![Waiting for "Superman" [Blu-ray] (2010)](/wp_content/uploads/2011/03/517rHgEwE1L._SL500_AA300__150x150.jpg "Waiting for \"Superman\" [Blu-ray] (2010)")
WAITING FOR SUPERMAN (2010, Blu-ray released February 15, 2011 – MSRP $39.99)
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To say that the state of the public educational system in the United States is a dire and complex situation is an understatement. You might just need a chart and some graph paper to help you along while you watch Waiting For “Superman”, the latest documentary Blu-ray release from Paramount Vantage.
Davis Guggenheim directs TV dramas and documentary films. Having worked on such programs as The Shield and Alias and directed the whimsical It Might Get Loud, he is best known as the director of An Inconvenient Truth. This time he takes on the educational system in America.
This is not his first foray into American schools. He also directed the TV documentary The First Year in 2001. Nine years later, through the eyes of legislators, politicians, parents and children all facing aspects of the crisis affecting the public school system, we are privy to facts and details that certainly most people are not aware of. The “No Child Left Behind” program, backed by more than one US President, hasn’t worked. More lawyers and doctors loose their right to practice than do bad teachers, and in order to get a decent education, some kids have to be lucky. Attending their institution of choice is often left up to the results of education-specific lotteries!
Between the personal stories and the explanations of varying legislation across the United States, it’s easy to get a little lost. The film would have benefited from a narrower focus or more time. Simply, an extensive look with a TV documentary series as the vehicle, which I believe this topic requires.
It’s a quality 1080p transfer, but a little uneven. Most often, details and textures jump out at you, then occasionally, there is a noticeable lack of sharpness (not including the older, standard definition footage interspersed throughout). The animated portions are distinct and clear and add some needed lightheartedness in a film dealing with such serious subject matter. Colors are a mixed bag too. The range is from vibrant to slightly subdued. The contrast is the most stable aspect of the image. Blacks are rich and deep and well separated, never overpowering. Either way, this is not the type of film where one would or should be making a big deal about whether or not they can see laugh lines or wood grain. It’s all about the content.
Surprisingly, the soundtrack is delivered in dts-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround. Surely, it’s not a pre-requisite for a film with a major focus on talking heads and sound bites coming straight through the center speaker (which is always clear and clean). Other than the songs scattered here and there, the natural ambiance and just off-camera sounds audible through the other channels are well balanced.
There are quite a variety of options for special features (all in High-Def). There are deleted scenes, more animated bits (a PSA-type piece and an “animated conversation” with the director), a look at John Legend’s journey in writing the main theme for the film and important updates of key people since the film’s release.
I would have called the film “Waiting For Answers” because of all the questions raised with no easy answers, like whether or not the teachers’ union is doing more harm than good to both teachers and students alike. On the whole, Waiting For “Superman” is not only worth seeing, but necessary viewing even though it can be a little daunting. There is a lot of information thrown at you and it can feel overwhelming, partly due to the actual state of the public school system in America and the broad approach Guggenheim uses to depict it.
Nice I’ll pick it up thank’s