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  Directed by
    None Listed
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  Specs
  • Full Frame
  • Dual Layer ( 88:34)
  Languages
  • English: Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
  Subtitles
  • None
  Extras
  • 13 Additional footage - 100 minutes
  • Cast/crew biographies - Player/game statistics
The Official Review of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003
Roadshow Entertainment/Roadshow Entertainment . R4 . COLOR . 175 mins . E . PAL

  Feature
Contract

Cricket lovers starved of cricketing action over the winter months (unless you have Foxtel or something) will find that there are some excellent cricket-themed DVDs on the market, and this is one of them. At a little under three hours it summarises all the glory, controversy and agony that is World Cup Cricket and is a must have for any cricket fan.

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Aren't you a little short for an aussie trooper.

The action all took place in Africa, mainly South Africa, but also in Zimbabwe and Kenya. Some well-spoken chap who, strangely, goes unnamed narrates the DVD. It includes the commentary that accompanied the matches, as well as several post-match interviews.

The whole feature has a very African feel with the World Cup theme used extensively throughout, but there are either variations of it, or inclusions from other African artists. There are also many mini-movie postcards showing these African countries in all their glory.

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Off to a flying start...

Each game is summarised into a short piece, including the relevant highlights, scorecards, rankings, unusual moments and examples of just about everything that makes cricket a game you either love or loathe.

Highlights, memories and controversies include Shane Warne’s bust for banned substances and subsequent withdrawal from the Cup, boycotts by England and New Zealand in Zimbabwe and Kenya over security and safety concerns, numerous personal bests, Kenya’s unlikely appearance in the semi-finals and, of course, the eventual win by the undefeated Aussies.

It is surprising how interesting and easy to watch this well produced package is; even my cricket-challenged other half watched most of it. If it’s a well-rounded souvenir/memory of a great sporting event that you’re after, then The Official Review of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2003 is what you’re need. Oh, it makes a perfect partner for ICC World Cup Cricket 2003 - One Day Wonders, too.

  Video
  Audio
  Extras
Contract

At first glance, this full frame presentation is a cracker with its bold and glorious colours and clear vision, but a closer inspection reveals some annoying flaws. The image is mostly very clear and sharp, and the solid colours shine throughout, but the image is a little shaky when the camera tries to keep up with some of the action. It would probably go unnoticed by many casual viewers, but is a factor nonetheless.

There are no marks to speak of, shadow detail is never a problem, and black levels are superb. So where are the problems? Well there are constant compression artefacts that manifest themselves in regular shimmer and aliasing that gets very annoying. It is mostly noticeable when the boundary rope is in view, or when the camera moves across the crowd.

The layer change is placed at 88:34 and while evident, was never going to be be fully disguised.

Despite having only Dolby Digital 2.0 mono audio, this DVD sounds quite good, aided perhaps by the big sounding African music. The low-level sounds are very good, and the audio is good, loud and clear with no synchronisation issues. The crowd sounds thin and hollow at times, but the commentary and narration sound fine.

There are no other issues of note, and all but the left and right front speakers are silent, but not overly missed I suspect.

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I've heard of bowling a maiden over but this is ridiculous

A release of this nature is likely to include bonus footage as extras, and that’s mostly what we get here. There is a second disc that holds this extra footage that clocks in at over one hour and 40 minutes. The 13 segments are presented as separate packages and are not narrated. They show edited highlights of the tournament from Ricky Ponting, Brett Lee, Andrew Symonds, Andy Bichel, Marvan Atapattu, Chaminda Vass, Sourav Ganguly, Sachin Tendulkar, James Anderson, Vasbert Drakes, Shane Bond, Herschell Gibbs and John Davison.

Back on Disc One you will also find a wealth of Tournament Statistics which, typical of cricket, will tell you more than you could ever want to know. There are 18 screens of statistics for the Top Performers, including the best bowlers, best batters, most runs, most wickets and best strike rates. There are also World Cup Results that give brief summary reports for each and every gam, and include basic details such as result, best performers and Man of the Match.

Sports folk can’t seem to get enough of sports DVDs and cricket lovers have been pretty well catered for here. There are countless magic moments to relive, plenty of on and off field dramas and enough cricket vision to see you through to the 2003/2004 cricket season. As for the next World Cup, we’ll see you all in the Carribean in 2007, and it promises to be one hell of a party.


  • LINK: http://www.dvd.net.au/review.cgi?review_id=2757
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  •   And I quote...
    "How can anyone say cricket is boring? This package contains almost five hours of World Cup 2003 highlights, and is a joy from start to finish…"
    - Terry Kemp
      Review Equipment
    • DVD Player:
          Akai
    • TV:
          TEAC CT-F803 80cm Super Flat Screen
    • Receiver:
          Pioneer VSX-D409
    • Speakers:
          Wellings
    • Centre Speaker:
          Wellings
    • Surrounds:
          Wellings
    • Subwoofer:
          Sherwood SP 210W
    • Audio Cables:
          Standard RCA
    • Video Cables:
          standard s-video
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