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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.
Baseclimb/Baseclimb 2-Defying Gravity (1993)

Baseclimb/Baseclimb 2-Defying Gravity (1993)

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Released 29-Aug-2002

Cover Art

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Sports Main Menu Audio
Featurette-Mountain Bike Training
Featurette-Trekking In Nepal
Featurette-Base Jumping In Moab
Featurette-Parachute Packing In Pakistan
Featurette-Trekking In Pakistan
Featurette-Retreat & Avalanche
Featurette-Coming Home
Gallery-Photo
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 1993
Running Time 106:15
RSDL / Flipper Dual Layered Cast & Crew
Start Up Ads Then Menu
Region Coding 1,2,3,4,5,6 Directed By Glenn Singleman
Studio
Distributor

Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring Glenn Singleman
Nic Feteris
Heather Swan
Case Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI $39.95 Music David Skinner


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

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

Plot Synopsis

    BASEClimb and BASEClimb 2 are documentaries about the quest to perform BASE jumps from the world's highest cliffs.

    BASEClimb is the story of Glenn Singleman and Nic Feteris and their attempt to perform a BASE jump from the 6258 metre high Great Trango Tower in Pakistan. When initially setting out on this expedition Glenn had never BASE-jumped and Nic had no experience in mountaineering. This documentary follows their training and planing for their expedition to their final attempt to capture the world record for altitude base-jumping.

    BASEClimb 2: Inspired by her husband's world record breaking BASE jump in 1992 Heather Swan was determined to have a similar experience. Heather had never jumped before and also had no experience with mountaineering. Together with her husband Glenn, the couple begin a rigorous training program and begin planning a BASE jump from the 6828 metre high Ama Dablan. This expedition will test both of them more than they thought possible and will give them their greatest challenge yet.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The two documentaries were made nearly ten years apart using different equipment and consequently the image quality differs significantly.

    BASEClimb is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 while BASEClimb 2 is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and is 16x9 enhanced. Both documentaries are presented in their original aspect ratio.

    The sharpness displayed during the first documentary does vary but always appears slightly soft. This variation in sharpness is due to the original source material but is slightly distracting. In the second documentary the image remains consistently sharp throughout.

    In the first documentary some low-level noise may be seen during numerous shots. This low-level noise is due to the original source material and examples of this may be clearly seen at 5:28 and 11:10; it's slightly disruptive to viewing. No low-level noise was detected during the second documentary.

    The first feature displays a mediocre level of shadow detail; this is significantly improved in the second documentary. As both features are brightly lit throughout this variation in shadow detail does not pose any problem for viewers.

    The colour palette of the first documentary is always slightly muted but this is never troubling. During the second documentary the palette is consistently well saturated and vibrant.

    Some Gibbs artefacts may be seen at 5:23 in the first documentary. An encoder artefact may be seen at 40:16 in the second documentary, resulting in a small block of the image moving in the frame. Both these errors occur for only a very short period of time and are only very minimally annoying.

    During the first documentary a small number of aliasing artefacts can be seen. Some examples may be found at 3:09, 12:44, 13:07 and 26:01. During the second documentary aliasing artefacts may be seen at 1:38, 11:55, 17:56, 26:15 and 51:15. Due to their short duration these artefacts are only minimally disruptive.

    Numerous film artefacts may be seen during the first documentary. Some examples of these artefacts may be seen at 0:02, 0:49, 1:49, 7:57, 9:36 and 11:07. These artefacts are moderately distracting to the viewer. Some obvious film grain may be seen during the first documentary but this is never troubling. During the second documentary a small number of film artefacts may be seen during the footage of the first jump at 0:59 and 1:15 but these are not distracting.

    An analogue tape error may be seen at 0:55 during the first documentary but this is not disruptive.

    Unfortunately no subtitles are provided for either documentary.

    The documentaries are placed on separate layers and consequently no layer change is visible to the viewer.

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

Audio

    A Dolby Digital 224 kbps 2.0 soundtrack is provided for each documentary.

    During the first documentary the soundfield appears to collapse to mono at various points such as 0:30. The dialogue during these segments is slightly muffled but is always easily understood. During the second documentary the dialogue is always clear and easy to understand.

    No dropouts or problems with audio sync were detected during the transfer.

    The minimal score for both documentaries was provided by David Skinner and this suits the on-screen action while never drawing attention to itself.

    The surround and subwoofer channels were not used during the transfer.

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

Extras

Menu

    The non-animated menu is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and it is 16x9 enhanced.

Additional Clips

    This is a collection of additional clips relating to the second documentary. These clips are presented with a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and they are 16x9 enhanced. The following clips are included:

Photo Gallery

    This is a series of six pages each displaying three small images. These pages are displayed at an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and they are 16x9 enhanced.

R4 vs R1

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

    This disc does not appear to be currently available in region 1.

Summary

    BASEClimb and BASEClimb 2 are two interesting documentaries that help show how people are able to achieve their goals with determination and planning.

    The video transfer is acceptable considering the quality of the original source materials.

    The soundtrack is suitable for these dialogue driven documentaries.

    The small collection of additional scenes are welcome but could possibly have been supplemented with some biographical information.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Anthony Kable (read my bio)
Sunday, September 08, 2002
Review Equipment
DVDToshiba 2109, using S-Video output
DisplaySony KP-E41SN11. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
Audio DecoderBuilt in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials.
AmplificationFront left/right: ME75b; Center: DA50ES; rear left/right: DA50ES; subwoofer: NAD 2600 (Bridged)
SpeakersFront left/right: VAF DC-X; Center: VAF DC-6; rear left/right: VAF DC-7; subwoofer: Custom NHT-1259

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