The Offspring: Americana A DVD review by: Blake Kunisch Directed by: None DVD Released: 1999/11/02 - US Posted: 2001/05/05 The Movie: Essentially, this DVD is a whole montage of music videos and other mayhem set to The Offspring music. Featuring 21 chapters of 21 different Offspring songs, this DVD ranges from just basic music videos of audiences during performances to staged stunts/crimes set to music. There's really nothing new and/or interesting, but Offspring fans will probably enjoy this "movie."
The Picture: At the start of the DVD, a warning is displayed to viewers about the video quality, as it was filmed on handheld camcorders and isn't supposed to be high quality. Perhaps I went a little too hard with my rating, but as the warning says, the picture is bad, but for the transfer to DVD, it's probably pretty good - it's just hard to tell with the originaly being purposefully low-grade. The Sound: The sound, presented in Dolby 2.0 is quite disappointing. Supposedly presented in stereo, it's hard to differentiate anything from the center channel and there are no surrounds. Perhaps die-hard fans of the group won't care, but die-hard fans of DVD will. With no real stereo audio and no surround when it could have been utilized, this DVD sorely underperforms in the audio department. Special Features: None The Extras: There are no extras to review. All you have is the 21 chapters. The Insert: The insert is an oddly shaped poster-like thing that when folded in half doesn't quite fit from top to bottom of the DVD case and thus can't be held as a regular insert could inside the case and is slightly too wide to fit inside without damaging when closing the DVD. Half of the insert lists the 21 chapters (the only listing available anywhere on the DVD case) and the other side featurs a blurry picture of what appears to be an Offspring concert. Conclusion: A highly disspointing DVD, The Offspring: Americana features an underperforming audio track, sub-par video quality and absolutely no extras. There's probably only a few die-hard Offspring fans that would enjoy this DVD and that's who I plan on giving my copy to. If you don't know who Offspring is or even if you know who they are but aren't a huge fan, skip this disc. For die-hard fans, see if you can rent it before spending $20 on this DVD. Genres: Music Video, Punk/Rock, Music Documentary Rated: NR | 61 minutes Talk back in the discussion boards! Catalog #: 1265 | ISBN: 0-03312-29652-9 |