DVD Corner

On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter Blu-ray Review

“On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter” is a thoroughly involving documentary.

In this follow-up to 1971’s acclaimed documentary “On Any Sunday,” filmmaker Dana Brown puts the spotlight on modern motorcycle racing. Throughout the film, he covers daredevils (namely Robbie Maddison), flat track racers, MotoGP, Bonneville salt flats races, ice racing in Alberta, speedway dirt racing, a crazy Austria race, Motocross, Nitro Circus, the windy Pikes Peak race, and electric motorcycles. Brown also delves into the dangers of racing and the uses of motorbikes in countries like Africa and Vietnam. As with any documentary, there are a wide range of interviews here with a designer, family members of stars, celeb racers, and current and veteran racers such as Mert Lawwill, Marc Marquez, Kenny Roberts, Carlin Dunne, a deaf racer named Ashley Fiolek, James Stewart, Jr., Travis Pastrana, and Doug Henry.

Having not seen the original “On Any Sunday,” I can’t compare and contrast the two so I apologize in advance if you came to this review looking for that information. With all of that said, I feel like “On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter” accomplished what it set out to do.

As someone who has zero interest in motorcycles races, director Dana Brown has managed to create a documentary that is informative, entertaining, and, above all, accessible to everyone. Granted, this documentary may be aimed at the motorcycle racing community, but it’s not just for them. Brown makes it an all inclusive film as he shows the audience the different kind of modern motorcycle races across the world while also making everything visually exciting to fans and non-fans alike. You’d have to be hard pressed not to be wowed by seeing the Nitro Circus stunts or seeing Robbie Maddison make a huge jump on a ski slope.

Video/Audio:

Presentation: 1.78:1 1080p. How does it look? ‘The Next Chapter’ is a visual feast. There is tons of gorgeous 4K footage of everything from jumps to slow-mo racing footage.

Audio Track: Dolby TrueHD 7.1. How does it sound? There’s a lot going on here sound wise with the narration, a groovy soundtrack, interviews, and, of course, many, many motorbike engines.

Extras:
* “The Brown Legacy”- Director Dana Brown and his filmmaker father Bruce Brown talk about their work, motorcycles, and both “On Any Sunday” films.
* “KTM/Kurt Caselli Bike Build”- A tribute to the late Kurt Caselli.
* “Riders For Health”- A piece on the Riders For Health charity organization.
* “Robbie Maddison’s Drop In”- A cool little extra showing Robbie racing around before doing a BIG jump in Utah.
* A teaser and a trailer for “On Any Sunday, The Next Chapter,”
* DVD copy and a digital copy.

Overall Thoughts: It’s possible some motorcycle racing enthusiasts may expect more from this film, but in terms of covering the modern state of motorcycle racing, it is a success.

March 7, 2015 - Posted by nicklyons1 | Blu-Ray review | Motocross, MotoGP, Motorcycle Racing, Nitro Circus, On Any Sunday: The Next Chapter Blu-ray Review