Biography – John Kerry (A&E/DVD-R)

 

Picture: C+     Sound: C+     Extras: D     Main Program: B-

 

 

Made before his disastrous loss for the Presidency in 2004, this A&E Biography installment on John Kerry shows as much about his life in under an hour as can be expected, but is also meant to serve as a pro-political propaganda film to get him elected.  The program itself is not bad, but it is haunted by a datedness that comes from the election.  It shows that he could have won, should have won and would have been an improvement over what happened.  Too bad he and his campaign did not live up to some of the convictions here.

 

Talking about making it at the last minute throughout life and not backing it up is sad.  The show goes into his military record, which was superior to both the current Bush and Clinton, who barely served and did not serve at all respectively.  In retrospect, the show and the campaign tries to make Kerry charismatic and Democrats need to know the Kennedy Era is long over.  Otherwise, this is informative and another decent showing from one of the best series in cable TV history.

 

The full frame 1.33 X 1 image is not bad for a DVD-R transfer, and these discs do not have menus, they play linear like a 12” LaserDisc.  You can see some minor image limits, but they are not substantial.  The Dolby Digital is simple 2.0 Stereo with no surrounds and there are absolutely no extras here.  This will make for a good political nostalgia piece down the line.

 

 

-   Nicholas Sheffo