Bradman: Reflections on the Legend (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Documentary	Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	110:35
RSDL / Flipper	Dual Layered	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Lincoln Tyner
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Donald Bradman
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	Stuart Day

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.78:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	No
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

He was more than just a batsman,
he was something like a tide.
More than just one man, he was half the bloody side.
They always came for Bradman, 'cause fortune used to hide in the palm of his hand

Paul Kelly - 'Bradman' 1986

    99.94 - is there a more famous number in the pantheon of Australian sporting statistics than this? I doubt it. In a sport such as cricket which revolves around statistics, this number arguably represents the most famous of them all. Even people with only a passing interest in cricket, or even sport in general, would probably have some inkling about its origins. It's even the source for the number used by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as their PO Boxes in capital cities around the country. It is of course the batting average of legendary Australian player and captain Sir Donald Bradman and is so far ahead of the man in second place (currently South African Graeme Pollock on 60.97) that it is unlikely to ever be bettered. But Bradman was more than just a prolific run scorer and marvellous captain of the national cricket team. He was a devoted father and family man, an administrator of the highest integrity, and a successful businessman. But what made this man such a legendary icon of not only the game of cricket but of Australian life in general and, amazingly, just as dearly loved in the land of the old enemy - England? That is what this two part documentary dedicated to reflecting on Bradman's career attempts to answer.

    It is now more than three years since Sir Donald Bradman passed away at the age of 92 on 25 February 2001, but the legend of Bradman's legacy to cricket and Australian culture shows no sign of diminishing. This documentary has been produced by the same team behind the Bodyline and Cricket In The 70s: The Chappell Era documentaries. As such it is of the highest quality and doesn't just resort to cobbling together a bunch of old match footage and interviewing a few former players. To be sure there is rare match footage shown and a few players do lend their thoughts on what the great man meant to them. Former team mates such as Sam Loxton, Neil Harvey, Bill Brown, and Arthur Morris are interviewed in addition to current players Steve Waugh and Sachin Tendulkar. There are even interviews with a couple of English Lords and respected television interviewer Michael Parkinson.

    But it is the analysis of the Don from the social historians, the authors of several books on his life, and even his long reclusive son John that makes the most interesting and enlightening discussion in this documentary. These people, including historian David Frith, Bradman biography authors Brett Hutchins and Margaret Geddes, and son John Bradman, recount many stories of both the on-field and off-field variety. These stories really paint a picture of just what Don Bradman was about and why he was often marked as being a little bit different to the rest of his team mates - an unfair criticism that led to him being declared aloof and a sort of inhuman machine by some of his critics - and he did have them. There's also a touch of controversy raised when discussion focuses on the dealings Bradman had with his stock broking employer in the mid 1940s when the successful Adelaide business was declared bankrupt. Most of his life, including his early childhood, his rise through the playing ranks of New South Wales and Australia, his long marriage to his wife Jesse, and his life after cricket is covered.

    This is a worthy addition to the many books, biographies, articles, and other documentaries that have paid homage to this greatest of Australian sportsmen. Cricket lovers around the world should consider this a must-have to add to their bulging collection of cricket DVDs.

Video

    Since this is a recent production what we get here is really quite a lovely looking video transfer.

    Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, it also benefits from being 16x9 enhanced. With the transfer containing a mixture of old and new footage, the quality is obviously going to differ greatly, but the new interview material is excellent. It is extremely sharp, crystal clear, and brilliantly vibrant in colour. The older archival material suffers from being anywhere up to 70 years old. Scratched, muddy at times, and in brilliant black and white or sepia-tone, it is as expected. This material has been modified to fit the 1.78:1 frame with some cropping at the top and bottom. Overall there are no traces of edge enhancement, and grain is absent in the new material and not a real issue with the older material. There is no low level noise in either.

    Colour for the new interview footage is superb, benefiting from modern digital video equipment. It is vivid and vibrant with deep solid saturation. The archival footage from the 1930s onwards is at the other end of the quality spectrum, being grainy and a mix of black and white and sepia-tone with some 1970s and 80s washed out colour footage.

    There are no compression artefacts. Video artefacts are also absent. The archival material suffers from pretty much every film artefact in existence, including scratches of varying lengths, blobs, blotches, and dirt. Nonetheless, it is still fascinating to watch.

    Oddly, there are no subtitle streams present.

    This is a dual layered disc, with the layer change occurring between the two episodes.

Video Ratings Summary

Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
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Audio

    A fairly basic audio selection graces this disc. We get an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack as the only option.

    Dialogue is pretty much all this is about, being a narrative documentary with plenty of interviews. This is handled well with no obvious problems. There are also no audio sync issues.

    There is a little background music, but it is barely noticeable.

    There is no surround or subwoofer use at all.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio

    This disc is not available in Region 1.

    It is now more than three years since the death of Sir Donald Bradman, arguably the most loved and revered sporting icon this country has ever produced. This two-part retrospective documentary does more than just remind us what a great cricketer he was, it also reminds us just what sort of complex and private man he was and the impact he had on a young Australia yearning for some sort of hero during the great depression of the 1930s.

    The quality of the video is excellent with the new interview footage leading the way. The older archival footage suffers from all the usual problems associated with 70 year old film.

    The audio is nothing spectacular but handles the job required with ease.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall