AFL-30 Years of the Very Best Footy (Box Set)

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    30 Years of the Very Best Footy packages the Sensational Seventies, The Electrifying 80s, and The 90s The Decade That Delivered into a great 3-disc collection of football highlights through the last three decades. The package comes in a fairly attractive football coloured casing that houses the three discs, and folds out to indicate the premiers of each season, the Brownlow medal winners, and Coleman medal winners.

    All in all, this is a great package that footy fans should not be without. The vintage footage of all the champions and legends is something that can be handed down from generation to generation, and can give everyone an appreciation of where the game has come and where it will be headed. Go out and get it!

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

AFL-Sensational Seventies

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General		Extras
Category	Sports	Menu Animation & Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	?
Running Time	106:58 (Case: 108)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Aust. Football Video Visual Entertainment Group	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$32.95	Music	None Given

    Just watching the vintage footage you can get a feel for how far the game has come in 30 years. The players today are just simply more skilful and disciplined, and the game is far more free-flowing and easier to watch. What hasn't changed is some of the amazingly athletic marks and hard knocks. In fact, there are so many hard knocks I am not sure how anyone survived playing footy back then. Each season has a highlights package of the best marks and the worst brawls (of which there are many indeed).

    The highlights of each season include:

    1970: Showing classic footage of Ted Whitten giving a pep talk to his team before the final quarter.

    1971: Vintage highlights of Peter Hudson and Peter Knights, and the many brutal tackles.

    1972: A mad spectator attacking the umpire on the ground after the siren.

    1973: Trial by video introduced, resulting in an obvious increase in the number of reports (the way these guys flung their fists around back then it is no wonder they introduced this concept).

    1974: The infamous Windy Hill brawl that had the police cite a number of team staff and players.

    1975: Introduction of colour broadcasts of football matches, and the tragic bump that left Neil Sackse a quadraplegic.

    1976: Introduction of the 2-umpire system, which resulted in some confusing chaos during early games.

    1977: Malcolm Blight kicking a huge torpedo punt to win the game after the siren, and the famous drawn Grand Final between Collingwood and North Melbourne.

    1978: Highest ever score by Footscray, kicking 213 points against St Kilda.

    1979: The classic footy theme song "Up There Cazaly" was introduced by Channel 7.

    The feature does get a little tedious towards the end - you can only watch so much of guys giving each other clotheslines during a game and decking each other. The vintage footage of players such as Barry Cable, Alex Jesaulenko, Peter Hudson, Peter Knights, Malcolm Blight and the interviews with coaches such as Ron Barassi are still great to watch. It's great to know that football has come so far, and it's these players and coaches that we have to thank for that.

Video

    When the disc is inserted, a disclaimer is shown proclaiming that the best efforts were made to provide satisfactory video quality, but due to the age of the footage, some deterioration has occurred. The lack of quality is evident throughout this feature, but is still acceptable for its age.

    Since we're talking about footage from the 1970's before the introduction of live colour broadcasts, all of the footage from the early 1970s is in black and white. The footage is also a little soft and grainy, with some sections displaying a significant number of black and white flecks. Black levels are not too bad though, although they do appear a little grey on a few occasions.

    When the colour footage starts, it is amazing what depth a little colour provides. I found it a little hard to orientate myself when watching the players on the ground during the black and white footage,  but for some reason colour provides an extra dimension. The colours do appear a little muted at times (particularly during the interview segments between seasons), but on some occasions the colour of the guernseys also appears to be oversaturated and colour bleeding is evident.

    There were no MPEG artefacts that I could detect, and no aliasing or edge enhancement. No subtitles are provided.

    This is a single layered disc and thus has no layer transition.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    An English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 Kb/s) soundtrack is provided that is satisfactory.

    The feature is a television programme taken from the early 1980's and so the sound quality is not great. The commentary sounds a little muffled and hollow at times, but is suitable for simple commentary.

    The actual audio from the commentators during the game is quite a deal worse, with the speech hard to hear on many occasions. The music throughout the feature appears to change with the times. The music begins with traditional guitar music in the early 1970's and transitions to a more disco style of music towards the end. I thought the use of the Rocky theme song a little amusing (not the famous opening score by Alan Silvestri).

    There is no surround or subwoofer usage throughout the feature.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu Animation & Audio

    Traditional guitar music (very hippy 70's type) and football highlights are shown when viewing the main menu.

Ladders of the 70s

    Provides the ladders at the end of each season. Good for all the trivia buffs out there.

   Sensational Seventies is a great bit of football history, and should be in every football fan's DVD collection. The marks are amazing, and the tackles and brawls totally brutal. Football has certainly changed a lot since the 1970's, but the foundation that the players and coaches of this era laid has enabled the game to be so great today. Go out and get it footy fans.

    The video quality is satisfactory for the age of the footage.

    The sound quality is satisfactory for the age of the source.

    The extras are nothing to write home about unless you're into memorising league ladders.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

AFL-The Electrifying 80's

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General		Extras
Category	Sports	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	?
Running Time	87:02 (Case: 90)
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Aust. Football Video Visual Entertainment Group	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$32.95	Music	None Given

    Following on from the Sensational Seventies DVD, the AFL has released The Electrifying 80s which covers the highlights and lowlights through the 10 seasons of the 1980s. The feature appears to be a made-for-television program, produced in the early 1990s and hosted by Sandy Roberts. The footage again brings back fond memories of classic games and players. The game in this decade seemed to be in transition; a cross between the traditional brute force style of the 70s mixed with the pace and class of the 90s.

    The highlights of each season include:

    1980: Phil Carmen head-butting the boundary umpire and receiving a record 20-week suspension.

    1981: The start of the coaching careers of Kevin Sheedy, Robert Walls, and Malcolm Blight, and the debut of the seriously insane player Mark "Jacko" Jackson.

    1982: The move of the South Melbourne Swans to Sydney.

    1983: Controversy over the first aboriginal umpire, and champion player Kevin Bartlett the first player to reach 400 games.

    1984: The debut of two future legends - Tony Lockett at St Kilda and Gary Ablett at Geelong.

    1985: Two dark incidents - player John Burke suspended for 10 years (that's right) for kicking an opponent and then decking the umpire, and Leigh Matthews being charged with assault and appearing in court after breaking Neville Bruns' jaw.

    1986: The introduction of South Australian players Stephen Kernahan, John Platten, and Craig Bradley having a huge impact on the competition.

    1987: Introduction of the Brisbane Bears and West Coast Eagles into the competition, and Tony Lockett becoming the first Full Forward to win the Brownlow medal.

    1988: The night series becomes the pre-season competition, for many years known as the Fosters Cup.

    1989: The classic Grand Final between Hawthorn and Geelong, where the Cats come back behind the sensational Ablett, but fall short by 6 points.

    The feature includes some short interviews with players and coaches. Again, with all the classic footage of legendary players and coaches, this is a must for all AFL fans.

Video

    This time around there is no disclaimer about picture quality, and the standard is pretty much on par with what you expect from television shows back in the 1990s. All the footage is in colour, but the colours do seem quite muted. The grounds and the players' jumpers sometimes look very dull. The footage is a little soft and grainy at times, and black levels are okay. Sharpness did pick up slightly towards the latter half of the decade.

    There were no MPEG artefacts that I could detect, and no aliasing or edge enhancement. No subtitles are provided.

    This is a single layered disc and thus has no layer transition.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    An English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 Kb/s) audio track is provided that is satisfactory.

    The feature is a television programme taken from the early 1990s, with footage from throughout the 1980s, and so the sound quality is not fantastic, but is a big improvement over that provided for the footage in the Sensational Seventies feature. The commentary is much clearer overall.

    Music hits from the 1980s are used throughout the feature. It was most appropriate to use Take My Breath Away when showing the highlights of the marks of the year.

    As before, there is no surround or subwoofer usage throughout the feature.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu Animation & Audio

    The Channel 7 sports theme and football highlights are shown when viewing the main menu.

Ladders of the 80s

    Provides the ladders at the end of each season. Good for all the trivia buffs out there.

   The Electrifying 80s is another great bit of football history, and should be in every football fan's DVD collection. The introduction of new teams really paved the way for a national competition, and the debuts of so many legendary players such as Lockett, Dunstall, and Ablett gave a glimpse of how great these players would be in the 1990s. Go out and get it footy fans.

    The video quality is satisfactory for the age of the footage.

    The sound quality is satisfactory for the age of the source.

    The extras are nothing to write home about unless you're into memorising league ladders.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

AFL-The 90's: The Decade that Delivered

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General		Extras
Category	Sports	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	?
Running Time	138:55 (Case: 140)
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Aust. Football Video Visual Entertainment Group	Starring	None Given
Case	Amaray-Opaque-Secure Clip
RPI	$32.95	Music	None Given

    The final DVD released in the 30 Years of the Very Best Footy 3-disc box set is The 90s The Decade That Delivered. As before, the feature covers all the highlights and lowlights through the 10 seasons of the 1990s. For this feature, hosted enthusiastically by Bruce McAvaney, the time spent outlining each season is quite a bit longer, going into many details of the happenings during the season. This release displays how far the game has come since the 1970s, and really shows the skill and class of the players at this level.

    The highlights of each season include:

    1990: Collingwood wins its first Grand Final in 30 years, and the first under the new AFL banner. Debut of Wayne Carey, arguably the best player ever to play Australian Rules Football.

    1991: Introduction of the Adelaide Crows into the competition. Hawthorn's win in the Grand Final signals the end of the amazing Hawthorn era that saw them reach the Grand Final in eight of the past nine years.

    1992: Debut of Essendon champion James Hird, and the West Coast Eagles becoming the first non-Victorian team to win the Grand Final, marking the competition as truly national.

    1993: Tony Modra's sensational mark of the year in the goal square, and the debut of Shane Crawford. The season also highlighted the racial vilification issue, with the infamous Nicky Winmar incident and the famous photo of him pointing defiantly at his black skin.

    1994: Mick Maguane's classic solo run across the ground to kick a sensational goal, and the West Coast Eagles winning their second flag in three years.

    1995: The touching lap of honour made by Ted Whitten that made the hair stand on end and the tears well in your eyes as he was terminally ill, and his death a few weeks later. The season also marked the introduction of the Fremantle Dockers into the competition.

    1996: The centenary year of the AFL, and the announcement of the Team of the Century. The debut of champions Ben Cousins and Matthew Lloyd. The season also marked the end of the Fitzroy Lions, and the merger with Brisbane.

    1997: Merging of Brisbane Bears and the Fitzroy Lions to become the Brisbane Lions. Also marked the introduction of Port Power into the competition, and the first premiership for the Adelaide Crows.

    1998: Adelaide defying the odds and becoming the only team in the 90s to win back-to-back premierships, and Robert Harvey winning back-to-back Brownlow medals.

    1999: Tony Lockett breaking the all-time goal scoring record that had been held for 62 years as he kicked his 1300th goal.

    The feature includes interviews with players and coaches describing their own insights into the way the game has changed, and their personal experiences through the decade. For footage of the legendary players such as Lockett, Dunstall, and Carey, and to relive all the heart-stoppers throughout the 90s, this is a must have for AFL fans.

Video

    This program was made in early 2000 before the start of the new season, and so the quality is quite good, and is on par with television broadcasts today. The colours are rendered much more naturally, and are not muted or over-saturated. Sharpness is also greatly improved over the footage in the previous two decades, with less grain. Black levels are not a problem.

    There were no MPEG artefacts that I could detect, and no aliasing or edge enhancement. No subtitles are provided.

    This is a single layered disc and thus there is no layer transition.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    An English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 Kb/s) soundtrack is provided that is satisfactory.

    The feature is a television program taken from early 2000 with footage from through the 1990s, and so the sound quality is much improved. One would be hard-pressed to tell any difference between the sound provided here and the audio presented for the football matches today. It was interesting to recognise the voices of the Channel 7 commentators through the 1990s. I must say that I prefer these guys over the Channel 9 and 10 commentators of today.

    Unlike the Sensational Seventies and The Electrifying 80s DVDs, there is not a lot of music in the background of this release. It is strictly the footage as broadcast, with no music. The voiceover with this release is much clearer than on the other DVDs, though.

    As before, there is no surround or subwoofer usage throughout the feature.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu Animation & Audio

    Some generic rock music and football highlights are shown when viewing the main menu.

Ladders of the 90s

    Provides the ladders at the end of each season. Good for all the trivia buffs out there.

   The 90s The Decade That Delivered is yet another great bit of football history, and should be in every football fan's DVD collection. The introduction of new teams such as the Fremantle Dockers and the Adelaide Crows made the competition truly national, highlighted by West Coast and Adelaide being the first non-Victorian teams to win the flag. So many great players emerged during the 90s, such as Carey, Hird, Harvey, and Michael Voss. So many legendary players also finished their careers in this period such as Lockett and Dunstall. Do I need to say it again? This DVD is a must for footy fans. Go out and get it!

    The video quality is good, and is of television broadcast quality.

    The sound quality is satisfactory.

    The extras are nothing to write home about unless you're into memorising league ladders.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall