Written by Adrienne Ambush
Anyone who has tuned into MTV or VH1 in the last 10 years has probably seen at least one music video that is featured in this collection of videos by Brett Ratner, but they probably couldn’t place a name or face to the man that is behind the camera–that is, until now.
In a 90-minute videography of Brett Ratner’s life and career, fans of the director’s work are taken on a musical ride that only stops when the viewer is asked to pick which part of the DVD they would like to explore next: Music Videos, A gun for hire, NYU films, and so forth. Listed below is a brief description of each section on the DVD.
Music Videos: Fans of the director can enjoy watching 21 of their favorite videos all over again while students studying to become film directors can pick up tips on camera angles they could consider using during their next video shoot. Among these videos are songs from D’angelo, Jessica Simpson, Madonna, Mariah Carey and many more.
A gun for hire: Big budget commercial ads that Ratner has shot through the years. Among this section includes the famous Guitar Hero ad with Heidi Klum dancing around in her underwear while singing “Old time Rock N Roll.”
NYU films: Four silent films (“Untitled,” “The Chase,” “Billy goes bang,” and “Lady Luck” that Ratner directed while attending New York University.
The Vault: In this section, you are shown clips from when Ratner was a young child playing in front of the video camera, behind the scene footage from different photo shoots that Ratner has worked on and an interview with Mickey Rourke.
Hip Hop to Hollywood: The Brett Ratner story: Beginning in 1982, this section tells the behind the scenes story of Brett Ratner’s career. With cameo appearances by Mariah Carey, Quincy Jones and John Singelton, just to name a few, this section focuses on celebrities telling their stories of how they met Brett Ratner and how he has influenced the music/film industry today.
Video:
Shown in a 1.66:1 aspect ratio, the Brett Ratner shooter series has a natural feel to it. No actions scenes with high quality explosives are featured in the video so viewers who want to get the most out of their HDTV screens might think twice about buying this DVD and just want to rent it.
Some shots appear to be grainy, especially in the NYU film section, but this could be due to the fact that these films were shot years ago before the upgrade in technology.
Audio:
This disc uses the Dolby Digital 5.1 track which is pretty standard. Even though a lot of music is shown in the disc, the dialogue is clearly heard even during the music videos. The transfer of these music videos onto this DVD comes off very well; the sound quality is above average.
Special Features:
Nothing
Final Thoughts:
An average fan of Brett Ratner’s could probably locate most of, if not all of, the featured music videos on youtube. The only thing they wouldn’t find is Ratner’s college films/the celebrities behind the scenes interview on Ratner. I’d recommend a student studying to become a director to buy this movie only if they wanted tips on which angels to use in their next film, anyone else I’d suggest renting the DVD.
