Hell Yeah (1999) (NTSC) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Wrestling |
Main Menu Audio & Animation Featurette-Rattlesnake Rules (5) Interviews-Cast-Say What, Jackass? (10) Featurette-The Book Of Austin (9) Featurette-Expect No Mercy Biographies-Cast Web Links |
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Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 1999 | ||
Running Time | 67:48 (Case: 90) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Menu | ||
Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By | None Given |
Studio
Distributor |
WWF Entertainment Eagle Entertainment |
Starring | Steve Austin |
Case | Amaray-Opaque | ||
RPI | $39.95 | Music | None Given |
Video (NTSC) | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | Full Frame | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (192Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | None | ||
16x9 Enhancement | No | ||
Video Format | 480i (NTSC) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.33:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | Smoking | No |
Annoying Product Placement | No | ||
Action In or After Credits | No |
"Give us a hell yeah if you think I should review this DVD.... HELL YEAH."
Finally Andrew S has come back to.... oh wait, wrong wrestler. Being a wrestling fan, the chance to review some WWF DVDs was a godsend (if they were WCW, that would have been another story), as I had only some pay-per-views taped off dodgy Foxtel. The one in question this time is Hell Yeah, a biography of sorts on "Stone Cold" Steve Austin.
To start, let me make one thing clear. I know wrestling is fake, but that doesn't mean it's not watchable. Why would I want to watch a couple of guys really beat each other up? Wrestling has become more than just fighting these days, as storylines make the show, not the action in the ring. Also, the wrestlers do more talking than fighting a lot of the time. It is male soap opera at its greatest and I thoroughly enjoy every second.
This DVD follows Steve Austin from his first world championship at Wrestlemania XIV to just after Wrestlemania XV, where he won back the world championship. The documentary crew has also followed him around for three days and parts of this, such as interviews and special appearances made by Stone Cold, are mixed in with footage from the matches.
The way the makers of this documentary have put the match highlights together makes it seem very epic. Such techniques as different angles, camera filters and quick cuts make the highlights very dramatic, although the quick cuts do get a little annoying as they are too quick. Music is also used well to back up onscreen action.
There is not much else to say except for the fact that this isn't just for wrestling fans, as the more human side of Steve Austin is brought forward. This shows that wrestlers are not complete idiots as many non-wrestling fans think. Oh and by the way, wrestlers do get hurt, which this DVD shows (Chapter 4).
It is presented at an aspect ratio of 1.33:1 and is obviously not 16x9 enhanced. The transfer is sharp at all times but not razor sharp as some of the darker scenes show. Still, when considering this is transferred from video, the DVD authors have done a very good job indeed. The squared circle has never looked so clear or defined. Shadow detail isn't as good unfortunately - the in-car scenes are very dark with only the brightest details being visible. No low-level noise was exhibited.
Colour was vibrant, overvibrant in fact. Skin tones were a little too red and bright for my liking. The matches were rendered a bit better than the other scenes, as colour was very slightly muted. No chroma noise was apparent.
No major MPEG artefacts were exhibited except for one very slight moire effect. Some grain was spotted though it was very rare. Some jaggies occur at times. Film artefacts were non-existent.
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Overall |
There is only one audio track on this DVD being an English Dolby Digital Stereo effort.
Dialogue is clearly comprehendible at nearly every point in the feature except for a couple of in-car scenes which were a little hard to make out, and since there are no subtitles I had to strain a little.
Audio synchronization was perfect at all times.
This soundtrack is very good. The soundstage is wide and has a defined low end. Normally in a documentary style soundtrack like this, where it is dialogue heavy, I sometimes have to lower the volume from my reference level. This is due to the track being encoded at a higher than reference level, but not for this one, it was perfect.
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Overall |
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
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Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV-626D, using Component output |
Display | Toshiba 34N9UXA. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Audio Decoder | Built in to DVD player. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Yamaha CX-600 Pre-Amp, Yamaha MX-600 Stereo Power Amp for Mains, Yamaha DSP-E300 for Center, Teac AS-M50 for Surrounds. |
Speakers | Main Left and Right Acoustic Research AR12s, Center Yamaha NS-C70, Surround Left and Right JBL Control 1s |