Kostya Tszyu-Destiny

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Music Video-Something Worth Fighting For Credits Web Links
Rating	?
Year Of Production	?
Running Time	66:51 (Case: 72)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Charles Stewart
Studio Distributor	Sony Music	Starring	Kostya Tszyu Diobelys Hurtado Sharmba Mitchell Zab Judah Paul Upham Johnny Lewis
Case	Amaray-Transparent
RPI	$29.95	Music	None Given

    I think I should begin with a little preamble. I am not the biggest fan of sports in the world, partially because it is so hard to find decent sport on free-to-air television these days, and subscribing to Pay-TV would basically entail me paying for several dozen channels when I only want to see the sports. I also rarely watch sports on free-to-air television these days because I am utterly disgusted with Channel Seven's coverage of the recent Sydney Olympics. One could have watched their so-called coverage for days and been forgiven for thinking that they were seeing nothing more than a big international swimming carnival. Two sports that we should have seen more of, especially considering this country's performance in them, are Tae Kwon Doe and Boxing, the latter being the one we are concerned with for this DVD.

    Kostya Tszyu was born in Siberia, one of the satellite states that used to make up the USSR, and migrated to Australia at some point before competing as a fighter in the lightweight division. He has won three titles and proven himself through a number of hurdles that would destroy many a lesser man. Indeed, I was quite surprised to learn from this documentary, titled Destiny, that the man only weighs about 140 pounds (I've had girlfriends who weigh more than this, and not through obesity, either).

    Destiny concerns itself with the time when Tszyu lost his title to Vince Phillips, and his big campaign not only to get that one back, but all three of the titles from the sanctioning bodies that count. His three title fights were against Diobelys Hurtado, Sharmba Mitchell, and Zab Judah. No, I haven't heard of them before, but from watching the footage on this DVD, they look like they knew how to throw a punch, so it isn't as if Tszyu had an easy ride. Appearances by Don King are also made during the archival footage, leaving viewers to wonder exactly why he does his hair like that (apparently, it is to hide his horns).

    Instead of presenting the entirety of the fights (which would have been well worth watching, but never mind), we are treated to significant segments such as the knockdowns or moments worthy of comment. Commentary is provided by Tszyu or other significant people such as commentator Paul Upham or trainer Johnny Lewis. Big fans of the sport will need no more convincing to take a look at this disc (it certainly is nice to have a champion with his head screwed on right), so let's dive right into the transfer.

Video

    The entire documentary is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1, and it is not 16x9 Enhanced.

    The archival footage of the boxing matches has been converted from NTSC to PAL, as is evidenced by the interlacing effect that is visible between frames. The interview footage, however, appears to have been shot using PAL video or film (it's hard to tell without a reference as to how the speakers' voices are meant to sound). The transfer overall is as sharp as these materials allow, with the matches being a little blurry at times. The shadow detail is somewhat limited - but this can also be blamed on the methods used to photograph boxing matches. There is no low-level noise.

    The colours in the boxing matches look a little subdued and smeared, but otherwise, there are no colour-related artefacts present on this DVD.

    MPEG artefacts were not noticed in this transfer. Film-to-video artefacts consisted of aliasing on the ropes that was very mild, but fairly constant and mildly distracting on a decent-sized display. If you're watching this on anything larger than an eighty centimetre display device, I would recommend the use of some kind of de-interlacing or anti-aliasing device. Film artefacts appeared during some of the fights, with small marks or hairs on the picture that suggest the archival footage was shot on film before being converted to NTSC.

    No subtitles are available on this DVD.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    There is only the one soundtrack on this DVD - the original English dialogue, encoded in Dolby Digital 2.0 at 320 kilobits per second.

    The dialogue is clear, but sometimes a little difficult to understand - Kostya Tszyu's accent means he requires a concentrated listen in order to fully understand what he is talking about. He still speaks the language a hell of a lot more fluently than some people I can mention who have lived in this country all their lives. I did not notice any real problems with audio sync.

    The music in this documentary consists of the usual boxing-related numbers.

    The surround channels and subwoofer were not encoded into this soundtrack, and they did not receive any use at any point in the feature. They weren't really missed that much.

Audio Ratings Summary

Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

    All extras on this disc are presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 with Dolby Digital 2.0 audio unless stated otherwise.

Menu

    The menu is static, mildly animated (in the beginning, at least), and not 16x9 Enhanced.

Music Video - Something Worth Fighting For

    The name of the performer is never given, and quite frankly, I can see why - this number is quite tiring and repetitive. I can think of more pleasant ways to spend four minutes and twenty-five seconds, such as watching Zab Judah staggering around the ring.

Credits

    A repeat of the end credits from the main feature, but over a different background.

Weblinks

    Addresses for Sony Music Entertainment's web site and Kostya Tszyu's official website.

    I was unable to find a Region 1 or Region 2 version of this title.

    Kostya Tszyu is ranked as one of the top ten pound-for-pound boxers on one particular fan's listing, and after seeing how these three fights have ended, I can see why. Thankfully, he doesn't have the oversized ego that often comes from proving oneself so comprehensively and so many times, and I believe that more DVDs of Kostya Tszyu will be worth watching.

    The video transfer is good considering the source materials.

    The audio transfer is quite functional.

    The extras are limited.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall