Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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24 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent documentary on a legend., December 7, 2007
First off I must say that Earnhardt was a true hero to me ever since I was about 10 years old (now 34) and hardly a day goes that a thought or remembrance of him doesn't enter into my mind. Needless to say, this self made, hardworking, hard charging man made quite an impression on my life. This is an excellent documentary on the man who started with so little and later became what some call "a real life superhero". It documents very well Dale's life on and off the track. Lot's of interviews with family, friends, competitors, and even of Dale himself. Also included are the full versions of the 1998 Daytona 500 and the 2000 Winston 500 which next to NC State's 1983 NCAA Basketball championship, may be the most astonishing finish I've ever seen. Dale came from 17th spot in 4 laps to grab his final WC win. The movie, all the extra's and all the rare interviews make the price of this set an absolute steal to any NASCAR fan.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Heartbreaking And Funny, February 20, 2008
This was hard for me to watch. Dale Earnhardt meant alot to me and I still get really choked up about his death. I often avoid watching certain thjings about him because it is just too painful to relive the memories of his death. That being said, I wanted to see this. I remember Richard Childress raving about the job they did with the film and how this doc is going to focus on the side of Earnhardt most never had the chance to see. After watching it, I did fill up with tears during during the part dealing with his death. It was really heartbreaking. They show an interview given the morning of the 500. They show him saying goodbye to his family and strapping into his car. And they steadily show parts of the race itself as it leads up to the final lap. And as for the crash- they finally show part of Earnhardt's in- car camera view of the fatal crash. I saw this footage once- the day of his death on ESPN. They never showed it again. But I always felt it was important to see, because everyone who saw that crash thought that it didn't look that bad- myself included. But when you see the in- car view at full speed with live audio...only then can you see the tremendous impact he hit the wall with. During the film they fade to white just at the point of impact, which I was disappointed with because you can't appreciate the severity of the crash without hearing and seeing the full impact (you never see Dale anyway, the view is straight out the front window, so there is nothing graphic to hide). The interviews with Darrell Waltrip were also hard to see, as he couldn't seem to talk about Dale without getting really emotional. I would have liked to see Kirk Shelmerdine- where was he? Unfortunately, I found myself saying that alot during this. There was no mention made about Neil Bonnett either, who was one the people closest to Earnhardt and who's death in 1994 really affected him in a profound way. This was never brought up. And also, what about Earnhardt SR and Jr. finishing first and second in the IROC race? Junior has said that was a huge moment for both of them. Throughout this, I felt alot was overlooked or rushed through, like there was this all important time constraint here. One of the biggest ommissions was when they were talking about his Daytona 500 failures they never even mentioned one the weirdest and most disappointing ones of them all- when he struck a seagull during the race that damaged his front nose and took him out of contention for the win.
And the Daytona race where he got airborne and flipped over several times. When the medical crews reached him and told him he had to wait for a wrecker, he actually got his badly mangled car running and drove it back to the pits. Then there was the feud between him and Geoff Bodine that carried on for a long time in the mid to late 80's. They did not mention any of that either. It was a big deal, though, and finally ended with the two of them having a meeting with Bill France Sr. himself.
There was alot more to this story that was left out, which is disappointing to true fans like myself, because the casual fans who watch this film deserve to see a more complete picture of the man who was Dale Earnhardt. The positive things I have to say about the movie is that the there is alot of footage I have never seen before. I loved the inclusion of the footage where he is leaning out the window of his car driving with his knee under caution because Childress wouldn't let him pit to clean off a dirty windshield. That was priceless and I laughed out loud. Only Earnhardt would have done that and gotten away with it! Also, it's great hearing Childress talk intimately about his closest friend. He clearly still has difficulty coming to terms with Dale's death and reveals for the first time how close he came to quitting racing and why he carried on. The interviews with him and Waltrip were very emotional at times, and hard to watch at certain moments, but still good to see included. So, all in all, a great attempt at capturing Dale, but falls short of what could have been. Still definitely worth buying. The collector's tin packaging is awesome! And the extra features are tremendous as well. There are six discs here in all and each one of them has great stuff in it. And for the affordable price (under $20) it's a no- brainer to buy this.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Amazing!, July 8, 2008
I'll never be able to claim I was around for Dale's earlier years, for his championships, etc., but I feel this DVD put me in that place and see the man he really was. I only started watching NASCAR a few years before his death, but I was always intrigued about the man they call The Intimidator, and I think this DVD more than covered what I missed out on. I watched the documentary in its original run on CMT last September, even recorded it, but when I heard that they were coming out with a 6-disc collector's edition I knew it would be worth it and I just had to buy it.
The only thing I was in the dark about when it came to wanting to buy this disk, though, was what the extras actually were. They were well worth it, I thought. Here they are by disc:
Disc 1 - The documentary
Disc 2 - Deleted Scenes, bloopers, extras, an alternate beginning and ending, interviews with the man himself, etc.
Disc 3 - The full 2000 Winston 500, which was of course, Dale's last race. This also includes commentary with Richard Childress, which I believe is actually on a condensed version of the race.
Disc 4 - Dale-Tona: Shows the highlights of his 1986, 1990, 1997, and 1998 efforts. The thing I love about it, especially '98, is how it comes in its original format, as in it comes with the CBS logo, the graphics, etc. A lot of times when they have a race on DVD it cuts a lot of that out, but it's still intact on here, which is just a little thing that enhances the viewing experience.
Disc 5 - A photo gallery, and a 20-minute documentary, "The Making of DALE." The photo gallery is especially nice, because again, it's not like something that is on a lot of DVD's where it's just pictures and you scroll through, but it has background music and transitions between the pictures. The documentary is pretty cool too.
Disc 6 - The full version of the 1998 Daytona 500, with a separate condensed version which has all the major two-way audio that occurred during the race between Earnhardt and his team.
And the case itself is packed, with a print-out of an actual '98 Daytona 500 ticket and the full results/point standings. Another nice touch.
Very well done, and it was really the truly the way it should have been completed...
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