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Speed Racer - Episodes 1-11Rating:
Release Date: 17 February, 2004 Retail Price: $19.98 OUR Price: $15.98 You SAVE: $4.00! Cast: |
Speed Racer - Episodes 1-11 Reviews
Beware! All episodes are time-compressed
Just bought this new DVD and, for whatever reason, all 11 episodes are time-compressed! Each one runs 23:30 instead of the original 24:40. While the picture and sound quality are very good (much better than previous VHS releases), there was no logical reason for the manufacturer to do this. As soon as you play an episode, and hear the opening theme song: you'll know the sound and picture have been "sped" up. Hope future releases are better.
Adventures Waitin' Just Aheaaaaaaaad!
The eleven episodes of Speed Racer on this DVD are a surefire way to bring nostalgic parents and their wide-eyed children closer together. I just got this and my four-year-old has barely watched anything else since it went in the DVD player. I'm not the world's biggest Chim-Chim and Spritle fan, but my son can't get enough.
All I remember of the show from my childhood is the catchy refrain in the theme song and that I loved watching it. Personally, the problems people have had with the opening and closing titles being different aren't a big issue for me. And I'm not watching with a stopwatch, so time compression isn't a big deal either. The shows themselves are what I got the DVD for and as far as I'm concerned, they're great.
That's not to say the DVD is perfect. I've noticed an occasional audio "chirping" glitch here and there, but not enough to be a problem. My biggest problem is that your viewing choices are limited to "play all" or each episode individually, and that you can't chapter advance while "playing all." So if I want to watch the three-part "The Most Dangerous Race" I can sit through the first 8 episodes or after watching episode 9, I have to push "play" again for ep. 10 and then again for #11. Not the biggest of deals, but along with the fact that the episodes aren't broken into chapters, either (if you stop watching 2/3rds of the way through, be sure to set a bookmark, or be ready to fast-forward forever), it makes it difficult to watch the DVD the way you want to watch it.
The extras are nice, but nothing incredible (although the footage of the mid-90s remake makes you appreciate the original even more). A trivia section, explaining things like why Speed has a "G" on his shirt, or why cars change colors halfway through the big turn in the opening sequence, would have been nice. Granted, most of that is available on the Internet, but having it on the disk would have been better than pictures of a few items of Speed memorabilia with no context attached to them.
I know this review has been mostly drawing attention to the DVD's flaws, but I still stand by my 5-star rating. The individual episodes are wonderful. The stories, while occasionally hokey, are engaging and fun. The artwork and sound are great. And then there's that theme song ... whoa Nellie! Minor gripes aside, this is a great DVD for young and old. Don't miss it.
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