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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Cold Fusion (Warren Miller's) (2001)

Cold Fusion (Warren Miller's) (2001)

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Released 21-Nov-2003

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Documentary Main Menu Audio & Animation
Featurette-Behind The Scenes-Destination: Iran
Featurette-Behind The Scenes-BASE Jump: Europe
Trailer-Storm, Fifty
Rating Rated G
Year Of Production 2001
Running Time 95:11
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Warren Miller
Josh Haskins
Bailey Pryor
Sophia Morizet
Studio
Distributor

Madman Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $34.95 Music Sophia Morizet


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame Full Screen, not known whether Pan & Scan or Full Frame English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448Kb/s)
English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.29:1
16x9 Enhancement No
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio Unknown Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles None Smoking Yes
Annoying Product Placement Yes
Action In or After Credits Yes

NOTE: The Profanity Filter is ON. Turn it off here.

Plot Synopsis

    With the Australian ski season upon us, Warren Miller's Cold Fusion has been released on DVD. This DVD is guaranteed to have the adrenaline pumping, and soon you'll find yourself frothing over that white powdery stuff (on the sides of high mountains) that can bring us so much pleasure.

    Warren Miller has carved out a pretty unique niche as a filmmaker. For over 50 years he's been presenting ski (and later snowboard) movies, which showcase some of the very best action sports footage ever filmed (or videoed). Miller's personal involvement with these films now seems a little vague, as he's not a producer, director, or even a cameraman. Now in his late 70s, Miller makes a brief appearance skiing in Cold Fusion, and is credited with the film's writing and narration. While he does narrate portions of Cold Fusion, considering the cinema veritae style of filmmaking, and its interview-based dialogue, I can't see how he could have 'written' the movie.

    That aside, the producers know what audiences like - lots of exciting footage of adrenaline junkies careering down deserted, powder-snow-covered mountains, landing insane jumps, and pulling off some seriously "sick" moves. As always, the footage provided by the two directors and the five principal cameramen is astonishingly brilliant. Miller's very square, laid back, wry humour and signature narration is perfect. His voice reminds me of the father in American Pie, but as fellow reviewer David L once remarked, he's more like the Bruce Brown of the snow. I think Miller would approve of the comparison, for while Bruce Brown pined for an Endless Summer, Miller dreams of an Endless Winter. Seemingly another Ice Age would suit him just fine.

    This post-modern production seems to have a lot of fun, and we see the cameramen, sound people, equipment, and clapperboards as the film production units travel the globe searching for what Miller describes as cold fusion -- the perfect combination of snow-covered environment, clear weather, and skilled athlete. As with past Miller films, there are great locations, and a few surprising ones. We are treated to snow ski/board action in Switzerland, USA, Iran, Kenya, and Canada. In my ignorance, I never knew that there is a thriving ski industry (and ski season) in Iran. But then again, many overseas visitors that I speak with had no idea one could ski in Australia either.

    For me, however, the most amazing footage included was not of skiing or snowboarding, but of base jumping. Cold Fusion showcases some breathtaking footage of base jumping in Europe, including a world record 41 second freefall base jump off Eiger Mountain. One other aspect I found interesting is how much skateboarding has influenced the sports of surfing, and now snow boarding and skiing. Many daring skate tricks appear here, adapted for skis and boards.

    One of the things I like about Miller's films is that they include jumps and tricks that have gone wrong. Cold Fusion also has a short segment of what appears to be first-time skiers getting on and off chair lifts. This 'funniest home video' segment provides quite a good chuckle. The main thing I dislike about Miller's films is how US-centric they are. Even here, in Cold Fusion, the filmmakers travel the world only to find and interview an American skier who has made his home in whatever part of the world they are in. Additionally, if there are no Americans, such as in Kenya and Iran, the filmmakers provide them. Watching skiing and boarding in great exotic locations around the world, only to be continually bombarded with US accents gets a little tiresome. Surely in over 90 minutes they could have featured a few European skiers or boarders? The other annoying thing in Cold Fusion is the constant product placement for the film's sponsor, Nissan Pathfinder. Whole segments of this film are nothing but a car commercial. I would rather they had a commercial at the beginning or the end, rather than shamelessly trying to sneak them into the film itself. Also, where's the toboggan action? Considering what some people are doing now on boogie boards, surely someone must be carving it up on a toboggan?

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The sometimes grainy transfer is limited by its source material, which includes some old film stock and a lot of hand-held camcorder footage.

    Sadly, the transfer is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.29:1. I'm not sure what the original aspect ratio would have been, but a widescreen ratio would have made the DVD's content look even better. Currently, the sides of my widescreen television have two thick black bars when I watch this DVD, and I would have much preferred for that space to display more snow-covered peaks and/or blue skies.

    The sharpness is variable, and some scenes are quite soft. The shadow detail also varies, and at times, such as at 76:21, it's very poor.

    The colour is excellent throughout, and the striking imagery of the bright primary colours of ski gear set against the pure white snow is very effective.

    The transfer exhibits MPEG artefacts in the form of pixelization. While there is no break up of the picture, some scenes appear badly affected, such as at 75:32. There were no problems with film-to-video artefacts. Film artefacts appear throughout, and while most are small, some are quite large. However, considering the conditions under which this footage is captured, I think that this is reasonable. An annoying issue, however, is the excessive edge enhancement, which gives many of the skiers a white halo.

    There are no subtitles present on this single-sided, single-layered disc.

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

Audio

    There are two audio tracks to choose from: the default English Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps) track, and an English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (224 kbps) track.

    There is little dialogue, but when people speak to camera, the dialogue quality and audio sync are fine.

    There is no musical score as such, but a series of songs are played throughout. The hip music is provided by the likes of Frank Black, Johnny Cash, Primus, Dave Matthews, Jurassic 5, Nelly Furtado, G Love, Train, The String Cheese Incident, and the Foo Fighters.

    The surround presence and activity is generally limited to the score (as the songs are pumped through the rears) such as at 76:14. Thus, the surround sound mix is quite front-heavy. The subwoofer is mainly utilised to support the bass of the music, most noticeably with the pounding hip hop tracks.

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

Extras

    There are a few interesting extras, all presented in an aspect ratio of 1.29:1, with Dolby Stereo audio.

Menu

    A very simple menu system.

Behind The Scenes in Iran

    Running for about 10 minutes, this featurette looks at the difficulties of shooting this segment, as the skiers had to climb up a mountain to 18,000 feet.

Behind The Scenes -- Base Jump In Europe

    Running for about 15 minutes, this featurette looks at the difficulties in filming a base jump, as weather and visibility conditions need to be perfect.

Theatrical Trailer -- Storm

    A previous Warren Miller film, now available on DVD.

Theatrical Trailer -- Fifty

    Another previous Warren Miller film, also now available on DVD.

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    Cold Fusion has been released on DVD in Region 1. In R1 it can be purchased by itself, or as part of a 4-disc box set. In terms of content, the versions are the same, but I would prefer the R4 for our superior PAL transfer.

Summary

    Warren Miller is the McDonalds of Action Sports Filmmaking -- you know exactly what you will be getting in advance. It will be enjoyable, light-weight, and satisfying. Cold Fusion is Miller's latest film, and if you're a fan of the genre, it's well worth getting. I think that surf, skate, and snow ski/board DVDs make great purchases, as they get a lot of replay. I've watched Cold Fusion six times already, and like a great surf DVD, it can be popped on at any time you want to either relax with something mindless, or get fired up for a big session on the waves/snow.

    The video quality is limited, but fine for what it is.

    The audio quality is good, albeit quite front-heavy.

    The extras are good.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Brandon Robert Vogt (warning: bio hazard)
Tuesday, July 20, 2004
Review Equipment
DVDPioneer DV-535, using S-Video output
DisplayGrundig Elegance 82-2101 (82cm, 16x9). Calibrated with Video Essentials. This display device is 16x9 capable.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationSony STR DE-545
SpeakersSony SS-V315 x5; Sony SA-WMS315 subwoofer

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