Customer Reviews

New York Yankees 1977 World Series Collector's Edition

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

 

 

As mentioned, the picture in almost every game chops out the bottom part of the on-screen graphics. It is rather frustrating. Game Six of the World Series and Game Five of the ALCS are the best as far as seeing the graphics. Unfortunately, the video quality isn't very good for Game Six and the ALCS game is missing parts of the game. It isn't missing much, but enough so you'll notice. Also, the audio fluctuates during games. Keith Jackson, Tom Seaver, and Howard Cosell handle announcing duties during ABC's broadcast of the World Series. As a nice touch, A&E and MLB Productions placed the local Yankees telecast of the ALCS game on this set. The announcing for that game is handled by Bill White, Frank Messer, and the one and only Phil Rizzuto. Bottom line, this DVD set is a worthy purchase, but you might not want to pay full price.

This review is based on having viewed Disk One of the set. The DVD starts with a disclaimer saying the quality will not be good but the best available masters have been used. What that means is the bottom of the image is cut off (often making the last line of the player's stats unreadable) and the image is shifted down slightly, leaving a slight black bar at the top of the screen. Yes, my TV is adjusted properly. The MLB logo has also been watermarked into the top right of the image, but that was to be expected after viewing previous MLB releases. The video is fairly grainy, but even more troubling is the complete loss of sound for nearly a minute during the middle of the game. Other notes: This is the ABC broadcast with Howard Cosell and Tom Seaver doing the play-by-play, but without the bumpers, pre-game etc. Bottom line: Definitely worth watching for historical reasons, but you may want to rent before buying.

After reading some of the reviews here I was worried about the quality of the video on these DVDs. After seeing some in-game footage of the '77 Series on The Bronx Is Burning series on ESPN I was even more concerned. However, with the exception of some picture cropping (it's not quite fullscreen, not quite widescreen) the image is actually pretty good for a 30 year old taping. Worth the money if you're a Yankee fan.

"Reggie! Reggie! Reggie!"

Those who love baseball or even just like it often have that one era that absolutely defined the game for them; for me, it was, and always will be the 1977 New York Yankees - the time of Thurman Munson (R.I.P.), Bucky Dent, Lou Piniella, Graig Nettles, Billy Martin and my all-time favortie baseball hero (to this day), REGGIE JACKSON!!!

From my perspective and my memories, I recall that in 1977, the eyes of the world seem to momentarily focus on New York City - some crazy mountain climber (can't remember his name) decided to scale one of the twin towers of the World Trade Center and was fined $1.10 for all 110 stories of the building, the Son of Sam serial killer was still at large, NYC nearly tore itself apart during the summer blackout, disco and Studio 54 ruled the night and, oh yeah, Jackson's three (3) legendary home runs during Game 6 of the World Series against the L.A. Dodgers. They would repeat their World Series victory against the Dodgers once again a year later in 1978.

Despite the poor picture quality at time (these TV telecasts are 30 years-old; what more can you expect?), I was in awe of watching my classic baseball heroes take the field again. I had also completely forgotten that when Game 6 ended and the Yankess won it, Reggie had to literally run for his life off of the field in order to avoid being mauled by the joyous fans who swarmed the field.

I'll always remember and I'll never forget!

Regarding the other numerous complaints about picture quality (widescreen format) on this DVD release.... I think that unless one is really OCD about these kind of things, it's not really that bad. Yes, a few of the primitive 1977 graphics get a -little bit- chopped off at the bottom (of game 1), but by game 2 the formatting is much better. One must remember that these game tapes are now 30 years old, and getting them in any format is better than nothing.

Unlike the 1975 World Series boxset, every minute of the games are here, and it's a delight for fans of classic baseball. I'm not even a Yankees or a Dodgers fan, and I'm having lots of fun going through the games here on this DVD set.

This is a must own for true Yankee fans. Having been at the game for Reggie's homers as an 11 year old with my Dad I never got to see the tv broadcast so this was special.

Granted it's a commitment to watch all the games, but to see our beloved Thurman stand behind the plate in full gear, to watch Mickey twirl his bat and limp around like a invalid, to see Nettles dive, Sparky chew, a young Guidry bounce, Reggie's unforgettable swing and trot, Billy's hand in back pocket walk and...ah, the list goes on and on. whatever you need is here so buy this for your archives - you owe it to yourself.

Besides the whole crew of Yankee greats, it's interesting to watch how tv used to be with single shot camera angles and lousy graphics and to listen to Howard Cosell's unique commentary. After a thesaurus fueled rant by Cosell, a bewildered Tom Seaver says "Uh...i think i speak for everybody when i say "Huh?"" - classic!

Another gem is in the 2nd game (i think) when Yeager goes to the screen on a foul pop and the mic picks up a fan yelling plain as a day "Hey Ump! You Suck!!"

this is a documentary to my childhood - a time so special to all who lived it. it will NEVER be like this again.

Wow talk about exaggeration. When I read some of these reviews I was not expecting much when I first viewed this set. I think the most neutral observer would say that this is a good set. Looking first at the technical issues and picture, people have to understand that this tapes were recorded some 30 years ago and especially with some of the less notable games quite literally sat on a shelf somewhere. It isn't like today where everything is archived on digital. The tape is damaged by exposure to elements on the edges so when this set was produced they probably cropped it so that there wouldn't be a hazy ring around the picture. The bottom line, you lose maybe a line of in game statistics that it. The image on the screen still looks pretty much the way it did when it first aired. One review said something like the players on the screen have no feet to which I reply were we looking at the same thing??? As for the ALCS game 5, outside of the last outs of the game when is the last time the network work showed it? I can't remember. Yea the picture isn't perfect but its still entertaining. As for game 6 there are a few glitches but all the key moments especially Reggie's homers are crystal clear.

Now onto the content of the DVDs. This set gives you a chance to see the actual games as they aired not the MLB highlights films which drive me crazy because of the lack of play by play and memorable calls. There are at least three great games in the set, ALCS game 5, World Series Games 1 and 6. The other games are also pretty exciting there really is only one boring game and that is the laugher L.A. won in Game 5.

All in all this was a great series. I hope they do one for 1978. As for an extra game- I think we have all seen the 78 AL East playoff- great great game! - my suggestion though would be to include ALCS game 3 when Munson hit the 460' 2 run monster shot off Doug Bird to put the Yanks on their way to victory.

Yes it contains some flaws such as a few video tape imperfections, but overall it's a window into the past for an exciting World Series. The statistical information for each DVD case is well formatted and informative. Each game is presented as it aired and the bonus fifth and deciding game of the American League Championship Series is a nice addition.

I suspect most sports fans will enjoy this presentation.

When I saw the series in '77 I had fun.

Now, nearly 40 years later I get the chance to see it again.

Only this time with my sons whom are ballplayers them selfs in the Netherlands.

Thanks Amazon.

This product was a great deal. You get all six of the 1977 World Series Games. Every pitch and every hit. As a bonus you get the 5th game of the AL Championship between the Yankees and the Royals. To show how much I love this product, I bought one copy for myself and two other copies as gifts. Now I wish they would release the 1978 World Series. That was a great season and series. It featured the Yankees 14 games behind the Red Sox and one of the greatest comebacks in sports history ending with a tie in the regular series and an AL East championship game between the Yankees and Red Sox to decide the division. What Yankee fan could forget the four game series that the Yankees swept in Boston, which will always be known as "The Boston Massacre" This 1977 series is great, but I hope they continue it with the 1978 World Series to complete the era.