Wimbledon - The 2008 Finals: Nadal vs. Federer / Widescreen [DVD]

Tennis Done Right! In terms of play, it by now goes without saying that this is an epic bout that belongs in any tennis addict's library, and damn the cost. Unfortunately, part of that cost is a lackluster SD video source. Sorry to say, and contrary to some reports, the PQ of the final set that I saw was NOT better. Of course, given the increasingly electrifying level of play, you'll forget about all that soon enough. As the sets unfold, even as the players become visibly tired, the level of play only surpasses itself, in some cases with points of 30 or more hits (if I counted correctly in my by-then dazed state), often settled with desperate but brilliant winners.Now about the "English" issue, for lack of a better term. Having watched countless Grand Slams, but only on American network TV, the contrast, for me, could not have been starker. The first thing to strike me was the comportment of the crowd, initially reserved and attentive, rather than reactive and vocal. Adults behaved like adults, with no rowdies in the stands, and no primadonnas on the court. Clearly this was the All-England Club, not Flushing Meadows. As a viewer, I felt the difference in mood from the start. And the fact that the commentators were English was if anything a plus. They delivered a modicum of intelligent commentary, and that was plenty. No belaboring the obvious, very little time-filling blather, few gossipy asides, no duels in statistical mastery of the record books. None of the avalanche of whiz-bang graphics and gratuitous sound effects that so often seem to be done for the sake of their own entertainment value, or for fear of allowing the viewers a brief moment of calm between the heart-thumping points. Several times, we could SEE John McEnroe through the glass of the broadcast booth, delivering his commentary into a microphone, but not for our ears. No offense to John, whom I like, but he wasn't missed from my perspective. I felt that I was there as a spectator, not watching as a remote viewer, and a decent surround audio effect cemented the illusion that I was surrounded by the rustle and tension of a rapt crowd.There will be future classic matches worthy of collecting and re-viewing, more of them hopefully shot in HD and given Blu-ray transfers that do technical justice to the format; this is long, long overdue. But for its historic level of play between two of the most masterful, as well as personally agreeable, tennis aces of our lifetime, 2008 at Wimbledon will always be a keeper.

Fortunately I had watched the match LIVE. But even so, one must buy this, concerning the quality of play so high!! Just buy it!!!Also, I do not see the quality of the DVD disc is poor, of course, as always, one's sweet is another's poisson. But to me, never mind the quality of the disc, just enjoy the greatest match in tennis. Also,no matter you are the fans of Nadal or Federer, just forget at this moment, just watch quality of two players, say A vs B, produced such a great match which would be talked over and over again!!!!

This may sound weird and while it is a fantastic match, the picture quality of DVD 1 is quite poor considering it is a 2008 recording, though oddly enough DVD 2 which is the fifth set is of much better quality. I have purchased a lot of matches from Kultur (including the 2007 Final between them) all of which have been high quality, but quite honestly i was dissapointed and surprised by the overall recording quality of this match. I agree with one of the other reviewers, rent this, do not buy it.

I already reviewed the Australian Open 2009 final between these 2 living legends and this one is in my top 3 favorite meetings of all times.Tennis fan will not be bored, if you think that grass matches are full of short points think again, this is a battle! Oh and will be so much better than when it happened because it took almost 15 hours between the rain intervals, re-warming etc. I don't get tired of watching this match.

How do you get a 3 star review with a 5 star game? Just use a standard def picture and get a ton of artifacts when you convert from PAL to NTSC. Great game, pity about the picture.

I kept hearing this was the greatest match ever played. Now I agree. So fun to see this classic match, though I was disappointed it wasn't U.S. sportscasters commentating and the camera angles shortened the court. They also don't do instant replays I'm accustomed to with matches I watch on ESPN or the Tennis Channel. Still, fabulous to see this match between 2 tennis greats.

The commentary was ay best okay. Compare to McEnroe's comments on American television, they wereunderwhelming.

This is a very well written behind the scenes view of the personalities of tennis, from Roger Federrer and his family growing up, to Rafael Nadal, a video game junkie, to the umpires and lower ranked players, etc. One sees why these players are the best, how they got that way, and what they are like as people.

An unforgettable classic, and the most dramatic, and climactic, tennis match ever played in the Open Era. Would Roger Federer, the world's uninterrupted #1 player for over 4 years, top Bjorn Borg's record and win his 6th consecutive Wimbledon? Would Nadal, the "King of Clay", who had handed "The Mighty Fed" the biggest shellacking ever in a major final at Roland Garros one month prior, finally break through and capture tennis' most coveted prize?Yes, this one absolutely lives up to the hype.

Everything went as expected, and the product was excellent. In particular, the absence of commentators' remarks during the times when points were being played was greatly appreciated. This contrasts enormously with broadcast TV programs wherein the commentators babble on to a very high degree, when the ball is in play. This constitutes a big distraction from the viewer's attempt to focus on the match itself.

Very nice quality

北米リージョンです。国内のプレイヤーで再生できないことを確認。ディスクは2枚組みで1枚目に第4セット最後まで、2枚目に最終セットを収録。プレー中のカットはありませんが、セット間で微妙に編集されているっぽいところはありました。表彰式が中途半端で、両者へのインタビューが収録されてないのは非常に不満。その替わりなのか最後にナダルへの短いインタビューを収録しています。選手入場から収録されていますがウォームアップもどうやら編集されており、コイントス時の映像もありません。選手入場前に二人のコメントが収録されていたり、テロップで二人にかかっていた記録が紹介されたりします。近年最高と言われる試合だからか、いろいろ編集で手を入れている感じですが、地味に痛いところが切られていてもったいなく感じました。試合内容について、二人の力関係はこの試合前にとっくに入れ替わっていたと思っています。フェデラーは前年度の時点でかなり追い詰められていましたし、同年の全仏決勝では4ゲームしか取れずベーグルまで付けられる大惨敗でした。この試合でもナダルが4回ブレークしているのに対して、フェデラーは第2セットの1回だけ。それでも名勝負と呼ばれるに恥じない試合になったのは、後半でフェデラーが意地を見せてくれたからだと思います。ストレートで試合が終わってもおかしくないところを、第3セット、第4セットとフェデラーがタイブレークでよくしのぎました。特に第4セットのタイブレーク、2度目のチャンピオンシップポイントを握られた場面で見せたパッシングは神業的です。ただフェデラーにチャンスが来てもブレークできる気配は無かったので、タイブレークの無い最終セットに入った時点で勝負あった感はありました。試合の流れとは別に、純粋に二人のプレーを観るだけでも十分楽しめると思います。既にピークは過ぎた感のあったフェデラーですが、ここぞの場面で見せるフォアハンドの切れ味や滑るスライス、ボレーの巧みさはやはり見事。まだ若かったナダルは今なら諦めるであろうポイントでも拾いにいき、トンデモない守備範囲を見せてくれます。最近はBIG4という表現がよく使われますが、この二人の二強体制だった時期を知らない人には、ぜひ観て欲しい試合です。

わかってはいましたが、どのプレーヤーでも観れると良かったと感じた