors get together and contribute to a documentary about the band as a whole, with perhaps one sequence devoted to this devastating crash? I'm not sure Pyle did himself any favors in any way by proceeding with this project, but some curious Skynyrd fans may find it interesting. Technical merits are serviceable but certainly improvable for those considering a purchase.