AFL-Hawthorn: Inside the Battle of '89/The Electrifying 80s (2004)

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    Hawthorn - The Electrifying 80s and Inside the Battle of '89 is another in the long series of AFL highlights discs. For the Hawks fan who laments the current dismal state of their club, this lengthy two-disc set offers a chance to see highlights of a time when the mighty brown and gold was virtually unstoppable, including a whole disc dedicated to the famous 1989 grand final win.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

AFL-Hawthorn: Inside the Battle of '89 (2004)

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General		Extras
Category	Sports	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	77:49
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	Aust. Football Video Visual Entertainment Group	Starring	Jason Dunstall Dermott Brereton Michael Tuck John Platten
Case	?
RPI	Box	Music	None Given

    The Australian Football League is well catered for when it comes to DVD titles. There have been numerous discs dedicated to the history or highlights of several of the individual clubs such as Essendon, Fremantle, and Collingwood, plus many compilation-style titles focussing on spectacular goals, marks, biffs and bumps. There are also full replays of classic games and grand finals available such The Comeback and the 2004 Grand Final win by Port Adelaide.

    This is another disc dedicated to the Hawthorn Football Club.

    The Hawks enjoyed a golden period during the 1980s when they were almost unstoppable and, while they may be suffering at present, there once was a time when they were handing out the punishment in brutal fashion. This disc features a classic game that any respectable Hawks fan must have in their collection. The 1989 VFL grand final against Geelong has been described by many as one of the best grand finals ever. The Hawks jumped the Cats early in the game and led by as much as 40 points in the first half. But a series of injuries to key players such as Platten, Dipierdomenico and the crunching of tough man Dermott Brereton in the first 15 seconds meant the Hawks entered the second half low on fit players and rapidly running out of legs. It was always going to be a battle of attrition and with Geelong storming back in the final quarter, on the back of a man they called God (Gary Ablett), the resulting six point margin would send this game into the history books as one of the best ever.

    While it is not replayed here in full, there are significant highlights shown in the 78 minute running time. In between game highlights we see interviews with the Hawthorn players and the coach Allan Jeans at a 10-year reunion dinner held in 1999. Their thoughts, together with the highlights make this a wonderful document of a wonderful game.
   
    This is good coverage of a golden era of a great team. Hawks fans should most certainly take a look at this to remember the time when their team was filled with outright stars and hard-as-nails players who never failed to give a hundred per cent and go in and get the ball, unlike the team of today which is filled with glamour-boy wannabes who would rather be on the cover of a magazine than under a pack getting their face rammed into the mud. Footy just isn't the same any more is it?

Video

    All up, this isn't a bad transfer with problems only attributed to the age of the source material.

    The video transfer for this disc follows the same standard as the others in the series and is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. It is not 16x9 enhanced.

    As stated the footage is of variable quality, with the material all in colour, but of varying quality and clarity. There are no problems with shadow detail.

    The colours are variable, though well rendered, and there are no problems to contend with despite some of the material certainly looking its age.

    No MPEG artefacts are evident, and aside from some obvious analogue tape problems in the older footage, it is mostly clear of other imperfections.

    There are no subtitles.

    The disc is single layered so there is no layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    Seeing as the program is comprised exclusively of television highlights, we consequently get television quality audio.

    There is only one audio track available, this being an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack. Overall the quality of the soundtrack is quite good with limitations and problems only attributed to the source material.

    Dialogue is clear at all times, though there are a few problems with audio sync during some of the interview grabs. Some of the older footage is also burdened with a harsher quality and is occasionally distorted with noise and hiss.

    There is no surround or subwoofer use.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    This disc is not available in Region 1.

    Hawthorn - Inside the Battle of '89 is another in the series of AFL highlights discs. For the Hawks fan that laments the current dismal state of their club, this disc offers a chance to see highlights of a time when the mighty brown and gold was virtually unstoppable with the famous 1989 grand final win.

    The video is average, but based on the source material is more than acceptable.

    The audio is functional and serves the vision well.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

AFL-Hawthorn: The Electrifying 80's (2004)

This review is sponsored by

BUY IT

General		Extras
Category	Sports	Main Menu Audio & Animation
Rating
Year Of Production	2004
Running Time	104:34 (Case: 100)
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	Leigh Matthews Gary Ayres Don Scott Michael Tuck Jason Dunstall Dermott Brereton Chris Langford Gary Buckenara John Platten Chris Mew Robert Dipierdomenico Peter Schwab Ken Judge
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$29.95	Music	None Given

    Now that the AFL season has come to an end with Port Adelaide claiming the 2004 premiership and thwarting the Brisbane Lions' attempt to win four consecutive flags, the poor footy fans among you might be wondering just what to do with yourselves over the next few months before it all cranks up again. Well, you could easily keep yourself busy with any number of the large range of AFL DVDs on the market.

    The Australian Football League is certainly well catered for when it comes to DVD titles. There have been numerous discs dedicated to the history or highlights of several of the individual clubs such as Essendon, Fremantle, and Collingwood, plus many compilation-style titles focussing on spectacular goals, marks, biffs and bumps.

    What we have here is another highlights disc dedicated solely to one club. This time it's the mighty Hawthorn Hawks. Hang on - did I say mighty?

    Well, if you are a recent fan to AFL, you might be wondering if I am talking about the same Hawthorn football team. You see, 2004 has not been kind to the men in brown and gold with their coach getting dumped, their flamboyant captain stepping down, all manner of off-field antics hitting the headlines, and the team going oh-so-close to claiming the wooden spoon with a series of humiliating loses. Of course, the rest of us who are not Hawthorn supporters have sat back with a bit of a smirk and quite enjoyed the ride. Why is that I hear you ask? Well, Hawthorn enjoyed a golden period during the 1980s when they were almost unstoppable. So while they may be suffering at present, there once was a time when they were handing out the punishment in brutal fashion - so it's about time they had a taste of their own medicine! Long may it continue I say.

    Anyway, enough of the anti-Hawks rant! What this disc contains is a chronological highlights compilation of the 1980s featuring the all-conquering Hawks, their star players, their famous victories, and of course their premierships. And boy did they experience just a few of all three during the period from 1980 to 1989. Consider players such as 'Lethal' Leigh Matthews, Jason Dunstall, Gary Ayres, John Platten, Michael Tuck, Chris Langford, Don Scott, Robert Dipierdomenico, Peter Knights, and of course 'The Kid' Dermott Brereton just to name a few of the absolute legends that pulled on the Hawthorn jumper during the 80s. Consider also the records the club notched up. Seven successive grand finals from 1983-1989 and an unsurpassed four premiership cups, including one of the best grand finals the game has ever seen in 1989 against Geelong. There is little doubt that the Hawks of the 1980s were among the best teams the game has ever seen - yes Eddie, they were even better than the Collingwood side of 1927-1930.

    Every year from 1980 to 1989 is covered and given time for highlights of home and away fixtures, plus highlights of the finals clashes. Memorable moments such as Dermott Brereton's five goal debut game in a final in 1982 is shown, the superb moment when Leigh Matthews snapped the behind post in half (boy he was tough), plus the less savoury moments such as the famous Leigh Matthews (again) clash with Geelong's Neville Bruns in 1985. There's also a few interview grabs from several of the stars talking in retrospect about their feats, though these do appear to have been recorded several years ago.

    This is good coverage of a golden era of a great team. Hawks fans should most certainly take a look at this to remember the time when their team was filled with outright stars and hard-as-nails players who never failed to give a hundred per cent and go in and get the ball, unlike the team of today which is filled with glamour-boy wannabes who would rather be on the cover of a magazine than under a pack getting their face rammed into the mud. Footy just isn't the same anymore is it?

Video

    All up, this isn't a bad transfer with problems only attributed to the age of the source material.

    The video transfer for this disc follows the same standard as the others in the series and is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.33:1. It is not 16x9 enhanced.

    As stated the footage is of variable quality, with the material all in colour, but of varying quality and clarity. There are no problems with shadow detail.

    The colours are variable though well rendered and there are no problems to contend with despite some of the material certainly looking its age.

    No MPEG artefacts are evident, and aside from some obvious analogue tape problems in the older footage, it is mostly clear of other imperfections.

    There are no subtitles.

    This is a single layered disc so there is no layer change.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

    Seeing as the disc is comprised exclusively of television highlights, once again we get television quality audio.

    There is only one audio track available, this being an English Dolby Digital stereo 2.0 soundtrack. Overall the quality of the soundtrack is quite good with limitations and problems only attributed to the source material.

    Dialogue is clear at all times, though there are a few problems with audio sync during some of the interview grabs. Some of the older footage is also burdened with a harsher quality and is occasionally distorted with noise and hiss.

    There is no surround or subwoofer use.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Main Menu Audio & Animation

    This disc is not available in Region 1.

    Hawthorn - The Electrifying 80s is another disc in the series of AFL highlights discs. For the Hawks fan that laments the current dismal state that their club finds themselves in, this disc offers a chance to see highlights of a time when the mighty brown and gold was virtually unstoppable.

    The video is average, but based on the source material is more than acceptable.

    The audio is functional and serves the vision well.

    There are no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall