CKY Trilogy Round 2 (2003) (NTSC)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Sports	Main Menu Audio Additional Footage
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	50:49
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Bam Margera
Studio Distributor	Stomp Visual	Starring	Bam Margera Brandon DiCamillo Ryan Dunn Raab Himself Jess Margera Art Webb 1986
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	None Given

    CKY Trilogy Round 2 is somewhat different to what I had expected to be reviewing. Let me explain further. CKY2K is the second release from the group comprised of Bam Margera, Brandon Dicamllio, Ryan Dunn and Raab Himself... and what I was expecting to be watching here. I was surprised when I played the disc to discover that it also included segments from CKY3, and had been combined into what is essentially a 50 minute highlights package of the two. Note that both CKY2K and CKY3 each by themselves have the same runtime as this highlights package.

    So what about the dropped footage? Well, it's not the end of the world, as from memory some of it was boring and deserves to be missing. However, I still felt a little short-changed. CKY Trilogy Round 1 went for the same runtime, had more bonus footage, and included a documentary which was of the same runtime as the main feature. Next will be CKY4: The Latest and Greatest, which I believe will be the original feature.

    Despite only running for 50 minutes, this does make for enjoyable viewing, and is much more entertaining than Round 1. The skateboarding tricks are surprisingly interesting to watch, despite my not having any interest in the sport. It is quite amazing how much skill is involved. While the credits indicate that Tony Hawk makes an appearance, he does not make it into the final cut of this program (he was in CKY3).

    The stunts are much more elaborate this time around. Much more original that its predecessor, they are grander, more dangerous, and some have more hilarious results. Skits are also more planned, with Brandon once again being the main star. While he is the one that I loathe the most, I couldn't help but laugh at him. The thing that sets this one apart from the original is the filming of their everyday lives, and what they do for amusement - breaking wind, urinating and defecating on peoples' faces whilst they are sleeping. However gross this all sounds, you will nonetheless crack up laughing in disgust.

    'Shit Dollar' is the funniest of them all, where Bam and Brandon leave a dollar note next to an ATM for a poor unsuspecting man to find. He picks it up and puts it in his pocket, only to discover that it is covered in faeces. The man is furious, and heads back to his car. It is then up to Bam to convince the man to allow his footage to be used in the show by paying him off and getting him to sign a release form. Classic stuff.

    Whilst I'm unsure of CKY2K's filming schedule, CKY3 was filmed at the same time as the Jackass television series. Evidence of this can be found in some of the sets used, like a high-diving board with Bam riding a bike into the pool, as well as a ramp leading off into a dam which allows skaters and bike riders to leap off into the murky water. Johnny Knoxville even makes a brief appearance. These stunts appear to be ones that are too extreme for television broadcast, or just too stupid.

Video

    This NTSC disc is presented in a non 16x9 enhanced 1.33:1 aspect ratio, which is the same video specification as Round 1. You will notice that Round 2 is a major improvement over its predecessor in the quality of its transfer.

    Colours are the most obvious improvement. While the first CKY appeared muted and bland, this one shows proper flesh tones, the grass looking green instead of grey, and blood you can recognise by its distinct red.

    In regards to sharpness and softness of the image, I would call it an even match. Some scenes have a very sharp image, with definite defining lines, and clear backgrounds making this on par with any television show. However, at other times, the Sony hand-held cameras show their weaknesses.

    A video tracking problem shows itself in the middle of the screen at 5:10. Aliasing makes a brief appearance at 12:10, but apart from that, there are no other film or video artefacts, this being a generally clean transfer throughout.

    There are no subtitles.

    This is a single layered disc, obviously with no layer change. The data files on the disc are only 2.5Gb in size, so why more footage was not included from the combined CKYs to utilise the whole layer is beyond me.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    We once again have a single English 2.0 Dolby Digital soundtrack. The main difference between the Round 1 soundtrack and this is that this one is only encoded at 192kbps, instead of the original's 384kbps. However, don't be concerned about the lower bitrate this time around, because this soundtrack is markedly clearer.

    The dialogue is the only problem on this disc. Sometimes dialogue becomes fuzzy due to the issues inherent in outdoor sound recording, such as wind. Also, not speaking towards the camera does cause some problems on occasion. Given the lack of ADR, this was always going to be a problem (dubbing moans of pain well is not the easiest thing to do).

    There were no clicks, pops or hisses in the soundtrack.

    Music is again the best part of the soundtrack. While not a fan of the particular musical style employed here, it does support the images on screen quite well.

    The music is the only aspect of the soundtrack that utilises the subwoofer and the surrounds. The music is well supported by the rear channels, which makes me believe that this is a surround encoded soundtrack. It never overpowers the fronts, but it allows you to immerse yourself in the music. I've always been a fan of splitting music across all 5 channels in this way. Immersing yourself in the sound is the best way to present this type of soundtrack, rather than simply utilizing a frontal soundstage. The subwoofer turns on each time the music kicks in, with the sub working very well to support the deeper bass sounds.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio

    A nice static menu, with a feature music track playing.

Additional Footage

    Containing more footage from both CKY2K and CKY3, this should have been integrated into the main feature to save on confusion, as it also involves skits and stunts, much the same as can be found in the main feature.

    While released as CKY Trilogy just as it has been here in Australia, the US has had several other releases of this material:

CKY2K: The Breakthrough Video

    With a runtime of 90 minutes, this doubles the total running time of Round 2.

CKY3: Proven Formula

    Running for 45 minutes, this still has much that is missing from the R4 release.

CKY: The Boxset

    This contains CKY Landspeed, CKY2K, CKY3 and a documentary. I cannot find anything that distinguishes this boxset from one described as CKY Trilogy.

CKY Trilogy

    I cannot find any evide.... umm, read above.

    Region 1 wins hands down. It has much footage that you will not get to see here.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall