Customer Reviews

Quest for the Gold - Gymnastics Highlights (Sydney 2000 Olympics) [VHS]

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

 

 

Quite frankly, this is a sad excuse for a compilation of Olympic gymnastics. NBC should hang its institutional head in shame for pedalling this collection of ill-conceived notions. First, there's the fact that men's and women's gymnastics are both featured on the same tape. They are two very different forms, each deserving of their own tapes. (Especially when one considers that archery gets an entire tape to itself. Archery?!?) This might have made sense if mixed doubles were featured, but they aren't. Furthermore, the rythmic events are also missing, presumably since the US didn't make a good showing in them.

My other biggest complaint about this tape is its length, 52 minutes if you subtract the credits, the ad for the US olympic team, and the introductory segment. If you also deleted the team shots and human interest stories it would probably leave you with 48 minutes or less of actual gymnastics. As a result you get to see the entire men's team qualifying round presented in just over five minutes, for example. I realize this is a "highlights" tape, but it seems to me that we should at least get to see the complete routines of the winners of the individual gold metals.

Finally, over much of the actual gymnastics we are not hearing the sideline commentators, but instead the narrator of the overall video. This wouldn't be so bad except that he spends very little time describing the movements of the competitors and more on overwrought proclamations about the tension of the event. This is a very disappointing tape all the way around.

I would have been willing to pay $27 or $29 for a two video-four hour set of just men's or just women's gymnastics, but instead NBC has delivered a half-baked product that I can't see pleasing anyone. Save your money, don't buy it, don't rent it

For those true fans of gymnastics (or even those who just like the flying leotards) this video is not satisfying. Not one full routine is featured; instead of the professional commentary, a narrative voice (by some guy who probably doesn't know anything about gymnastics) discusses little about the routines. I would pay good money to have the full nbc coverage of the gymnastics events, but instead i get this sliced-together-at-the-last-minute-let's-see-fans-waste-their-money piece of .... seriously, do not bother purchasing this unfufilling video.

Surely Amazon.com can offer videos of the 2000 Olympic Games produced by other countries. The soap opera side shows which NBC uses are tiresome. Perhaps they need to hide the fact that they can't be bothered to actually tape the events as "events".

Let's see the competition!

This is a rip off. A quick sell to those who love Olympic gymnastics. Don't waste your money. Cursory. Cute. No depth. Absolutely no rhythmic or mixed doubles gymnastics -- probably because the US didn't fair well in those events. This is an embarrassment to the art form. Rhythmic displays the consumate feminine forms of movement and play (don't know if the men do this form). Mixed doubles demostrates the awesome dynamic between masculine & feminine. What a waste of money!

i TOOK GYMNASTICS FOR THREE YEARS AND IM
STILL TAKING IT NOW.BEING A COMPETITIVE GYMNAST I THOUGHT
THIS MOVIE WAS BRILLIANT!