Search - NFL: History of the San Diego Chargers on DVD

Legend Of The Lightning Bolt

DiverDown911 | Sacramento, CA USA | 10/03/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Being a life long San Diego Chargers fan, I've been waiting forever for this release. It does not disappoint. The main program "The Complete History of the San Diego Chargers" logs in at one hour and forty minutes. The first part of the program covers the team in it's earliest days in L.A. to the move to San Diego. It covers all the great Chargers players during this era and covers our one lone championship title- the 1963/64 AFL Championship. The program then moves into the glorious 1970's and the birth of "Air Coryell" era. This part covers all the greats- Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, John Jefferson, Wes Chandler, Chuck Muncie, all the great offensive and defensive linemen of the era, and the great Rolf Benirschke. All the classic games of this era are covered, including the classic 1981 playoff game against Miami. Classic NFL stuff, to say the least. We then move into the 1990's and the failed Superbowl season. The program covers this era pretty quickly and, in my opinion, could have spent a few more minutes covering the team of that era. Junior Seau and Stan Humphries get the most coverage with a tiny portion on Natrone Means. Then we move into the present day team and how it was put together starting with the drafting of LaDainian Tomlinson. The rest of the program covers the modern day team up to last years playoff loss in Pittsburgh. All in all, it's a great program that covers most of everything and even manages to throw in lots of humor along the way.

The second main program (on disc 2) is "America's Game- 1981 San Diego Chargers". This 45 minute program covers the 1981 season in full detail. This is a GREAT program worth the cost of the DVD alone.

There are lots of bonus features on both discs. The longest being another 45 minute program- "In Their Own Words- Junior Seau", which is pretty cool to watch as it shows Junior off the field as well as on. There are multiple other bonus programs logging in at no more than 15 minutes each..with most being less than 6-7 minutes. They cover the following people- Don Coryell, Lance Alworth, Dickie Post, Luis Castillo, Romen Oben, Charlie Joiner and Dan Fouts.

The total running time of both the main programs along with all the bonus features is just about 4 hours of content. Not bad, but my only complaint is explained below.

Why was the 1981 playoff game against Miami not included in this package? So much time is spent on this game in both main programs it would have been nice to watch the entire game afterwards. This omission is the only fumble in this DVD package.

All in all this gets 4 out of 5 stars. Maybe even 4.5. It would have been a solid 5 out of 5 if that playoff game had been included. A must for all Chargers fans and anyone with a love for some of the NFL's glory days."

Absolutely Essential For Charger Fans

J. Legg | 10/12/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"On 9/9/09 a San Diego theater premiered the ~80 minute feature,
complete with Charger Girls and numerous Charger greats.
Watching this great film on the big screen with hundred of Bolt-heads
was awesome. It's brilliantly edited, with plenty for newer fans, but LOTS for
those of us whose #21 jersey has "HADL" on the back (still love ya, LT!).

So, I was delighted when I saw that Amazon's write-up said that
this item was 240 minutes. That means a great bonus feature on
the 1981 team, and lots of shorter extras on Lance, Dickie, Junior,
Charlie and more.

If you're a Charger fan (and have read this far) then you know that
we've suffered a lot over the years. Yes, repeated heartbreaks,
zero Lombardi trophies, and only one Super Bowl appearance, which,
is not even a happy memory. But one of the best things that this
package does, is remind (or for the newer fans, teach) one just how
much Charger football has contributed to the NFL. Sure, we don't
have any championships (unless you count '63, pre-merger)
but there is A LOT to be proud of. Between Sid Gillman and Don Coryell,
San Diego virtually taught the modern NFL how to throw the ball.
Dan Fouts may not have a ring, but breaking the all-time passing record
3 years in a row is a phenomenal achievement. Anyone who could watch
this film and not demand that Don Coryell be in the Hall of Fame, is nuts.

There are also great interviews...new ones, that will surprise you.

So, yes, an absolute must have. Long, long overdue.

My only complaint is that I was really hoping for a blu-ray version.
Admittedly, much of the film--from the '60s & '70s...and even '80s--
probably wouldn't really be improved in HD, given the source material...
but still...it's late 2009...new stuff should be offered in the best formats.
It crossed my mind to ding the score a bit for that...but decided that no,
this is a review of THIS product, in DVD format...and it's freakin' awesome!"