Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		3.0
Audio		3.0
Extras		3.5
Overall		3.5

Woodlawn Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 22, 2016

Faith is a powerful thing. Whether that faith is in God or just in the belief in the power of togetherness, goodness, and equality amongst people, faith can be the centerpiece in accomplishing the impossible. Woodlawn tells the true story of a recently desegregated high school football team in the middle of the most volatile environment in the American Civil Rights and Jim Crow South era: Birmingham, Alabama, home to the prison cell from which Civil Rights Leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. penned his "Letter from Birmingham Jail" and, of course, the infamous 16th Street Church bombing that killed four young African-American girls. It's the story of how the team found inspiration from Biblical scripture -- the word of God -- to leave behind the differences that had long set the community at odds and play together, disregarding skin color, under the name of unity and faith in God's protective and guiding hand. The movie isn't so much about the on-field success that followed the team's transformation as it is the positive impact that their unity had on the community that was in desperate need of something -- anything -- to not simply ease tensions but begin the process of healing from, and erasing, a history of violence, mistrust, fear, and hatred.

Together.

It is a time of great upheaval in Birmingham, Alabama, and the racial tensions that divided the city exist in the schools, too. Though Woodlawn High School has been desegregated and several black players suit up for the football team, mistrust and hate permeate the squad. It's all Coach Tandy Gerelds (Nic Bishop) can do to keep the players on the field, never mind winning games or finding a unifying spirit amongst them. That all changes when a man named Hank Erwin (Sean Astin) asks for five minutes of the team's time to share with them the Word of God. Five minutes turns into an hour, and just before Gerelds breaks up the meeting, he witnesses something remarkable: the team -- black and white players alike -- rallying together and to God. Suddenly, color boundaries are erased. Enemies become friends. Mistrust becomes faith in one another. The team gels and begins to win, and black running back Tony Nathan's (Caleb Castille) skills are put on display for everyone to see. He even captures the attention of legendary Alabama coach Paul "Bear" Bryant (Jon Voight), who is himself a crusader for desegregation and unity. But despite the team's successes on the field, racial strife remains in Birmingham. Suddenly, the team finds it has the weight of the entire community -- and the Civil Rights movement -- on its shoulders but come to realize that it's only God that can carry such an enormous burden for them.

Audiences familiar with some of the great football films of years past will be quick to see many parallels in Woodlawn, a movie that certainly has its own, powerful voice and story to tell but that does carry over both cast and story themes from other genre pictures. Of immediate note is the casting of both Sean Astin and Jon Voight, both of whom have starred in two of the more popular football films of the past few decades. Astin played the title character in the remarkable Rudy, arguably the finest football film ever made. Voight played a key role in Varsity Blues, a film that, on its whole merits may not be quite up to par with others of its kind but that does feature Voight providing, arguably, the single finest football film performance of them all, portraying a win-at-all costs coach (interestingly, his character in Woodlawn is depicted as, essentially, the opposite). Further, Woodlawn is essentially a cross between Remember the Titans, a 2000 film starring Denzel Washington about racial strife and unity within a high school football team in 1971 Virginia, and Facing the Giants, a more recent Christian film from Alex Kendrick that features a struggling high school team turning around when the coach finds God. Yet even with all of that hanging over the movie, Woodlawn distinguishes itself not so much by what it says but rather how it says it, through its integrity and adherence to values, not to mention quality craftsmanship and superb performances from Astin, Voight, and the remainder of the cast.

Woodlawn Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Woodlawn's 1080p transfer comes sourced from a digital shoot that never quite reaches a level of visual excellence. The image presents basic details -- faces, period attire, mesh football jerseys, little bits around homes and offices -- with only a satisfactory amount of intimacy but never that striking, tactile, lifelike look and feel. Image clarity is healthy enough and sharpness nearly constant; minor smearing lessens a few textures here and there, but never where it counts, in character and broader environmental details. Colors occasionally favor a heavy sepia but generally settle in for a decidedly period, but not excessively so, shading. Primaries reveal adequate depth and precision, particularly on uniforms and grasses. Flesh tones are largely natural, but the transfer runs into some problems with black levels that seem to run the entire spectrum, pushing far too bright here, far too purplish there, and occasionally showing minor crush. Noise is another intrusion that spikes to extreme levels in places, notably in darker scenes. Still, the overall image is positive, but Woodlawn lacks the polish of a bigger production.

Woodlawn Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Woodlawn is the first Blu-ray to release under the cooperation of Pure Flix Entertainment and Universal Studios. While older Pure Flix titles disappointingly, but understandably considering the more limited resources available, featured only lossy multichannel audio tracks, the norm for Universal titles has been lossless DTS audio. Woodlawn, however, retains the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 presentation from Pure Flix's past. It's by no means a terrible listen, but veteran audiophiles will almost immediately note the drop in fidelity and richness in music. Front side spacing is fine, but the track, particularly regarding music, never commands the listening area like the best of lossless. The track does open up a bit during Woodlawn's first true challenge game against the undefeated team around the 45-minute mark. Crowd ambience and football sounds prove a little more energetic and enveloping than expected. Driving rain during another key game midway through the movie is never so saturating as to leave the listening audience scrambling for cover, but the basic effect is conveyed well enough and across the entirety of the stage, along with a positive rolling thunder effect. Dialogue is delivered clearly and efficiently from the center with a good example of wide-open reverberation when Hank Erwin first addresses the team in the school's gymnasium.

Woodlawn Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Woodlawn contains a number of extras, including a commentary track, deleted scenes, and many featurettes. A DVD copy of the film and a voucher for a UV/iTunes digital copy are included with purchase.

• The True Story of Woodlawn (1080p, 16:00): Many of the real people depicted in the film, their family, and others recount the true story as told film and share their thoughts on one another, not so much filling in gaps that the film misses but sharing the story in their own words.
• Behind the Scenes (1080p): A collection of bite-sized featurettes that examine characters in the film and the actors who portray them, individuals who were key in the film's production, and in the case of one of the features, a look at the movie's earliest stages of production. Included are Bear Bryant -- Jon Voight (2:45), Coach Gerelds -- Nic Bishop (2:09), Creating 'Woodlawn' -- Football Coordinator Mark Ellis (2:44), Creating 'Woodlawn' -- Kevin Downes (2:56), Creating 'Woodlawn' -- The Erwin Brothers (2:07), Hank -- Sean Astin (1:42), Junior -- Lance Nichols (1:39), Momma Nathan -- Sherri Shepherd (2:29), The Original Concept (4:03), and Touchdown Tony -- Caleb Castille (2:45).
• Deleted Scenes (1080p): Audition at Running Back (1:14), Break Up the Revival (1:36), Did You Kiss Her? (1:12), First Love of Basketball (1:07), It's Tradition (2:22), Matching Prom Date (1:04), New Idea (1:43), Secret Meeting at LAX (1:21), They Will Know We Are Christians By Our Love (2:55), and You're Off My Team (1:09). Each scene comes with an introduction by Director Andrew Erwin.
• Production Diaries (1080p): More short features that examine the making of several key scenes or explore interesting moments from the movie's production and the true story's history. Included are Cold Rain (3:29), Day One (4:35), Explo '72 (3:04), Legion Field (1:49), The Bear (1:40), The High School (1:35), Two Units (1:49), and Visual FX (2:36).
• Trailers (1080p): God's Not Dead 2, My All American, 90 Minutes in Heaven, Faith of Our Fathers, Old Fashioned, Do You Believe?, Woodlawn Theatrical #1 (2:31), Woodlawn Theatrical #2 (1:58), and Woodlawn Theatrical #3 (2:31).
• Audio Commentary: Directors Andrew and Jon Erwin and Producer Kevin Downes discuss their lifelong love of the Woodlawn story, the story's relevancy today, casting, approaching the film as something of a "Superhero" movie, score, scripting, core story themes and arcs, blending humor into the story to offset the heavy drama, visual effects, technical details of the shoot, and much more. Of note is that Directors Andrew and Jon Erwin are Birmingham natives and the sons of Hank Erwin, who is portrayed by Sean Astin in the film. This is a fine commentary track that's a positive support of the movie.

Woodlawn Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

One cannot deny that Woodlawn is a fairly derivative movie, but it's an important movie that tells a story well worth sharing and spreads a message well worth hearing. It's a Christian-centric story of the unifying power of faith, belief, honesty, and integrity under God. It's not about winning on the field but rather capturing the heart and purifying the soul. These are messages that similar movies have preached for years, but another voice in the wilderness is never a bad thing. Universal's Blu-ray release of Woodlawn features fair 1080p video and passable lossy audio. Supplements are many in number and informative. Recommended, though primarily on the strength of the film alone.