MovieFreak.com - "Spellbound" DVD Review by Dennis Landmann

Spellbound follows the lives of eight young Americans who share one goal: to win the National Spelling Bee. The Bee is as intense a competition as any Olympic match, and for the spellers and their families, the stakes are just as high.

For this particular title, I'm going to post Christopher Bryan's excellent film review of Spellbound. Since his thoughts are almost exactly the same as mine, why repeat them? Also, I don't think I can match the earnestness and effectiveness of his review.

Nephelognosy, Dysphasia, Zaibatsu; you may have the urge to say gesundheit, but these are not the sounds of nasal decompression, these are actual words that ten, eleven and twelve year-olds are faced with at the annual National Spelling Competition held in Washington D.C. These words are generally not heard in every day conversation: my theory is that most of them were designed specifically to torment the young spellers in their sleep and to cause mothers to wring their hands in anticipation.

Jeff Blitz presents eight champion spellers in Spellbound, his first feature film. The audience is introduced to each of the eight at different phases of their preparation for the 1999 National Spelling Competition, some before they have even won the regional competition. Blitz has a good eye for story and has skillfully chosen the children whose stories he tells; they represent a wide array of races and economic backgrounds, and it is their stories which propel Spellbound forward. Most of the children are more intelligent than not only their peers, but also their parents who often watch incredulously as letters spew forth from their children’s mouths forming words that the Bee’s official announcer has trouble pronouncing.

What amazes me about Spellbound is the number of emotions I felt. I laughed, cried, got angry, and sat on the edge of my seat, all in a movie with no swearing, violence, sex, or even a romance, unless a love for spelling is considered romantic. Spellbound turns the saying "life imitates art" on its ear as Blitz craftily molds these eight different stories into a piece of art which produces emotions that hit our very core more effectively than anything that many of the most intelligent scriptwriters could produce. Life is art and what a relief Spellbound is in a summer chock full of movies that dazzle with their special effects while pumping out today’s hits leaving some patrons feeling as though they have spent the hour and a half banging their head against a wall instead of enjoying a cinematic event.

The contestants are all very focused on their goal and strive unblinkingly towards it. Many of them spend all of their free time preparing for the competition. The Bee itself in many instances represents the first time that these überintelligent kids have ever explored the U.S outside of their hometowns. With so much riding on their still young shoulders each defeat becomes that much more bitter and each victory so sweet. It is truly uplifting to watch a child jump and scream for sheer joy. Society has not shown them how to mask their inner feelings yet, making Blitz’s close-ups on them while spelling agonizing for the audience as we watch the gears turning in their heads, sometimes contorting the speller’s entire face.

I’m not sure that I like the way that American’s are represented on television in "reality" shows. These programs depict us as gluttonous, cheating morons. Blitz sheds a light on a competition that has been around since the 1920’s with Spellbound and has shown a reality that makes me feel more comfortable as I watch eight of the hard-working individuals who will help to shape our future.

Columbia presents Spellbound in 1.33:1 fullscreen format. It appears the original aspect ratio was 1.78:1, but for some reason Sony offers us the film is lame fullscreen. The picture quality here is a mixed bag. Considering the documentary was shot in video, the image looks fairly clear. While not crisp, the colors remain bright and well-balanced. Grain appears only in some places, and compression artifacts occur in a few spots. There is also quite a lot of edge enhancement visible, which causes halos to form around people. Overall, this presentation is kind of weak.

Columbia presents Spellbound in English 2.0 Dolby Stereo. On the whole, this presentation sounds fine. Audio is nicely reproduced across the two front channels, but I thought some of the dialogue was a little hard to understand so I had to turn up the knob a bit. The music by Daniel Hulsizer comes across with solid reinforcement from the front channels.

First, let me say the menus are quite original as they all appear on a chalkboard. When you select special features, the eraser will erase the main menu and white chalk writes the extras on the chalkboard. As such, menus are very easy to navigate. Also, Daniel Hulsizer's original music plays over the menus.

The set-up menu lists the filmmakers commentary by director Jeffrey Blitz, producer Sean Welsh, editor Yana Gorskaya, and re-recording mixer Peter Brown. They start by discussing the genesis of the documentary, including meeting the kids. Welch dominates the track, but the others chip in regularly. This is a pretty engaging track as comments are generally interesting and informative.

Listed in order, the first extra is coming soon, a reel containing trailers for Winged Migration and The Endurance. As a matter of fact, both of these documentaries have been available on DVD for months.

Then comes a text-based menu called The Spellers where you can read a short bio on each of the eight spellers, and also select the "Where Are They Now" link for an update of their current scholastic activities. Pictures accompany both sections.

Next, bonus footage contains segments on three additional spellers, which you can watch individually or all at once. These segments are edited in the same fashion as those in the film. They feature interviews the speller and parents, as well as footage following the family around their neighborhood and the kids' performance at the Nationals.

About the Filmmakers is another text-based extra focusing on director Jeffrey Blitz, producer/soundman Sean Welch, and editor Yana Gorskaya. Then, anyone with a DVD-ROM drive can play the Interactive Hangman Game and participate in the Interactive Educational Guide. Both of these can be accessed online as well. Rounding out the extras is the film's Theatrical Trailer.

You can select to view the film with optional English and French subtitles. The 97-minute feature is organized into fourteen chapters. A paper insert lists scene selections.

Spellbound offers a fascinating look at eight bright individuals as they compete at the National Spelling Bee. This documentary works so well because it features real people and human emotion. The video is poor, audio is alright, and the assortment of extras are quite surprising. Overall, a pretty neat DVD that is worth picking up. Recommended.

THE MOVIE	8
THE VIDEO	4
THE AUDIO	5
THE EXTRAS	6
OVERALL (not an average)	7