By Eli Kazin
In July 2006, the Vintage World Series Films collections were
released for the Baltimore Orioles, Los Angeles Dodgers, Minnesota Twins, New
York Giants, New York Yankees, Oakland Athletics and Philadelphia Phillies.
The Saint Louis Cardinals collection was released in 2005, and in September
2006 the New York Mets collection, the ninth in the series, was released. With
the release of A&E Home Video’s Vintage World Series
Films collections for the Anaheim Angels, Detroit Tigers, and Toronto
Blue Jays, fans of those teams can now own the World Series films for their
respective team in a single set.
THE FILMS
The Vintage World Series Films collections are now available
for the Angels, Tigers, and Blue Jays. The vintage World Series films for the
Cincinnati Reds (1975, 1976, and 1990) and Cleveland Indians (1948) are currently
scheduled to be released on DVD in late April 2007.
The Angels set features their seven-game triumph against the San Francisco
Giants in 2002, and this film was originally released on DVD shortly after the
2002 World Series. The Tigers set features their seven-game triumph against
the Chicago Cubs in 1945, seven-game triumph against the Cardinals in 1968,
and five-game triumph against the San Diego Padres in 1984. The Blue Jays set
features their six-game triumph against the Atlanta Braves in 1992 and their
six-game triumph against the Phillies in 1993. Some of the previous collections
included films from years that the respective team lost in the World Series,
but the Tigers collection does not include their World Series loss to the Cardinals
in 2006. The Angels and Blue Jays have won all of their World Series appearances,
so their collections also do not include any World Series losses.
These releases include some tense games and memorable World Series moments.
In the 1968 World Series, Mickey Lolich won three complete games and the Tigers
rallied from a three-games-to-one deficit to win the final three games of the
series, capped off by a defeat of National League Most Valuable Player and Cy
Young Award winner Bob Gibson in Game Seven. The 1984 World Series featured
Kirk Gibson’s memorable home run into the upper deck off of Goose Gossage
in the eighth inning of the clinching Game Five. In 1992, the Blue Jays became
the first team not based in the United States to win a World Series. The 1993
World Series is remembered for Joe Carter’s three-run home run off of
Mitch Williams to win the series for the Blue Jays, only the second time a World
Series ended on a home run. The Giants were poised to win the 2002 World Series,
holding a five run lead in the seventh inning of Game Six, but the Angels rallied
with three runs in the seventh and three more in the eighth to stave off elimination.
SOUND + VISION
The Vintage World Series Films are presented in a 1.33:1 aspect
ratio that preserves the aspect ratio of how the events were originally broadcast.
The audio is available in Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo in English only, and there
are no subtitles available. Most of the films feature some commentary from the
players and managers involved in the respective World Series, but since each
of these films was produced immediately following the respective World Series,
the commentary is also from the time of that respective World Series. The video
for the older World Series is surprisingly well maintained, and the 1945 and
1968 World Series films are presented in more of a newsreel format. The 1984
World Series film does have a minor video quality issue, as there are a few
occurrences for two to three seconds where the video becomes shaky and the audio
cuts out.
PACKAGING/ LAYOUT
Each of these three Vintage World Series Films collections
is stored in a standard clear plastic case. The front of each case features
a baseball with the respective team logo on it, and a list of the World Series
that are included in the collection. The back of each case features a summary
of the disc contents and also shows a picture of the Commissioner’s Trophy
(which says “2000 World Series Champions” for each release). Each
of the films is stored on a stable backer, and the inside of each case lists
all of the World Seris films since the 1943 World Series.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Each of the World Series films does not contain any bonus material, and since
these releases are just collections of World Series films, there is no bonus
material included on any of the releases. The lack of bonus material is disappointing
but it is not entirely unexpected.
CIRCLING THE WAGONS
With the three new releases of Vintage World Series Films,
fans of the Angels, Blue Jays, and Tigers can now relive some of the greatest
moments from their World Series triumphs. However, many Angels fans already
own the 2002 World Series film on DVD, and since it is the only film included
in the Angels collection, that collection might not be as desired as the Blue
Jays and Tigers collections. The subsequent releases of the Reds and Indians
collections will allow for even more of the World Series films to be available
on DVD, with only approximately 10 of 63 films still not available on DVD.
DVD Set Films Score: B
DVD Set Sounds and Visuals Score: B-
DVD Set Packaging and Layout Score: B-
DVD Set Extras Score: N/A
DVD Set Overall Score: B-
