Team Leader Captured on DVD
This DVD is all about Kobe, and more specifically, it follows his actions during a regular season game against the
San Antonio Spurs during the 2007-2008 season. A mic and thirty different cameras tracked Kobe from the pre-game to the post game conference, capturing his every word and action. The feature is about eighty-four minutes long and you will see Kobe verbally guiding his teammates, driving to the hoop, and chatting with the opposing team and refs. That in itself would be okay, but the best part about this DVD is that Kobe does a full audio commentary on the entire film.
I also appreciated the fact that this isn’t a Kobe highlight reel. Sure, he turned in a fine performance at this game, but he made mistakes and hearing Kobe talk about those is a treat. Hearing him talk about basketball in general and the compassion he has for the sport is cool too. Frankly, after watching this I have a new found respect for Kobe’s intensity and basketball knowledge, and how he’s been able to transition from the offensive powerhouse to the wise leader of his entire team.
The footage taken by Spike and his team is great, and shows Kobe from all matter of angles, as well as in different
locations. Hearing Kobe joke with Kurt Thomas at the free throw line, watching him encourage Luke Walton on the
sideline, going over film at halftime in the locker room, and meeting up with his wife and kids post game is cool
stuff you just generally don’t get to see or hear in this detail. It’s interesting not only for Kobe fans but sports
fans in general.
The DVD is centered around this one game with Kobe’s audio commentary, but there are several other options available on this disc as well. These include:
-Introduction to the film by Director Spike Lee – Spike walks across the court of the Staples Center and talks about
Kobe’s greatness and what went into recording this film for a minute.
-Spike Lee on Kobe’s Commentary – Spike takes a seat at center court of the Staples Center and talks about getting Kobe to record the audio commentary for the film. The commentary for the film was recorded after the Knicks game in which Kobe dropped in 61 points. Spike is sure to mention that and this short clip runs a bit over three minutes.
-Deleted Scene – The Unseen Fourth Quarter – The Lakers ran away with the game at the end of the third quarter and so Kobe sat and iced his knees during the fourth. During the film, you see about half of the fourth, but this deleted scene includes additional footage and mic’ed audio from Kobe.
-Deleted Scene – Press Conference – A three minute piece on a quick press conference Kobe gave post game with one of his daughters on his lap.
-Photo Montage – A four and a half minute photo montage that takes you from the start of the game to the end, set to nice piano music.
-Music Video – “Levitate” by Bruce Hornsby – Clips from the film set to this song.
-E:60 – Behind the Scenes – A two minute behind the scenes piece where Spike and crew talk about getting the shots for the film. Behind the scenes footage is shown as well.
-Audio Option – Game Only Experience – If you want to relive the film without any commentary.
-Broadcast Audio Option – The film with the broadcast commentary.
To the summary…