Previews, 2 commentary tracks, featurettes

I’ve never been a fan of golf. It always struck me as a rich man’s game filled with little to no drama. So “The Greatest Game Ever Played” seemed like it would be a snooze fest for me but it turns out that this “Game” isn’t about slapping balls into tiny holes at all. Instead, it focuses on America’s stratified class system at the turn of the century. ***

A gifted gold player reduced to being a caddy because he’s from the lower class, Francis Quimet (Shia LaBeouf) meets his idol British golfer Harry Vardon (Stephen Dillane) in an unexpected fashion-on the green. ***

Directed by actor Bill Paxton (“Titanic”, “A Simple Plan”, “Aliens”, ”Twister”, “Near Dark”)and adapted from the book of the same name by Mark Frost (co-creator/writer/producer of “Twin Peaks”, “Fantastic Four”), “The Greatest Game Ever Played” manages to make the game of golf both fascinating and allows Paxton to examine class differences in early 20th Century America. The film also examines the roots of golf as a sport for the wealthy and cultured. ---

Image & Sound:

“Game” looks sharp and crisp with nice skin tones. The Blu-ray nicely captures the textures and grain of the film. The color scheme of the film receives a bold reproduction here. ***

Audio pops as well with a nice 5.1 DTS-HD transfer. Dialogue comes across loud and clear but doesn’t diminish any other elements of the sound track so nothing is sacrified. ---

The best extra here is Bill Paxton’s intelligent, observant commentary track. Paxton has been around in the movie business for years (one of his first roles was a minor one in “The Terminator”) and clearly knows his way around the camera and actors. He does a terrific job of giving us information on his approach to the film including the transfer to Blu-ray and how he wanted to minimize grain to help pull people into the “look” of the film and the strong use of color. ***

“Audio commentary with author/screenwriter/co-producer Mark Frost” gives Frost his due in discussing adapting his own work for the screen at the hands of someone else as director. Frost clearly knows all about the game, its history and the two main characters in the film. ***

“A View from the Gallery” is a behind-the-scenes featurette focusing on how Paxton became involved including his own love of the game. ***

“Two Legends from the Greatest Game” gives us background on the real men that inspired the story. Ouimet took golf out of the wealthy man’s world into the common man’s inspiring other amateurs with talent to pick up the clubs regardless of their economic class or background. ***

“From Caddie to Champion: Francis Ouimet” is a vintage featurette with Ouimet hosted by Fred Cusick. ---

Final Words: