The Story Of The Brooklyn Dodgers
–
The Legendary Boys Of Summer
Picture: C Sound: C Extras: C- Programs: B-
BFS has
issued a DVD set that collects several programs made on the great lost major
league baseball franchise the Brooklyn Dodgers.
The seven half-hour programs are the core of The Story Of The Brooklyn Dodgers – The Legendary Boys Of Summer,
which joins Yankee Immortals as
entries in documentary DVDs on the subject form BFS. The set tries to capture the what and the why
of the team’s legend before the infamous move to Los Angeles.
The
approach taken is to cover a specific subject instead of doing a chronological
look at the team, you get the following segments:
Duke Snyder: The Duke Of Flatbush
The Captain: Pee Wee Reese
Campy: The Roy Campenella Story
Dem Bums From Brooklyn
Jackie Robinson: A Life Story
Gil Hodges: The Quiet Man
Tales From The Dodger Clubhouse
Each show
offers new interviews, voice-over narration and generous stock footage about
the history and influence of the Brooklyn-era of the teams’ greatness. The point is that together or split apart,
each person involved built baseball into the pastime it is at its best. These arguments are convincing enough, but in
none of the segments did I feel like I was getting much beyond the surface of the team and
its people.
In the
Jackie Robinson segment, the point is made to death that he broke the color
barrier and even has people quote Martin Luther King, Jr. that Robinson made
his efforts easier. However, true as
that may be and whatever racism and oppression Robinson may have shot down, the
counter-argument that his success killed the “Negro” baseball leagues. It also assumes racism suffered some
permanent defeat, which it did not. That
best defines how limited the set is capable of being, which is somewhat
detrimental to the set. Fans will still
enjoy what is offered.
The full
frame images were made in older professional analog NTSC videotape and there is
softness throughout as a result. That
extends to the filmed footage. The Dolby
Digital 2.0 does its best to offer the somewhat compressed sounding monophonic
sound which further gives away the age and source of the program’s origin. It is listenable, but average as well. The few extras include text on Brooklyn Dodger
player statistics, trivia, and quotes.
As a
non-baseball fan, I was hoping to learn more about the legendary team, but some
of this is so hung-up on “great guys” and “feeling good” that the time is not
as well spent as it should have been.
Though it is loaded with good material, it is not definitive. At least I get more of a sense of what Don
Henley’s hit record was hinting at.
- Nicholas Sheffo
