Cheap NASCAR - The IMAX Experience (2005)

Customer Ratings:
List Price: $12.97
Sale Price: $4.99
Today's Bonus: 62% Off

I come from the heart of NASCAR country, and I have a lot of race memories going back a good quarter of a century now. I love racing, but I really haven't been able to watch it since that black day when Dale Earnhardt lost his life at Daytona; I doubt I'll ever be able to watch another Daytona 500 as long as I live. Still, I'd love to get past the loss of the Man in Black and make NASCAR a part of my Sunday rituals once again. That's the main reason I decided to watch NASCAR: The IMAX Experience. Of course, I have only seen it in the privacy of my own home, so I can't speak to the actual IMAX theatre experience. It's a good show, but I guess I was just expecting a little bit more out of it.

The main limitation of the film is its length; you can only say so much about the rich history of NASCAR in forty-eight minutes. There's a decent look at the origins of the sport, but most of the historical attention is placed on a select few superstars of years past. The behind-the-scenes look at the way cars are built and maintained is excellent, but many of the really technical aspects of car design are not covered you'll get a quick picture of the way drafting works, but pushing and pulling, for example, aren't covered at all. You do get a good sense of the time and expense that goes in to making each and every race happen, though. Pit crews and spotters are given their due, and rightly so, and you also get a small taste of tail-gating and driver interaction with the public. That interaction goes a long way toward making NASCAR the fan success it is. You also get to hear from a few wives who bear the tough burden of being married to a driver, and this discussion easily spills over into a discussion of safety. Several drivers also make comments throughout the film, but all too often, the actual driver is not identified if you can't recognize the voice, you won't know who is speaking on several occasions. I thought the selection of driver comments was also too limited, as some big names are left out entirely. The big thrills supposedly come from the IMAX footage of on-the-track action, but there's nothing all that special about the footage outside of an IMAX theatre setting. Frankly, I don't think the non-3D experience matches the footage you can see on your own television set come the next race Sunday.

If you're an established NASCAR fan, you may not get all that much out of NASCAR: The IMAX Experience, although you will surely find it enjoyable. Those new to the sport, however, can get a good sense of the excitement and enthusiasm the sport generates among its fans. You won't feel the thunder of the engines in your gut, though. Nothing, not even NASCAR: The IMAX Experience, compares to the excitement generated on any given race day.

Click Here For Most Helpful Customer Reviews >>

This is an unbelievable movie. I saw it at the IMAX theater and was blown away and now the DVD is almost as good. I want to make a couple of things clear, however. You people who are dogging this DVD for not being widescreen need to understand that the actual IMAX format is not widescreen. It is 4:3, not 16:9. It is IMAX for a reason. This movie and other IMAX movies WILL not and SHOULD not be shown in widescreen format, because that is not the original IMAX format. You people should go see an IMAX movie and notice the square shaped picture and not the rectangle that normal movies are shown. Get a clue. Another thing, making a 3-D DVD is not as simple as throwing in a pair of paper glasses. You must have special equipment including a 3-D projector and special electronic glasses. Even then it will not be the quality of IMAX. Back to the DVD itself. You will not be dissapointed. Unbelievable picture and sound quality makes for the ultimate DVD experience. You will love this movie.

Best Deals for NASCAR - The IMAX Experience (2005)

I bought this DVD because of hearing that it was a 3D IMAX film and hoped that Warner Bros. would have did the right thing and made both the 2D and 3D versions available on the disc. Sadly, this isn't the case. Granted, the movie is a NASCAR fans dream with lots of great historical information on the creation of the sport, an in-depth look behind-the-scenes at how the cars are made, what all goes into setting up the pits at the races, etc. and so on. Plus, some wonderful in-car and racing with the vehicles perspectives. But, without the 3D experience, the movie is just not what it could have been. There is still a LOT of room left on this DVD for the field-sequential video edition, plus other interesting extras like a making-of featurette (which is strangely missing for an IMAX disc). I'd like to know why they were left out. In short, get the movie if you are a NASCAR fan, but don't if you believe it will be in 3D like it was at the IMAX theaters.

Honest reviews on NASCAR - The IMAX Experience (2005)

This contains some of the best IMAX 3-D yet. If you've not yet seen a good 3-D film, start with this one. It will show you what the future of cinema can look like. There are a couple of very brief troublesome shots, but the vast majority of this film is jaw droppingly good. SEE IT NOW!

Find helpful customer reviews and review ratings for NASCAR - The IMAX Experience (2005)

I am not a NASCAR fan, plain and simple. But I am a big advocate of IMAX films, both ones about nature and ones about 200 mph cars. This is a great flick, from narration all the way down to the filming of the pictures. The camera angles bring you into the sport and show that the sport is actually more than racing, it is actually a bit of science with the drafting, and new technology in the sport.