NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers Champions (2009)

I've seen several of these from NFL Films, and they're always wonderfully done. This is basically a yearbook of the Steelers' 2008 season -a "Season Review" which contains highlights of all the Steelers' games, including the Super Bowl. It also contains various extras. It definitely does not include the complete Super Bowl. If you're looking for a review of the season, this is your purchase. If you're looking for Super Bowl XLIII on DVD/BluRay, I'm pretty certain they'll be releasing that before too long as well. Just want to make sure no one is disappointed!

As a Steelers fan, I could not wait for this DVD to be released. And as someone who always enjoys a good NFL Films Production, I assumed this DVD would be just as good, if not better, than the Super Bowl XL release outlining the 2005/2006 Steelers season.

Unfortunately, I feel NFL Films fell short with this DVD and that they rushed this into production. They missed the mark somewhere and made the season seem somewhat dull. (Something we all know was NOT the case!)

SPOILER ALERT: The 2 minute clip viewable on Amazon is not even in the DVD . . .odd.

Of course, this review is not meant to deter any of you from purchasing this DVD. Nor, is it meant to downplay the amazing season the Steelers played. The bonus material is enjoyable to watch and any fan will be happy to add this to their collection. But once again, a bit of a disappointment in comparison to the Super Bowl XL DVD.

As a reminder, this DVD does NOT contain the Super Bowl XLIII game. This is merely a collection of clips from the 2008/2009 season.

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This is a must purchase for any Steelers fan.

It's important to know that this is not the actual Superbowl, but rather the highlights of the Steelers journey there, ending up with that historic Superbowl win.

If you're a fan, it's a great treat to relive the fantastic season capped off with one of the greatest catches in the history of the game.

The Blu-Ray looks awesome, and is a visible difference over the standard definition version.

The extras are:

The entire 4th quarter (in HD) of the Cowboys/Steelers week 14 game.

Post-game Superbowl highlights

Media day highlights

Willie Parker profile

Ben Roethlisberger: Captain Comeback

Mike Tomlin profile

Dick Lebeau profile

Steelers defense

Steelers nation

Read Best Reviews of NFL Super Bowl XLIII: Pittsburgh Steelers Champions (2009) Here

As a long-time Steelers fan, this DVD was a must buy and I'm happy I did it. Superbowl XLIII is a game I could watch over and over to see the great plays both by the Steelers like Harrison's record interception+return and Santonio Holmes' spectacular series of catches on the last offensive drive, as well as the great almost-comback by the Cardinals, a team that got no respect during the regular season and had to earn it the hard way in the postseason.

My problem with the DVD is that unlike many of the NFL's productions this one has no heart, no stortelling, no reason to care, presented in the program. This DVD gives you a striaght-up prestantion of the games with all the wit and charm of a statistician. If you want to see great sports storytelling and human drama played out on the gridiron, check out the NFL Super Bowl XL Pittsburgh Steelers Championship DVD. It starts off just right with the emotionally honest speech by Hines Ward regarding the possible retirement of Jerome Bettis. Great stuff. The closest this program gets is the exchange between Ward and Limas Sweed on the sidelines good stuff but there were MANY great storylines that are completely ignored.

Here's jsut a few that jump to mind!

The injury to longtime backup Charlie Batch that led to Byron Leftwich stepping up to help play strong.

The emphasis on discipline in training camp that got Casey "Big Snack" Hampton some press before the season started.

The long road and perseverance of James Harrison who made Defensive player of the Year (a fact BARELY mentioned on the DVD).

Hines Ward's drive to play in the Superbowl despite a knee injury two weeks earlier against Baltimore.

Oh, and lets not forget the faceoff between Mike Tomlin and Ken Wisenhunt/Russ Grimm after they all vied for the headcoaching gig in Pittsburgh two years prior.

Any or all of those would have been great to hear about but we got next to nothing on the main program, just scattered in the bonus material or completely ignored.

Griping aside, the production is nicely done and the inclusion of the 4th quarter of the Dallas game is a nice touch but even then they cut it too short and left out the bone chilling battle cry by Nate Washington shortly after an ankle injury, a moment I was dying to see again! I hope NFL films has a few other productions planned to give this season its due.

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Why are Steeler fans so surprised that this is a season highlight DVD? Just 3 years ago NFL Films did the same thing: released the highlight DVD shortly after Super Bowl XL and released the entire set of playoff games later in the year. The Super Bowl XL DVD was amazing this one falls slightly short of that, but it's definitely worth a buy for any Steeler fan. Relax, you'll get your entire Super Bowl XLIII later this year... but what NFL Films does here is to try and tell the story of the 2008 Steelers like a movie. The Super Bowl win is even more amazing in the context of the season that led up to it.

Oh, and the two minute clip featured above, it is in the DVD, it's just been recut. The version you see up there is probably from a rough cut, which is normal in video and film editing. They punched up the narration a bit and used some different angles in the final cut, but the clip gives you a good sense of the DVD.

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