Into the Blu

Warren Miller’s Playground

Posted on 29. Oct, 2008 by Gino Sassani in 1.78:1, 1080p, AVC MPEG-4, Documentary, Dolby TrueHD 5.1 (English), Reviews, Sports

Warren Miller has been putting out these snow sports videos for decades. If you’ve seen any of his previous efforts, you will pretty much know what to expect here. The real difference, of course, is that for the first time you can catch it all in high definition. Fans of the sport will get plenty of the action and loud rock soundtrack that they’ve come to expect from these kinds of films. What the fans and even some nonfans, like myself, can get out of this film is the experience it offers. Miller has taken some impressive equipment and exceptional photographers to the slopes to deliver an up-close and in your face tour of some of the world’s greatest snow sports mountains. You’ll get to meet some of the biggest champions in these sports, but don’t expect to spend much face time with them talking about the sport. These guys aren’t talkers; not when there’s some snow somewhere and a downhill slope yet to be conquered. The entire 100 minutes is wall to wall slopes action.

I have to confess that I’m not really into snowboarding or pretty much any of these winter slopes activities. I don’t know any of these champions, but will take Miller’s word that they are the best. I can’t even judge their performances, except to say they are doing things here I would be too chicken to even try. So I was all too quickly bored with the subject long before it was over. I did, however, stick with it so that I could get an idea of how interesting this might be outside of the sport’s followers. For at least a while it is actually fun to watch. The HD cinematography offers a rare detailed look at some of these remote locations. This particular video moves around swiftly enough that there’s usually a new place to explore before I’ve numbed out on the sport itself. Fans won’t need the extra motivation, but I think even if you’re in it for the action you’ll appreciate that Miller cared enough to take care of enough of the details to reward your time with some rather stunning images.

Video

Playground is presented in its original aspect ratio of 1.78:1. It’s all about the snow and action here. You get a pristine 1080p image using a solid AVC/MPEG-4 codec. There’s a strong 25 or better mbps bit rate to keep you happy the entire time. Remember that these are snow covered locations, so don’t expect a wide canvas of colors to dazzle your senses here. Instead, what you do get is an incredibly sharp image that takes you toe to toe with the athletes as they perform their stunts. Detail levels allow you to see the snow in such clarity that you can see what kind of mixture the surface is. You’ll be able to distinguish a very powdery surface to a more ice and sheet-like texture to the snow. There’s certainly a lot of care given to capturing these images. The reproduction does that effort justice in the extreme.

Audio

The PCM lossless 5.1 track is everything you’re going to want or need here. The rock sound track is, for my tastes, entirely too loud. The narration is spotty, so it’s almost as if the music is intended to dominate what you hear. The sound comes through at a powerful 4mbps. There aren’t a lot of ambient sounds here that aren’t simply overpowered by the music. There are times I did notice some nice separation, allowing you to catch the subtle sounds of snow movement and even wind, but too many times the rock just blasts away any of that careful mix. I assume you’re just expected to get into the mood via tunes and overwhelming visual stimulation.

Special Features

None.

Final Thoughts

This kind of thing is really not my bag, but I do have an appreciation for the quality of the work. Simply put, if this is your kind of thrill I don’t think you’ll find a better presentation than you will on this sweet Blu-ray release. Watching these guys riding waves of snow, I believe what the narrator says when he explains that “deep down inside snowboarders just want to surf”.