Customer Reviews

The Ron Howard Spotlight Collection (Backdraft / Apollo 13 / A Beautiful Mind / Cinderella Man)

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

 

 

"The Ron Howard Spotlight Collection" is an eight-disc box set containing four Howard-directed features, including the Best Picture Oscar winner "Beautiful Mind," the story of brilliant mathematician John Nash (Russell Crowe). The set also contains a heap of bonus extras, including an introduction by Howard himself, deleted scenes, theatrical trailers, feature commentary, behind-the-scenes featurettes, and documentaries on the real individuals portrayed.
"Backdraft" is a fairly routine story about two feuding firefighter brothers (Kurt Russell, William Baldwin) who have to set aside their personal differences in order to survive the infernos set by a maniacal arsonist. Fire is the real star, with spectacularly staged sequences that look incredibly dangerous. Drama-wise, the movie is a familiar reworking of a classic plot and offers few surprises.
"Apollo 13" is riveting drama with the all-star cast of Tom Hanks, Bill Paxton, Kevin Bacon, Gary Sinise, and Ed Harris. Here we have the true story of a space flight that would have ended in disaster were it not for the coordination of flight and ground crews to bring the astronauts back safely. In the confines of a claustrophobic space capsule, Howard manages to make a tale whose outcome is known, gripping.
"Cinderella Man," a fine movie that did poorly at the box office, takes place in Depression-era America. Down-and-out boxer Jim Braddock (Russell Crowe) has a young family but few prospects. Desperate, he accepts an offer to do battle with the reigning world heavyweight champ, proving himself a popular underdog and a champion of the common man.

The quality of the multipack is excellent, it is well presented and has eight DVD's, two for each film.

The extra packs and special features are the type and quality normally found on 19.99+ original release editions.

The packaging of the group as a whole is far superior to normal multipacks containing double sided discs in a cheap plastic sleeve.
It makes an excellent gift pack for anyone who might enjoy these films.

Quality of acting is high, the production quality excellent and the special effects generally superb. There were a few less than realistic points in Backdraft but fire scenes are notoriously difficult to simulate.

The stories themselves are not my normal preference, but so well depicted that each movie draws the viewer along for the duration.

From a very personal viewpoint I'd rate the films overall as follows, out of 5 stars.

Backdraft ****
Apollo 13 *****
A beautifull mind *****
Cinderalla man *****

I never thought I'd rate a boxing movie as 5*, but it is so well executed from the sets through the acting to what appears a very realistic and detailed portrayal of the period that I discovered it to be enthralling in the way it tells a timeless tale.

Enjoy or gift, you or the recipient is unlikely to be disappointed.

Great to have three movies in one pack. Ron Howard can do no wrong. Apollo 13 was one of my favorites. I had it on VHS, but the termites got it.
A Beautiful Mind kept me intrigued and Backdraft is another VHS that I am replacing because it is an exceptional movie.

Ron Howard is one of our best directors. All four of these movies are fantastic. I never get dired of watching them.