Blood, Sweat & Gears – Racing Clean To The Tour
De France (2008/First Run Features
DVD)
Picture: C
Sound: C Extras: C Documentary: B-
Just when
I thought I would not see another documentary on the Tour De France, here comes
Nick Davis’ Blood, Sweat & Gears –
Racing Clean To The Tour De France (2008) about a U.S. team determined to
be part of the race by not using any performance-enhancing drugs
whatsoever. It can be controversial and
raw, more interesting than not and has enough moments to give it a good look.
The
opening shows the how badly the sport like any other anymore has become the
victim of drug use and the many athletes who feel they have to take them to
compete. As in Bigger, Stronger, Faster (reviewed elsewhere on this site) ruined
the idea of true competition as big money and most people cheating on those
drugs has ended up making pro sports more about winning at all costs than
winning and being happy about just that.
Cycling
and biking at this level has had its share of scandals and as a result, those
running it have been relatively stricter than competing professional
sports. David Millar, Christian Vande
Velde, Matt White, Doug Ellis, Magnus Backstedt and many others are featured
and even if you don’t know much about the sport, this also becomes a study of
the character of the sport and its participants on and off the track.
The
anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a tad weaker than a new digital shoot
should be, down a generation, we gather.
The Dolby Digital 2.0 sound is sort of stereophonic, often monophonic
and has location sound limits that sometime call for subtitling. At least the makers realize the audio
limits. Extras include text Director’s
Statement & separate Biography, stills and two shorts: Millar’s Tale and Adventures
With Har-V & Geraldine.
For more
on competition biking and The Tour De France, try Hell On Wheels, a First Run Feature release we covered, at this
link:
http://www.fulvuedrive-in.com/review/3061/Hell+On+Wheels+(Tour+de+France)
- Nicholas Sheffo
