Product Details

• Actors: Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Warner Home Video
• DVD Release Date: June 1, 2004
• Run Time: 1338 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (36 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0001Z37J0
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #11,140 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #1 in	Movies & TV > Sports > Basketball > NBA Complete History
  #2 in	Movies & TV > Sports > Basketball > Teams > Los Angeles Lakers
  #2 in	Movies & TV > Sports > Basketball > NBA Dynasty Series

• This is item 2 in The NBA Dynasty Series.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Packing a whopping 22 hours of content on five double-sided discs, Los Angeles Lakers: The Complete History is a treasure trove for fans of the purple and gold. In fact, even the ambitious title doesn't do the set justice, as the opening 2002 documentary traces the franchise to its Minnesota roots and a vintage 1953 feature shows the game's first dominant big man, George Mikan, in action. The glitzier West Coast years--Wilt, West, Magic, Kareem, Shaq, Kobe, et al.--are the primary focus, of course, and this set, one of the first two entries in the NBA Dynasty series (along with the slightly less-substantial Chicago Bulls: The 1990s), collects seven of the highlight videos that were released on VHS (2000 and 2002 were also on DVD), which provide a time-capsule look at each of the championship seasons.

The real joy of the set, however, is nine NBA playoff games presented as they were originally broadcast and almost in their entirety. They last about 90-100 minutes with TV introductions and post-game interviews, but minus halftime, commercials, and some slower moments. The games include such absolute classics as the game in which rookie Magic Johnson started at center in place of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, and the 1987 "baby hook" game against the Boston Celtics. If you're used to watching current NBA games you might be tempted to just skip to the end, but it's surprisingly rewarding to watch the game develop, to watch the game's superstars strut their stuff (or see a couple of 1972 reserves named Phil Jackson and Pat Riley), and to observe how radically the sport has changed over the years. Variable picture quality and technical glitches are unavoidable (even the 2002 game looks washed out), but this is the first time complete or nearly complete NBA games have been available in the home-video era, and they probably still look better than the VHS tapes you've been saving over the years. Yes, it'd be easy to argue about which games from the Lakers' long history should have been included, and the highlight videos don't have a ton of replay value, but the NBA Dynasty series is a major milestone in archived sports. --David Horiuchi

Product Description

Over the past 50 years the Lakers have won an unprecedented 14 Championships, making them the best NBA franchise ever. This 5-disc special edition collector's set features the complete Lakers history including year-end compilation programs highlighting the Championship seasons from the 1950s through 2002. Plus for the first time ever on DVD, the team's most memorable Finals games iincluding their first Championship win in Los Angeles, Magic's "baby hook" game in 1987, and their back-to-back title games.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 35 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun compilation, but not a "complete" history, July 14, 2004

By	J Kirk "esbmmb2" (Irvine, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This set is certainly desirable for any die hard Lakers fan, and basketball fans who remember how great the game became after Magic and Larry Bird paved the way for unselfish play will surely enjoy it.

The edited games are great. The finals games featured between the Lakers and the Sixers are mindblowing because of how fast paced they were. It's pure fast break basketball at its best. The games between the Lakers and the Celtics are intense and you also realize what an excellent job Dick Stockton did for CBS when he was the play-by-play man. In retrospect, even Stockton's color man partner seems pretty balanced, even though he was a Celtic great and even though he had the incredibly irritating habit of placing the subject of his sentences at the very end, Tom Heinsohn.

No set is going to be perfect, but I think where the box set is a bit of a letdown is in the "history" aspect. It's really just a compilation of all the NBA films that they do at the end of each year for the champion. And while they are all pretty good and I rented them all years ago, they don't really tell the history of the team. They tell the history of the champtionship seasons.

If you're looking for history, Disc 1 is probably the best, with old footage and more recent interviews. But there's no description of the Lakers of the '70s and how they got Kareem and what the team was like before Magic and how the Lakers drew about 11,000 fans per game. I think that is missing from this and I would have liked to have seen more of that. Also too bad someone couldn't dig up more interviews with Elgin Baylor and Jerry West talking about how frustrating it was to lose all those years to the Celtics, although there is a good feature on Rod Hundley and Tommy Hawkins talking about the '85 Lakers win.

Two other criticisms: (1) On the whole the editing of the games is very good, but on the early games is a bit choppy. We lose the last few minutes of the 71-72 Lakers championship, which was the team's first and there's no footage of West running off the court with Pat Riley. It should have been there. (2) Not enough about Chick Hearn and his role with the Lakers. He's featured prominently as the narrator on the '87 overview, but there should have been more devoted to him. Also, it would have been nice if they could have taken one or two of the games and replaced the network commentary with Chick Hearn and Stu Lantz.

Still, any Lakers fan should have this.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great Tribute to a Great Organization!, June 23, 2005

By	Reyesj00 - See all my reviews

Truly, a must have for every Lakers fan! This is your opportunity to collect all the Lakers Championship videos that were originally released in VHS and DVD (2000 & 2002) in one purchase; although the 2000 & 2002 didn't include the special features that came with the DVDs when they were released originally.
I would like to breakdown my comments into two as (+) and (-)

Now, for the (+)s
1.The full games - (hope that they release more of them in the future)
2.All the Lakers championship highlights in DVD (you can already get rid of those old VHS tapes)
3.Vintage highlights from Mikan to West Era

For the (-)s
1.Pictures of Kobe, Horry, Byron Scott, AC Green, and Phil Jackson should have been included on the sleeves. (why were they neglected?)
2.Should have upgraded the old 80's showtime highlights
3.A booklet containing additional info or stats on the Lakers Championships would have made it perfect since there is a slot for it on the set which only contained an advertisement of other NBA videos.

Overall, the box set deserves 5 stars for every Lakers fan. 14 NBA Titles and 28 Conference Titles (Finals Appearance), what else can any other fan ask for. Until they win again!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magic's VITAL historical importance - don't miss it!, June 11, 2004

By A Customer

I've been a big Lakers fan over the years...was too young to watch Magic in 1980, so was really excited to see this dvd collection, just on that point initially. Boy do I feel Soooooo fortunate to have grown up in the 80's with the Magic show!

But having watched that memorable game (vs. Sixers) and all the subsequent games included, I think that for anyone who loves this game like I do, this is both an exciting trip down memory lane, and (more importantly) a historical lesson in just how much the game has changed and has affected broadcast sports and the players who play it.

I think especially for younger people today, who didn't grow up with Magic and Bird (not to mention a guy named Dr. J), this is especially meaningful. I don't think anyone can underestimate the historical importance of Magic and Bird...but especially Magic, givin his dominance of what we use to call "team basketball".

The real joy is seeing the actual games, from beginning to end. The most important point to this collection is to sit back, watch, and appreciate just how great the Lakers were in the '80's (not to mention the Celtics and Sixers). The Lakers played such incredibly beautiful, orchestrated fast-break basketball.

These days (or even in the 90's) you would be hardpressed to find more than a couple decent fastbreaks in a game that didn't end in a sloppy turnover or mistake. On the other hand, for a real lesson in what the fast-break truely was, sit back and watch the games on these dvds. You just knew when the Magic Johnson fast-break started, something good would happen...either a dunk by Worthy, or an outside shot by Scott...guaranteed 90% of the time. That calculated, harmony and spectacle is extremely rare these days. It's almost like you knew it was coming when you watch these tapes. I had forgotten that feeling. I got goosebumps just watching these tapes again.

I can't overstate the way Magic controlled the tempo, pace and flow of the game was just incredible, something lacking in the past post-Jordan era. It really shows how team basketball has changed over the years since Magic retired. Can you honestly watch Magic's Lakers games and find any team in the past 6 or 7 years to compare it to? I can't. Not even the "new" dynasty Lakers (whom I like too / it's just not the same).

You can compare who the greatest team or player is for eternity. In my book, Magic is the greatest team player, and Jordan is the greatest one on one player. But put the Jordan's dynasty against Magic's dynasty...come on, it's ALL Lakers! Jordan didn't have a Boston team to deal with in the 90's for a decade! End of conversation. I rest my case.