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(More customer reviews)Recently ordered and received "The Official World Series Film Collection," from Amazon.com for $90 and I must say WOW!
I am a baseball lifer and enjoy traveling down to watch the Pirates play and when I saw this product advertised on MLB Network I thought there was no way this was affordable. Then I pop up here and its $90. So I figured the set got to be great pick up so I picked it up.
Let me continue to say WOW!
The presentation of this box set is a coffee table format. It is really well made and its something that my friends and family over the past few days have marveled over. The foreward has been written by Bob Costas who anyone knows loves the game. Followed in the Coffee Table box is a pictorial essay of the biggest moments in Series history dating from the first WS between Pittsburgh and Boston in 1903 to the Phillies in 2008. Woven in this "scrap book" is the DVDs. One improvement is they put the discs in pockets on top of the pages and its SO much easier to access the discs, in the past box sets released in this format have put discs in the middle of the page in tight spots where you can easily scratch the discs. Not so here.
Overall I give MLB and A&E mad props for this excellent presentation of this box set.
The contents of this box set is self explanatory you have the World Series FILM of every WS from 1943-2008. I emphasize FILM because you will get someone who will buy this THINKING they will get FULL games. These are not full games. These are 30-45 minute films highlighting each World Series from 1943-2008. I find it a treat to watch players such as Mickey Mantle, Bob Gibson, Sandy Koufax, Carlton Fisk, George Brett, Jack Morris, etc in this set.
Now the quality of the DVDs are excellent and there are no bonus features and really who cares about bonus features when you have nearly 50 hours of baseball on DVD. This set gives the baseball diehard an opportunity to relive the greatest moments on baseball's grandest stage. I rate these on par with the NFL Films Super Bowl Collection as the finest in Sports DVDs because of the great quality.
I watched the 1979 World Series Film between my Buccos and the Baltimore Orioles and watching the build-up of the Series and watching the big plays and big moments are excellent. I am really looking forward to dive into other Series films.
Bottomline: if you miss the opportunity to get this set for $90...you are missing a golden opportunity. I find this set to be priceless for the baseball fan. If you are looking for a holiday gift or a birthday gift for the baseball fan I would almost guarantee you will hit one out of the park with this
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This magnificent DVD Collection elegantly displays the iconic moments, thrilling heroics, triumphant favorites, and breathtaking upsets across seven decades of World Series Films, plus a narrative and pictorial essay on the Fall Classic since its origin in 1903.
This beautifully-packaged, digitally-preserved celebration of the Fall Classic is a timeless treasure that will become the ultimate centerpiece of any baseball fan's DVD library. Records and seasons change with time, but the legends and lore of the World Series on DVD will last forever.
Fall Classic film highlights showcase extraordinary players including: Stan Musial, Jackie Robinson, Mickey Mantle, Willie Mays, Henry Aaron, Sandy Koufax, Bob Gibson, Brooks Robinson, Tom Seaver, Johnny Bench, Willie Stargell, Derek Jeter, Albert Pujols, and many more. The drama and unforgettable images of baseball are the World Series moments etched in our minds and celebrated from generation to generation. These dynamic events are preserved and commemorated in this one-of-a-kind collection.
DVD FEATURES: 58-Page World Series Pictorial and Retrospective with Foreword by Bob Costas*DISC 1: 1943 Yankees, 1944 Cardinals, 1945 Tigers, 1946 Cardinals, 1947 Yankees, 1948 Indians (approx 182 min)*DISC 2 1949-53 Yankees (approx 167 min)*DISC 3 1954 Giants, 1955 Dodgers, 1956 Yankees (approx 115 min)*DISC 4 1957 Braves, 1958 Yankees, 1959 Dodgers, 1960 Pirates, 1961 Yankees (approx 182 min)*DISC 5 1962 Yankees, 1963 Dodgers, 1964 Cardinals (approx 100 min)*DISC 6 1965 Dodgers, 1966 Orioles, 1967 Cardinals, 1968 Tigers (approx 152 min)*DISC 7 1969 Mets, 1970 Orioles, 1971 Pirates (approx 116 min)*DISC 8 1972-74 A's, 1975-76 Reds (approx 170 min)*DISC 9 1977-78 Yankees, 1979 Pirates, 1980 Phillies, 1981 Dodgers (approx 166 min)*DISC 10 1982 Cardinals, 1983 Orioles, 1984 Tigers (approx 107 min)*DISC 11 1985 Royals, 1986 Mets, 1987 Twins (approx 119 min)*DISC 12 1988 Dodgers, 1989 A's, 1990 Reds (approx 177 min)*DISC 13 1991 Twins, 1992 Blue Jays (approx 139 min)*DISC 14 1993 Blue Jays, 1995 Braves (approx 132 min)*DISC 15 1996 Yankees, 1997 Marlins (approx 143 min)*DISC 16 1998-2000 Yankees (approx 186 min)*DISC 17 2001 Diamondbacks, 2002 Angels (approx 145 min)*DISC 18 2003 Marlins, 2004 Red Sox (approx 142 min)*DISC 19 2005 White Sox, 2006 Cardinals (approx 152 min)*DISC 20 2007 Red Sox, 2008 Phillies (approx 163 min)
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A Message from Jeff Scott, Senior Writer-- Major League Baseball Productions, someone who has worked on the World Series MLB Project for the last 20 years.
There was no shortage of storylines in the first World Series film I wrote for Major League Baseball Productions. The year was 1988 and this fellow Orel Hershiser had just completed a regular season in which he threw six consecutive scoreless games - topped off by a 10 inning masterpiece that enabled him to set a new record with 59 straight scoreless innings. He threw another eight scoreless in the LCS against the Mets to extend his mark to 67 straight innings without allowing a run. Did I mention his save in Game Four of the LCS - a shutout in Game Seven of that series and still another in Game Two of the World Series against the A's (he also went 3-3 with two doubles in that game)? Of course, what most folks remember from that '88 Series was the home run a hobbling (Hobbsing?) Kirk Gibson hit to win the opener and set the stage for a Dodger championship. Whew, I thought. This script writes itself. I soon discovered that it doesn't always work that way - in fact, there have been many years when folks have said that our official World Series Film was better than the real thing.
But regardless of the drama or lack thereof, it's always baseball -- and I have had the pleasure and honor to write the World Series film for more than 20 years. A little background is in order here. The first four decades of World Series films were created as archival programs designed to capture the highlights for posterity. The narration was staccato and to the point - much more play-by-play than storytelling. By the 1970s the film became a blend of archive and entertainment - more story intensive - and come the 1980s these films were offered to the public first on VHS and later DVD. With this latest evolution came a drastic change in production. What once took months to leisurely put together now had to be turned around in less than two weeks to accommodate the film's distributor. And that's how it's been since I first became a part of the process. That first script I wrote back in 1988 was banged out on an IBM Selectric Typewriter (with automatic back space white out.) I would soon move on to a Smith Corona Word Processer - the kind where you had to insert a new piece of paper into the roll for each page you wanted to print. It took close to 45 minutes to print out the 1991 classic which described how John Smoltz and Jack Morris traded darts in an unforgettable Game Seven. The 1993 series was the first one I wrote that included my beloved Phillies. But after enduring the traumatic Game Four and Joe Carter's blast three days later I can assure you that film is still sitting on my shelf wrapped in its original cellophane. Just because I wrote it doesn't mean I have to watch it!
There was no World Series film in 1994 - perhaps the darkest October in baseball history. I was still writing for Mel Allen on "This Week in Baseball" that year, and the only time I ever saw him cry was when he read that there would be no World Series that year. The Yankees incredible run that began in 1996 electrified New York City. And it all seemed ready to peak in 2001, for this World Series was very much a part of the healing process after 9-11 - and the Yankees were following the script to a "T." Miraculous back-to-back comebacks at Yankee Stadium had put the Yankees on the brink of the title -- all they had to do was win one more in the desert. But just when everything appeared to be in place for a true Fall Classic classic, Luis Gonzalez hit a little flair over shortstop off the best closer on the planet and the unpredictable world of baseball had thrown us all another curve.
The premiere of the 2004 World Series film in Boston was a raucous delight - the audience was screaming and cheering every moment on the big screen. This was also the year we shifted away from classic voiceover talent (Vin Scully, Ernie Harwell, Curt Chaplin, Len Cariou) and instead called upon actors who lived and died with their teams. Denis Leary voiced that 2004 film and he did a fantastic job. But the truth is, it was almost as much fun listening to the stream of good-natured invective he unleashed in the voiceover booth every time he messed up. Chicago native Michael Clarke Duncan manned the mike the next year, followed by St. Louis fan Billy Bob Thornton. Matt Damon was a pleasure to work with when the Sox won again in 2007. How much he loves his team became apparent halfway through the session when this award-winning actor -- who has been in some of this generation's top films -- sat back and said that this might have been the coolest thing he'd ever done. And in 2008 - when I finally got to write a World Series film that had a happy ending (at least for me), Terrence Howard brought just the right tone to the script.
Beyond all these actors and narrators, I have been blessed to work with many talented producers, editors, executive producers, field crews, audio engineers, proofreaders and myriad assistants, associates and coordinators who together form the basis of each and every film. And nothing on a professional level makes me feel better than when the show is finally recorded and mixed and they get to see their hard work brought together by a solid script and crisp narration. The World Series film is the gift we give to baseball fans every year - and I'm just happy to be the one who gets to tie the bow.
Jeff Scott
Senior Writer -- Major League Baseball Productions
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