Product Description

Relive the drama and excitement....all the incredible performances and athletic achievements that captivated the world are captured on the official Olympic DVD from NBC Sports. Includes special bonus chapters featuring gold medal performances of Olympic Champions.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22321 in Sports & Outdoors
• Format: Color

Features

• Spectacular Torch Lighting from Opening Ceremony
• Selected performances from Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson
• Gold medal beach volleyball victory for Kerri Walsh/Misty May-Treanor
• Gold medal racies of Usain Bolt at 100 and 200 meters
• All U.S. Gold medal perforamances from Track & Field

Customer Reviews

Decent
So, not a lot of info online about this item. I picked this up and it is surprisingly decent. The main programme would be the actual highlights including the name-brand sports but they also mentioned the "scrubby" ones like shooting, archery, swords, etc. This section is hosted by Mary Carillo, not sure if she would be the best host but that's what NBC decided on, I guess.

On to the bonus features.

It has several track and field events, all finals, both of Usain Bolt's wins, and the US 1-2-3 finishes as well.

There are about 6 swimming events I think, it does not have all of Phelps' because they are all on the Phelps DVD, but this has the 100 relay that the US barely won, and a couple women's.

They also have all of Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin's all around performances and also both of the girls' beam final.

I also noticed that they have the gold medal women's beach vollyball match, it is supposed to be the entire match but I did not even watch it, maybe only the first minute.

And of course, the torch lighting ceremony is included in the bonus features.

The only gripe I have is that it is full screen and not HD, but it will do. It's a decent memento for anyone who did not DVR the events.

Significant Olympic 2008 Performances and Wins Amongst USA Competitors
This piece is divided into two parts that are vastly based on selected live NBC television broadcasts during the games. The first part presents overall but general commentary and presentation of the finals in the events as they came along (but the bias toward showing United states triumphs is singular). The second part is more specific, and starts with a chapter on the colorful Olympic ceremony..this is spectacular. The other chapters are on finals in events that the United States (and let us say Jamaican sprinters notably Usain Bolt) excelled. Hence, the DVD is biased toward finals and medal wins in the track sprints, track relays, and the hurdles; swimming (Phelps is there, of course), women's beach volleyball (Walsh and Treanor...the finals in which USA faced China are shown in their entirety), gymnastics, and women's soccer. The obvious demerit is the bias toward the United States, in the significant events in which the nation participated and achievd medals. Consequently, items like the middle- and long-distance running track, men's soccer, weightlifting, wrestling, boxing, cycling, and less traditional sports are left out. You also get the impression that the DVD was hastily put together, and commercially targeted. Nevertheless, the editing is excellent, and the DVD was put out comparatively quickly. It is a fact, for example, that a definitive DVD on the Games in Athens 2004 has never emerged, to this day. I still give this Beijing Coverage 5 points, but would wish that a DVD that covers the events more broadly and internationally would be created. After all, is not that what Olympic Games are about? We do want to see the performances of the Ethiopians, Iranians, Greeks, Sri Lankans, etc...the peoples of the world! The DVD "The Olympic Series," offers more broad perspectives on the Olympic events from 1920 to 2002, and it is one I would recommend to sports enthusiasts. And I would wish that this Beijing 2006 DVD were fashioned in that manner, or that a piece that is in the making would give us a more comprehensive presentation of the Games. Nevertheless, this Beijing DVD is excellent, though it will continue to generate negative notes, mostly depending on which events one prefers and what part of the world the reviewer is from. I rest my case!

Highlights of American Medalists ONLY
I just recieved this in the mail and had missed much of the actual broadcast. I was hoping to get a good representation of the games here. Well make no mistake there is some good footage here. But sadly this whole DVD seems to be about American participation and medal winners. There are a few clips of the Jamaican runners.

But you'd be forgiven if you never knew that any other team but America mattered or won medals. I'm told that people in other countries get to watch much more balanced coverage than we do. On the basis of this DVD I'd guess that there was no boxing, no weightlifting, no boating events, no rhythmic gymnastics, no marathons, etc.

The actual highlights program is about 110 minutes. Not nearly enough to give anyone, except folks who need to chant U-S-A, an idea of the proceedings. Fortunately there are a couple of hours worth of actual NBC feed, mostly US medalists winning their events. There was also no critcal perspective whatsoever.

What would be nice would be something that gives us an idea what the athletes of the world were doing in Beijing in 2008. I miss the days when you could cheer the Kenyan runners or feel the political tension of the Ukrainian gymnasts. Instead we get the most isolationist vision of the world I've ever witnessed.