Film Crew, The: Giant of Marathon, The (DVD)

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When the movie resumes, things don't look promising for Athens. Andromeda has been kidnapped, and the Persians attack. But is that Gandalf standing on the hill at the horizon with his trusty steed Shadowfax? No! It's Phil! And he's brought a few hundred Spartans! It's the perfect opportunity to shout, "Tonight... we dine... IN HELL!" Except Phil doesn't say much at all... which kind of loses a bit of the dramatic punch.

In the final sketch by "The Film Crew," Mike, Bill, and Kevin try to come up with even more ridiculous hats than the ones used by the Persians in "The Giant of Marathon." Personally, I thought it was one of the better sketches on the four DVDs currently available.

Video:
"The Film Crew: The Giant of Marathon" has a standard full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1. I wish the producers took the extra step to go widescreen though since this is a direct-to-DVD release.

The quality of the picture during "The Film Crew" skits was slightly above average, and it probably could have been a little sharper. In some cases the video quality of these segments had a softer and almost fuzzy appearance, but were only really noticeable when straining hard to specifically look for flaws.

As for "The Giant of Marathon," the film was certainly showing its wear and tear for being nearly fifty years old. But as with all of "The Film Crew" releases, the humor provided by Mike, Bill, and Kevin takes priority over film quality.

Audio:
Each of "The Film Crew" discs feature a relatively plain Dolby Digital Stereo soundtrack as the films are pretty ancient to begin with, unlikely having any other options from the original masters. Obviously the commentary track doesn't need anything flashy either, yet I could hear every joke with clarity, and while the actual movie audio wasn't as loud, it still wasn't degraded. I guess the only way to sum up the sound for the disc is that it served its purpose.

Extras:
The disc contains "An Apology by Mike Nelson." It's a short skit of Mike reading off an apology for insulting Persians in the film, but then ends up insulting other races in the process.

The other bonus feature is a selected scene "Commentary by Walter S. Ferguson." It's more of a spoof on commentaries with a made-up actor discussing his roles as an extra in the movie.

Shout! Factory also encloses a limited edition "The Film Crew" window cling sticker inside the DVD case.

The Final Cut:
After years of practice doing what they do best, Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett, and Kevin Murphy have become masters of mockery. I knew going in from past experience that I was going to be in for a barrel of laughs, but the film itself wasn't all that bad either. Therefore as a whole, I have to say that this one packs more fun than a giant wooden horse full of well-greased Greek warriors.

Of added interest, three other titles are currently available: "The Film Crew: Hollywood After Dark," "The Film Crew: Killers from Space," and "The Film Crew: Wild Women of Wongo."

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