Customer Reviews

Daytona 500: 50 Years — The Greatest American Race 2008

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

What you're getting here is 7-9 minutes or so of highlights from every Daytona 500 to date, including the 2008 edition run just a few weeks ago. The vast majority of the footage is stuff you've never seen.

Check out the amazing color video of Pete Hamilton's win in 1970. Those Superbirds were truly beautiful machines.

Image quality varies from year to year, but overall, it is superb. This is a must-have for any NASCAR fan. One correction should be noted, however. This five-disc set contains just over six hours of material, not the 10 noted in Amazon.com's product infomation for this title.

While this is an attractive looking package containing some marvelous old footage it is let down in many areas. Firstly I wonder whether anyone actually bothered to try and restore the early film and video footage or did that involve too much effort? On several occasions I found myself reaching for the tracking adjustment until of course I realized it was on DVD. Surely this could have been fixed before the final product was offered for sale.

Secondly the awful mind-numbing musical soundtrack that runs throughout is not only distracting but just plain irritating. Why was it even considered necessary to subject the viewer to this, what was wrong with the original commentary already in place? I was tempted to mute the sound altogether and just watch the action but this would result in too much valuable information being lost.

Thirdly and most alarmingly, why was the footage of Dale Earnhardt's fatal crash completely left out of the 2001 race highlights? This was screened repeatedly on television news services and sports shows around the world at the time and can still be seen on multiple websites. I fail to see how they could be seeking to protect sensitive viewers among us from the trauma or in fact paying homage to a dead champion. The crash itself looked tame in comparison to many already featured on these DVD's where drivers walked away unscathed. I in no way wish to diminish the memory of this great man but this is intended to be a historical document. This accident was the catalyst for massive changes in the way cars and driver aids such as neck restraints were utilized. For the incident to be completely omitted and the only reference to it being the commentators referring to it as if we had just seen it is an insult to not only his memory but to the people viewing these DVD's.

As for the packaging, it looks good but the copy I got will barely hold the discs in place and you have to be extremely careful each time you pull it out of the box that one does not end up on the floor.

All in all though if you are wanting to see all this footage compiled into one package and in the absence of an alternative then it is a good buy.

Aurele Vanier's comment is not quite correct. Lest anyone think that the 1969 coverage is missing altogether, it IS there on disc 2, but the chapter access for 1969 is indeed incorrect and takes you to 1973. But if you select "Play All" you do get 1969, and fortunately it is the first year covered on the disc, so no real inconvenience.

Disc 2 has an error. The years range from 1969-1978. However the years 1969 and 1973 are identical. They both represent 1973.

I enjoyed each dvd very much. They also helped me learn a lot of things about the Daytona 500 that I didn't know. I can watch them over and over again.

I bought this for someone for Christmas. I can't really rate it myself but the recipiant was happy with it.

all of these race dvd's are junk. the sun glare is not what was shown on tv. a total waste!