Driven From Wheelchair to Race Car

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

directed by Brian Malone
USA 2014

DRIVEN: FROM WHEELCHAIR TO RACE CAR is only partially the story of actor/singer/racer Mike Bauer who became paralyzed after a late night motorcycle accident shortly after buying a house for his wife, son, and daughter. It is just as much a "feel good" story as an "advertisement" not only for neurosurgeon/executive producer Stephen Falci and the ways in which adaptive technologies are being employed and modified to give people with spinal injuries opportunities to be more active. This isn't one of those stories where the disabled protagonist builds his own car to compete in the sport he loved; the documentary doesn't skimp on the "not pretty" aspects of his care and bouts of stage three pain that not only make it difficult for him to focus on much else, but also his mixed feelings of pride at his wife's endurance and affection, as well as his son's and daughter's respective accomplishments as a police officer and a nurse (and his guilt that they might have abandoned pursuing other dreams because of his accident). It's ending is hopeful rather than triumphant as Bauer takes a test lap, reconnecting with his love of racing (tempered by experience) with the encouragement of his family (who have also affirmed that the choices they've made in light of the accident are not ones they regret).

Eric Cotenas

Theatrical Release: 24 June 2014 (USA)

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DVD Review: Cinema Libre - Region 0 - NTSC

Big thanks to Eric Cotenas for the Review!

DVD Box Cover		CLICK to order from:
Distribution	Cinema Libre Region 0 - NTSC
Runtime	55:46
Video	1.78:1 Original Aspect Ratio 16X9 enhanced Average Bitrate: 7.2 mb/s NTSC 720x480 29.97 f/s
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate
Audio	English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo
Subtitles	none
Features	Release Information: Studio: Cinema Libre Aspect Ratio: Widescreen anamorphic - 1.78:1 Edition Details: • 'The Car Build' (16:9; 4:56) • 'Mike's Test Lap' (16:9; 3:21) • Slideshow • Trailer (16:9; 3:16) • Trailers for 'Ride Report', 'This American Journey' and 'The Highest Pass' DVD Release Date: June 24th, 2014 Amaray Chapters 10

Comments

Cinema Libre's single-layer DVD looks superficially good if not strongly detailed (some of the punchier colors may be due to post-production retiming or more likely the original HD videography, including some presumably GoPro shots). The Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo audio is mostly clear with regard to music and talking head interviews, but some dialogue is hard to make out on the race track at the end (although that part is shot with a little less care than the rest, including a boom mic dipping the shot at one point). Extras include two short featurettes about the building of the car and Mike's test lap, as well as a slideshow, a trailer for the feature, and trailers for other Cinema Libre releases (which also function as start-up trailers).

- Eric Cotenas

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