16th May, 2008 Login • Register
Search This Site
Rank (2006) DVD Review
Rank (2006) DVD Credits:
Rank (2006) Directed by:
John Hyams
Rank (2006) Written by:
Not available at this time
Rank (2006) Cast:
Mike Lee, Justin McBride, Adriano Moraes, Dillon Page, H.D. Page
Rank (2006) Released by:
Not available at this time
Region:
1
Rank (2006) DVD Release Date:
2nd April 2007
Our Rating: Extras Rating:

User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD
Rank (2006) Synopsis:

Seven days, 45 finalists, one World Champion. Shot on location in Las Vegas, Nevada, Rank takes us from the ranch to the arena for the struggle of the three highest-ranking bull riders competing for the title of PBR World Champion. The three contenders: Justin McBride, a third generation bull rider; Mike Lee, 21 year-old born-again Christian and 34 year-old Brazilian Adriano Moraes, already a two-time PBR World Champion, who has been riding since the age of 18 and is now in the twilight of his bull riding career. This documentary brings the reality of this hazardous sport into focus for the first time. From preparations to ride through severe injuries and finally, victory for one: a gold belt buckle and a check for one million dollars.

Rank (2006) DVD Review:

They seem to be making documentaries about every type of competition lately, even going to far as spelling bees and crossword puzzle competitions, but a documentary about bull riding was bound to put all of these other competitions to shame, and Rank certainly delivers in more ways than expected. Not only are there many horrifyingly intense moments in this extremely dangerous sport, but there is actually a touching element to the film which I hadn’t expected from a bunch of tough cowboys. The men in Rank are after a million dollar prize at the World Championship in Las Vegas.

Because bull riding is clearly about more than just winning, Rank is wise to venture away from the competition many times during the course of the film. There is an opening scene with ranch owner and bull raiser, which becomes a book-end and small sub-plot in the film as the PBR gives an award and brand-new truck to the man with the best livestock as well, but the best sub-plots are the ones which have nothing to do with the bulls, but instead with the men riding them. Moving away from the competition we see how supportive these bull riders are with each other. Despite the fact that they all want to win, they are far more supportive than you might see in any other sporting event, perhaps due to the uniquely dangerous element in this particular sport.

Although some of the footage in the film is brutally horrific, and almost feels as if it should be followed up by a slow motion re-play, but these terrifying scenes of disaster when trying to go up against one of nature’s most brutal beasts are countered with a surprisingly poignant score by The Unseen Hand. This music is so soft that it helps to balance the rougher elements of the film, which is replacing the usually loud music played at these events. There is a featurette in the special features showing how they replaced the music, which meant they had to re-record sounds of bull riding after the filming. There is also a featurette about the music by The Unseen Hand in the film, and a commentary track by the filmmakers.

Our Rating: Extras Rating: User Rating:  Log in to rate this DVD

Rank (2006) DVD review written by: Ryan Izay

Content Management System provided by P J Thomson - Freelance Web Design - PHP/MySQL Development