Waiting for "Superman" Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		5.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Waiting for "Superman" Blu-ray Movie Review

Don't wait to see this exceptional Documentary.

Reviewed by Martin Liebman February 15, 2011

There was no one coming with enough power to save us.

It's rare to come across a quality Documentary these days that doesn't cover a critical, life-defining segment of existence. Inside Job examined the economic free-fall of the past few years, The Fog of War the American- and worldwide landscape-altering Vietnam Conflict, and Waiting for "Superman" the education system of modern America. Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim's (An Inconvenient Truth) incredibly dour but also highly enlightening Documentary takes viewers into the nitty-gritty reality of modern education, looking at but also beyond statistics, test scores, and quality of pedagogy, focusing also on the people behind the numbers, students whose very futures in large part depend not only what they learn in the classroom, but the importance of how, why, and where they are taught. The methods and means of not just placing facts in figures in heads but preparing young minds for life beyond school is critical to the film's central theme, and the jumbled mess that is the core of the system and how, it seems, the system itself is failing children of all walks of life, no matter their place of residence; income; ethnicity; family background; and perhaps most importantly, desire to learn; is also key. A well-crafted, informative, entertaining, and possibly even outlook-altering glimpse into the American eduction system, Waiting for "Superman" is another in a growing list of must-see Documentaries, this one getting to the very core of the fate of man: the future of his children.

A prize better than money.

Waiting for "Superman" follows the hopes and dreams of five young American students as they struggle to get ahead in America's education system. Anthony, from Washington, D.C., has recently lost his father following a battle with substance addiction. He's had to repeat the second grade following his father's death, but he's now more mentally and emotionally prepared to dedicate the time and resources required to succeed in school. Daisy is a young elementary-aged student hailing from Los Angeles. She's bright and dedicated -- she's already "applied" to college -- with dreams of becoming a doctor, a nurse, or a veterinarian. She loves school, but her family is struggling; her father is unemployed and her mother helps to make ends meet by cleaning the local hospital. Francisco is a young fan of mathematics. He hails from Brooklyn, New York, and his school is guarded by a security officer and a metal detector at the front entrance. His school is the third most overcrowded in the Bronx. Bianca is also a New Yorker, but she calls Harlem home. Her mother never envisioned having children, but she's extremely dedicated to ensuring her daughter's future and making sure Bianca has the grades and the money for college. Finally, Emily is an eighth grader from Redwood City, California, a wealthy community where million dollar homes are not uncommon. She likes math and science and hopes to one day be a teacher. Her dream for her immediate future is to go to Summit Prep, a school that does not "track" its students. Each of these five youngsters will enter a local lottery for a chance for enrollment at a better school and the opportunity to secure a brighter future.

In 1999, Davis Guggenheim's The First Year chronicled five public school teachers for one year. He was encouraged by what he discovered, impressed with the teachers' dedication to learning, and hopeful for the future of the system. Nearly 10 years later, Davis Guggenheim drives his own children past three public schools on the way to a private school, fearful of the failure rates and innumerable problems plaguing the educational system in America, which by extension places the very future of America's greatest asset -- her children -- at risk of losing out on the education required during the formative years to make them smarter adults better equipped to not only lead more productive lives, but perhaps reshape the future for their own children for the better, beginning, hopefully, a cycle of improvement for not only education, but quality of life. Waiting for "Superman" looks at the reasons behind America's failing public education system. Though educational spending has doubled in recent decades, test scores, Guggenheim points out, have stagnated. Former Republican President George W. Bush and the late Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy joined forces for the "No Child Left Behind Act" which was to ensure 100% student proficiency in Math and Reading, but again, the numbers aren't bearing results, and the politicians' own backyard, Washington, D.C., is consistently at the bottom of national test score ranking. These are sobering statistics that aren't helped by the quagmire of funding between the state, local, and federal levels and the resultant jumble of nonuniform standards that are a result. Tenured teachers who fail to perform, the follies of the "track" system and other forms of "designed for failure" programs, and the pushing of students through the system when they've not been properly prepared for the higher grades are highlighted. Davis Guggenheim counters with the emergence of charter and private schools; while they demonstrate consistently higher test scores, graduation rates, and greater college entrance percentages, they are limited by the size of their facilities and scope of operation. With far more students applying than there are seats in the classrooms, most such schools -- and the rare high-performing public schools -- are forced to implement lottery systems when enrollment date nears, placing the future of many brighter and eager minds in the hands of random chance.

As if the in-school numbers weren't bad enough, how about the correlation between the worst neighborhoods and the lowest-performing schools? Does a bad environment equal a bad education, or does a bad education create a poor environment? The answer may surprise. What is the correlation between poor academic performers and incarceration statistics? Considering the plethora of academic and societal failures, what is the solution? Is it to abolish the public education system and turn to private entities, or is there hope in the form of dedicated educators like Geoffrey Canada and others who dare to buck the system and do something -- anything -- to engage students and improve performance? Davis Guggenheim's Waiting for "Superman" is a fantastic eye-opening Documentary that doesn't offer a cure-all for the woes of America's education system, but it is, just maybe, enough to nudge educators and the system in the right direction or, maybe better yet, inspire a new generation of people like Geoffrey Canada to take a stand and take hold of the reigns in hopes of bettering the education of America's children. This nation's future depends on it.

Waiting for "Superman" manages to create a visual, emotional, and thematic environment that's at the same time both troubling and welcoming to viewers. The film's merging of broad-in-scope issues and the highlighting of the five children of varied backgrounds and all in some ways victims of the poorly-performing education system gives the film not only a personal touch but an immediacy that's evident even minutes after the film begins. What, then, can viewers do? Encourage education and champion its benefits for starters -- that's always key -- but perhaps parents of students could take a closer look at the way things work; not blindly trust "the system;" and be proactive in the school, demanding to understand how the school performs and why both in a broader school-wide sense and at the personal one-student level. There will always be children who, for whatever reason, will be left behind not by the system or their environments but because of a personal disinterest or a negative attitude -- which the film does not cover -- but parents need to realize that education starts the day children are born and continues on until the day they die. It's an ongoing, always-in-motion process that doesn't start and end inside school walls and between the hours of 8:00 AM and 3:00 PM, but it is those minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, and years in the classroom that might not be where the children really learn what it takes to succeed in the world but that, for many, holds they key to their academic futures beyond high school and, for better or for worse, fair or not, their potential to lead good, productive, and healthy lives.

Waiting for "Superman" Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Waiting for "Superman" arrives on Blu-ray with a solid 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. Fine detailing is quite good throughout, even if some scenes manage to lack vibrancy and faces occasionally are absent fine textures. Still, the quality of detailing is evidenced in small things like the floorboards of a schoolbus, the texture of a slice of bread, or the muddy terrain seen in one shot on the way to school. Generally, clothing and facial textures are fine, but as noted, lacking in a few spots. The image takes on a typical look for a digitally-shot feature; it can be glossy and flat, but neither noise nor banding are much cause for alarm. Colors are accurate and steady, whether more vibrant shades as seen on outdoor vegetation or on various clothing, backpacks, and classroom decorations. The film is interspersed with the occasional low-def archive footage that's visually troublesome but, since it is what it is by its very nature, its quality is not reflective in the final score. Overall, this one's nothing to get excited about, but visual dazzle is not Waiting for "Superman"'s purpose. Generally speaking, this is a fine transfer from Paramount.

Waiting for "Superman" Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Waiting for "Superman" yields a contextually fine but audibly dull DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack. "Dull" is not meant to be a derogatory term but merely a reflection of what this track is by its very nature; this is a talk-heavy Documentary with little range and only a few scattered atmospherics. Dialogue -- the film's most critical audio element -- is handled expertly by the center channel; no flubs here. Natural ambience is kept to a minimum; listeners will hear the occasional humming of an air conditioner or chirp of a bird, but this is a generally reserved track that doesn't engage the surround channels with any regularity. Music is crisp and nicely spaced across the front. A few popular songs find their way into the track; the older "Taking Care of Business" isn't as hefty, energetic, or clear as the more recent "American Idiot," but Paramount's track performs admirably enough in its delivery of various tunes. Overall, this track is proficient but not at all memorable, just as the movie demands.

Waiting for "Superman" Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Waiting for "Superman" features a decent array of Blu-ray extras, including over 30 minutes of deleted scenes and an audio commentary track with the director and producer.

• Audio Commentary: Director Davis Guggenheim and Producer Lesley Chilcott discuss why this is a meaningful commentary to them as it wraps up the journey of the making and promotion of the film. They also offer insights into the title, the writing of the film, crafting the film's tone, its pace, the role of Geoffrey Canada in the film, interviewing and following the children, the effectiveness of the film's editing, and plenty more. It's a solid commentary that interjects a bit of humor and plenty of pertinent information that makes for a fine companion to the picture.
• Changing the Odds (1080p, 5:34): A look at the importance of solving the problem of eduction; the piece plays like the film in a nutshell.
• Updates (1080p): A few text-based updates to some of the issues raised in the film.
• A Conversation with Davis Guggenheim (1080p, 1:44): A short animated sit-down with the Director.
• The Future is in Our Classrooms (1080p, 2:09): A PSA-like plea for bettering education.
• The Making of "Shine" (1080p, 7:02): A look at the making of the song with Musician John Legend.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 31:15): Keith and Tiffany, Locke High and Steve Barr, Bill Strickland, and The Green Family.

Waiting for "Superman" Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Waiting for "Superman" is a must-see Documentary that's sure to open eyes and inspire parents and outside observers alke to take a closer look at the failing education system in America, to scrutinize its very core, and demand whatever changes are necessary be made in each individual school building, school district, city, county, and state. Education can't be fixed by blindly throwing money at the system; it begins at the local level, looking hard and without mercy at the performance of schools and teachers and taking whatever steps may be necessary to ensuring the future of children not be left in the hands of a system that's a proven failure. It might be a challenge to watch Waiting for "Superman" and not leave the film unchanged or with a dry eye, but it's well worth the effort; it's a must-see film if there ever was one, a film far more important than any summer blockbuster or Oscar-nominated Drama, for it may very well be the inspiration parents, students, and even educators need to take that big first step towards fundamentally transforming America's education system for the better and, by extension, all but guaranteeing a brighter future for coming generations. Paramount's Blu-ray release of Waiting for "Superman" offers fine video and audio presentations alongside a nice array of extra content. Very highly recommended.