UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		3.5
Audio		3.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie Blu-ray Movie Review

Ultimate greatness.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman May 5, 2011

This review contains brief excerpts and paraphrases from the essay "The Gracie Way" which may be found as part of the included "Digibook."

"My first introduction into the sport was Royce Gracie. To me, he is the beginning of the sport" -- UFC Superstar and Hall-of-Famer Matt Hughes.

What's in a name? If the name is Royce Gracie, a name says a lot. It says grace, skill, and history. It's become synonymous with a sport that he's credited not with epitomizing, but starting. Royce Gracie, the Brazilian-born fighter, rose to national prominence when he dominated the very first UFC event held in Denver, Colorado, on November 12, 1993. He didn't win based on his sheer size or brutality. Around six feet tall and weighing in at well under 200 pounds, the fighter who employed the art of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu -- a martial arts form that emphasizes ground grappling and precision technique to defeat larger opponents -- in lieu of raw power and strength dazzled viewers who may have been drawn to that first UFC event with the promise of carnage but who instead were treated to the little fighter who could taking down opponent after opponent -- Art Jimmerson, Ken Shamrock, and Gerard Gordeau -- with little effort and in practically no time. That evening, a champion was crowned, a sport was popularized, and a name was forever linked to greatness and the ability to use craftsmanship and smarts to beat the odds. "Ultimate" only begins to describe Royce Gracie's impact on mixed martial arts as it was then and as it is today, growing exponentially every year into one of the most profitable and cherished sports in the world.

In the beginning...

"He is the godfather. He is the man who started it all and we all bow down and kiss the ring of Royce Gracie. He kick-started the entire sport of martial arts" -- Dana White, President, Ultimate Fighting Championship.

Royce Gracie didn't just luck into his skill. Born on December 12, 1966 to Hélio Gracie -- he who was also the father of the modern Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu technique -- much was expected of Royce if only because of his genetics and stock. Still, martial arts wasn't forced onto him. "My father never forced me to do anything," Gracie has said, but he accepted the family tradition, learned the techniques, undertook the disciplines, and was molded into an expert fighter. His brother Rorion co-founded the Ultimate Fighting Championship, and when Royce was chosen to represrnt his family, most didn't know who he was, and others still scoffed at his relatively diminutive stature compared to the raw physical volume of fighters like Ken Shamrock, whom Royce would, of course, soundly and with little effort defeat at UFC 1. Though the sport has changed -- fighters are even bigger and faster today and opponents then were selected minutes before the fight, not pre-determined months ahead of schedule (mostly for the sake of promotion and revenue, it would understandably seem) -- the absolute basics of martial arts as taught by the Gracie's and demonstrated on the world's biggest stages has not. It still comes down, more often than not, to smarts, skill, attitude, technique, and discipline. Certainly size, raw power, tip-top conditioning, and an intimidation factor are critical in today's MMA, but they are certainly not the only factors to consider in choosing a winner, at least when examining a fight on paper.

"Royce Gracie will always go down as the man who revolutionized martial arts. He will always go down in history as one of the most important figures ever in martial arts, if not the most important figure" -- Joe Rogan, UFC color commentator.

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie is a stylish, no-nonsense look at the life, style, domination, and influence of Royce Gracie. Scattered amongst the copious amounts of praise rightly laid on the Brazilian master of Mixed Martial Arts and tales of his indelible stamp on the sport, this film examines the Gracie family history, beginning with a look at what was once a secret known only to a select few -- Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu -- and the fortune of the Gracie family to learn it as a "thank you" for a political favor. Royce Gracie himself, along with additional commentators, recall the family's history in Jiu-Jitsu, the rise of the Gracie Academy, and the family's shaping of the technique into what it has become today, which is a skill set known and employed in some way by most of today's Mixed Martial Artists, no matter their dominant style and technique. Gracie Jiu-Jitsu, viewers will learn, requires not size but instead skill, smarts, and a "spiritual power" to reinforce the physical aspects of the discipline, which in turn lead to the self-confidence required to truly succeed in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. The film also covers the expansion of the style; the Gracie family's ascendancy to prominence; and of course, Royce Gracie's meteoric rise to success as the first -- and physically most unlikely -- superstar champion of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie is a complete, comprehensive, well-assembled, informative, interesting, and entertaining look into the life of the greatest of all of UFC's champions. The film is superbly-crafted, not always visually favoring a basic documentary style even if, thematically, that's what this is. The fight footage -- of which there is much, both inside the Octagon and outside of it -- certainly helps in the "entertainment" factor, but the film is very well-written and engagingly narrated from a variety of people and perspectives, the film playing like a living storybook of a blessed, talented, and influential life, not merely a dry recap of an important person in his field. Whether closely examining what it is that makes Royce Gracie a champion, the reasons why Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu is a dominant art form, or simply recounting various anecdotes from the Gracie family, Writer/Director Anthony Storm's UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie is a stellar picture that's a must-see for anyone who considers him or herself a UFC fan, whether from way back at the beginning in 1993 when Gracie dominated the sport or just now being drawn into the sport thanks to names like Lesnar, St-Pierre, and Jackson. It's how all-inclusive the film is -- going so far as to showcase Gracie's induction into the UFC Hall of Fame, his life after retirement, his and his style's influence on the sport, and the future of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu -- that will draw real Gracie and sport enthusiasts, and best of all, fans will discover what a personable, confident, inviting, and contagiously enthusiastic champion Royce Gracie is. Like Babe Ruth will always be the face of baseball and Michael Jordan the face of basketball, Gracie will always be the face of the Ultimate Fighting Championship.

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie arrives on Blu-ray with a quality 1080i, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Some fans might be disappointed that old standard-definition fight footage has been blown up to 1.78:1, but such shots are usually few and far between. The film is made up primarily of static shots of interviewees displayed in HD video and old photographs; the stretched video clips don't distract and fit in well with the rest of the content. The newly-minted interview footage is a bit flat and glossy in the expected HD video style; facial and clothing detail is fair and colors are neutral. A little bit of banding is visible in some of the newer material, and blocking is fairly prevalent. Some older footage suffers from various problems associated with low definition video footage and, for older still footage, scratches and general wear-and-tear of old film reels. Visually, this is nothing special, but Anchor Bay's Blu-ray presentation is satisfactorily strong given the range of materials present throughout.

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie may feature a lowly Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, but the results are rather good. Music is nicely energized and drifts to the outer edges of the soundstage. Lows are strong, the midrange steady, and the highs crisp and accurate. A few second-hand razzle-dazzle sound effects zip around the front half of the soundstage with ease. Music often features a heavy, rumbly low end; it's not exactly the tightest out there, but it gets the job done. Narration is crisp and focused up the middle, and various interview clips feature nary an audible hiccup, again flowing effortlessly from the center speaker. The track is really nothing but dialogue and music; it doesn't call for much more than what the Dolby Digital track can offer. While a lossless track might have offered a bit more body and natural feel, Anchor Bay's lossy 2.0 track is no slouch.

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie features a dozen full-length Royce Gracie fights on disc one and a few additional fights and Gracie's introduction into the UFC Hall of Fame on disc two.

Bonus fights, disc one (preserved 4:3 aspect ratio):

Royce Gracie vs. Art Jimmerson: UFC 1.

Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock: UFC 1

Royce Gracie vs. Gerard Gordeau: UFC 1

Royce Gracie vs. Minoki Ichihara: UFC 2

Royce Gracie vs. Jason Delucia: UFC 2

Royce Gracie vs. Remco Pardoel: UFC 2

Royce Gracie vs. Patrick Smith: UFC 2

Royce Gracie vs. Kimo Leopoldo: UFC 3*

Royce Gracie vs. Ron van Clief: UFC 4*

Royce Gracie vs. Keith Hackney: UFC 4*

Royce Gracie vs. Dan Severn: UFC 4*

Royce Gracie vs. Ken Shamrock: UFC 5*

* denotes Blu-ray exclusive

Disc Two (preserved 4:3 aspect ratio where applicable):

Royce Gracie vs. Nobuhiko Takada: Pride Grand Prix 2000 -- Opening Rounds.

Royce Gracie vs. Kazushi Sakuraba: Pride Grand Prix 2000 -- Finals.

Royce Gracie vs. Hidehiko Yoshida: Pride -- Showcase 2003.

Royce Gracie vs. Matt Hughes: UFC 60.

UFC Hall of Fame Induction.

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie is one of the best and most important UFC home video releases, right behind the must-own UFC: Ultimate 100 Greatest Fights. It's an enlightening and entertaining look at the UFC's first true champion of the sport and an inspiration to competitors everywhere who may have been told they have neither the size nor the strength to win at mixed martial arts, in sports, or even in life. An uplifting and informative picture, UFC: Ultimate Royce Gracie is well-made and sure to become a centerpiece release in every UFC fan's library. Housed in a handsome "Digibook" package, this Blu-ray release yields good video and audio along with a quality assortment of extra content. Very highly recommended.