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31 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love of Sailing . . ., July 25, 2004
In reality, in 1983 Australia II skippered by John Bertrand defeated the American boat Liberty skippered by Dennis Conner, at the end of the 7th match race in the America's Cup. This broke 132 years of victory for America in the America's Cup match race, started in 1851 when the yacht America beat British Fleet in the very first America's Cup race, with the match then named after the first winning boat.
History was made again in 1987 when the Stars & Stripes, again skippered by Dennis Conner, took back the Cup for America against Australian Kookaburra III, skippered by Iain Murray.
The movie Wind provides Hollywood's parallel take on these two historic races. The fictional Will Parker on the boat Radiance loses to Australian Jack Neville on Boomerang, at the 7th race, paralleling the US lost in 1983. The final movie race, in which Will Parker on the US Geronimo, beats out the Australian Platypus, mirrors the 1987 retake of America's Cup.
For sheer racing beauty and competition, this movie is unbeatable. I've watched the sailing parts over and over, and I can't help being amazed that a movie can bring back the same feelings that sailing does.
I race on Lake Michigan for our local Wednesday night races. For anyone who loves sailing, you will love this movie. Also, as the only woman crew member on our sailing team, I particularly identified with Kate Bass, the only woman teammate on the all-male crew -- another bit of Hollywood fiction, but an interesting story line all the same.
I also enjoyed some of the trivia at the very beginning, in which Will Parker is talking to the boat's owner as they look at model boats and discuss the boats made by Old Captain Nat himself. In reality, Captain Nat Hereshoff designed 5 winners of the America's Cup, and they are all mentioned in this movie. Defender(1895), Columbia (won twice- 1899, 1901), Reliance(1903), Resolute(1920), Rainbow(1934). I appreciated the bit of history of the America's Cup, worked into the screenplay.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Adrenaline rush on the water......., April 1, 2003
To start out with, like other reviewers have stated, it is terrific to see this movie out on DVD after so long. I realized, when I watched this movie for the first time, you don't have to be a fan of boat racing to love this movie.The cinematography just can't be beat with absolutely wonderful shots putting you dead center in the action. It's a great experience in how the filmmakers shoot you back and forth onto the boats and then create sweeping panoramic views of strategic boat maneuvers. Top notch sailboat racing, bar none. The DVD is remastered in high definition and is crystal clear with superb detail and color. As for sound, Dolby 5.1 or DTS would have been the icing on the cake but I won't sell this DVD short. The Dolby Surround it does have still gets the job done just fine and sounds excellent. You can't go wrong with Wind and I recommend this movie to anyone who likes great racing and sporting competition.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Woo Hoo!!! It's here! (almost), January 5, 2003
A friend of mine told me I might like this film, and man was he right. The only film I wanted on DVD was WIND. Had it been available I would have bought my DVD player a year earlier. I've always found this is a great film for inspiration for people who build things; in my case: software. Design, testing, manufacturing, use, competition -- all done in glorous colour, magnificent sea scenery, beautiful boats, helpful commentary, and exceptional musical score. But until March 2003, my VHS copy's low resolution made it revolting to play in my home theatre's 10' screen. I'm so happy.
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