Image | 2010 | 840 mins. | NR
In the interest of full disclosure, I will reveal at the start that I’m a lifelong Boston Celtics fan. Longtime basketball fans know that the Lakers/Celtics rivalry is one of the greatest in sports, similar to that of the Yankees and Red Sox. Unlike the baseball rivalry, both basketball teams own the lion share of World Championships. The 2010 NBA Finals was a highly anticipated rematch. In 2008, the Celtics had won their 17th championship in a six game series victory over the Lakers. Two years later, the Lakers were looking for their second straight championship and a bit of revenge. The Celtics wanted their World Championship back.
With the 2010-11 season underway, Image Entertainment has released the Los Angeles Lakers: 2010 NBA Finals Series. This collection of all eight games of the mighty clash of the titans between Los Angeles and the Boston Celtics. Not surprisingly, it plays out just as fans will remember it: It’s all here.
While there are a few moments in sports that lend themselves to repeated viewings (an important homerun, last minute basket, goal, etc.), but seven games in their entirety, not so much. If you’re a massive Lakers fan, there’s bound to be appeal here. However, the set still doesn’t hold a candle to A&E’s World Series matchups. Why, you ask? On the baseball sets, not only do we get the full games, but we also have a bunch of special features. Somehow they don’t feel like a simple rehash. While A&E does present the original games, we are given access to material that fleshes out the experience.
Here, we pretty much get the games and little else. Granted, I might be singing a different tune if I were a Laker fan, but this is a lot of hours to watch stuff I just saw eight months ago. My guess is, this set will have limited appeal. If you didn’t get a chance to watch the Lakers win the 2010 title, Image has given you the opportunity.
These 1.78:1 high-definition transfers are as solid as you’d expect. Digital from the source, there hasn’t been much tampering here, so every minute of every game looks as clean and crisp as it did during its HDTV broadcast. Colors are vivid; there are only a few examples of compression artifacting.
Showcasing strong DTS-HD 2.0 Master Audio sound mixes, this set’s sound quality is impressive. These lossless tracks offer a nice step up from the games’ original broadcast, allowing for an increased thrill of audience reaction during the games and the often-unheard grunt and groan of the players during the games.
There are about sixty minutes of player interviews and the like, included here.
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