Customer Reviews

Detroit Red Wings - NHL Stanley Cup Champions 2007-2008

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The corks on the bottles of champagne in the Red Wings' locker room were yet to be popped before I hit the "Send Order" button at NHL.Com for my copy of the Red Wings' Championship video. Despite my alleged maturity I'll confess to being a memorabilia geek when it comes to one of my hometown teams winning a championship. I'll buy the hat, I may get the shirt. But one thing that I'll definitely buy is the video. I'll admit to having most of the Detroit Lions season recap videos from back in the 90s when the NFL still produced them.

Owning a championship video is part of the rite of being a sports fan. There's nothing like sitting down on the couch in our living room on a slow television night and recapturing the emotion and glory of a championship campaign condensed into a one-hour DVD or video. To this day watching Vladimir Konstantinov's open ice hits and Steve Yzerman hoisting the Cup after the Wings vanquished the Flyers in 1997 still brings tears to my eyes. Despite being almost twenty years removed, watching Isiah Thomas kiss the Larry O'Brien Trophy after the Detroit Pistons at long lost reached the summit of professional basketball excellence rekindles the same emotions that I felt that evening.

The accomplishments in themselves were memorable. However, it was the production value that went into the championship videos that preserved in perpetuity the emotions and memories associated with each championship. For example, the 1997 Red Wings Championship video brilliantly captured everything that Red Wings fans experienced that season following classic dramatic form.

There's the exposition beginning the the Wings' humiliation at the hands of Claude Lemiuex and the Avalanche the season before. The rising action and climax that recalls the acquisition of Brendan Shanahan, The Fight, through the Wings' playoff campaign. Finally there's the resolution culminating in the Wings' ultimate triumph.

So after unwrapping the 2008 Red Wings' Championship video from its hyper-protective plastic wrap cover, finally convincing our three year son to go to bed, placing the DVD in the player, my wife and I sat together on our couch anxiously awaiting the unfolding of yet another championship campaign with a `Made In Detroit' stamp.

The disappointment began at the inception when the video began with advertisements for NHL Films and NHL.Com that couldn't be skipped. After sitting through those, the Menu Screen comes up with little fanfare.

I won't get into a blow-by-blow analysis of the video as viewers can come to their own conclusion. However, the fact that my wife (who actually wanted to watch the video) lost interest about half-way through is indicative of how formulaic this video was approached by the NHL.

I'll concede that we're talking about a sports highlight video here and not the latest Coppolla offering. While the video was about the Red Wings undoubtedly, coupled with a nod to Michigan's current economic plight, I walked away from the experience feeling as though this video could have been about any team, playing any sport, during any season. In the end, it was a cut-and-paste job that fell far short of recapturing with any true meaning what the Red Wings accomplished in 2008. Gone is the uniqueness that accompanied the `97, `98 and 2002 Wings' videos.

Die-hard Wings fans will rush out to buy their copy because that's what die-hard fans do. However, I almost hope that the Red Wings organization takes a close look at the production and decides that their fans deserve more than this obviously half-hearted League effort. The 2008 Detroit Red Wings were special. You wouldn't know it by this video.

Any true Wings fan should add this o thier collection. I'm not the type of person to watch movies or other DVD's that I've purchased more than one or two times but this is one of those exceptions. This is one of many...many Hockey videos that I have and its surely in the top 10 out of my collection of general hockey titles and top 3 for the Wings videos I have.

I got to add this dvd to my little Red Wings dvd collection, and throughully enjoyed it. Gets you to all the good bits of the '07-'08 action with the addition of some side stories which were great. Loved the 'behind the scenes' stuff esp when we get to see the players mucking around at practice, particularly Malts and Drapes! What a hilarious pair those two are in that segment.

Like any championship video, you really only care if it your team that comes out on top.

I must agree with the other reviewer who complained about the NHL films commercials on the beginning of the video, they take up with no exaggeration about 4-5 minutes. One of them is a commercial for "A Year in the Life of Sidney Crosby." That is pretty much a slap in the face.

Regardless, the video itself is spectacular. The average championship video usually weighs in at about 45 minutes, the 2008 video is 75 minutes long. Therefore you get more regular season highlights as well as interesting looks at Brian Rafalski and the state of Detroit during the finals (here is a hint, it is not good).

The highlights speak for themselves. As usual, in the interviews Darren McCarty has several of the best lines. It is a special team. There is not the Vladdy story or the fact that it had been 42 years since their last cup win to spark the video. It doesn't need it though.

This is the 4th in my collection, and no true Wings fan should be without. Great viewing!!

I'm a lifelong Michigan resident and huge Red Wings fan so of course I had to get this DVD. I thought it was great. Has a ton of great memories from the past season and the Stanley Cup run. I look forward to buying a simlar DVD after Detroit repeats and wins the cup again in 2009!

I'm a big Red Wings fan and I enjoyed the DVD. I wish there had been more footage of actual play-off games, but over-all the DVD was good.

This DVD is a must for any Red Wings fan that wants to relive the 2007-08 season.

I found this DVD of the Wings season and playoff run to be very well done--good video/audio of action not seen in TV coverage, excellent commentary from a variety of players, and accurate rendition of what it took to win the Cup in 2008.