Super Bowl I-X: Collector's Set

A five-disc set compiling NFL Films' vintage year-end retrospectives of the 1966-1975 National Football League seasons and detailed breakdowns of corresponding Super Bowls' I-X, this “collector's set” is sure to find favor with pigskin fans looking to revisit the glory days of gridiron titans, from the Green Bay Packers' Bart Starr to the Pittsburgh Steelers' Terry Bradshaw. Although the 1966 and 1967 programs sport something of a condescending tone regarding the upstart AFC (American Football Conference) teams, that changes dramatically with the 1968 season of the New York Jets, led by Broadway Joe Namath, whose promise (“we'll win the Super Bowl--I guarantee it”) came true on January 12, 1969 when the Jets beat the Baltimore Colts 16-7. Granted, the cheesy narration can often be simplistic and grating (and sometimes absurdly ridiculous, as in this purple prose defensive threat: “we are hunters: do not travel the furrows, little gazelle”), the digitally restored footage is wonderful, and the memories golden, indeed, from the New Orleans Saints' Tom Dempsey's game-winning 63-yard 1970 regular season record-setting field goal kick, to the Miami Dolphins' still unmatched 1972 “perfect season” (17-0). Rounding out the set are 20 featurettes--often with new interview footage--on everything from the first Super Bowl telecast (with 30,000 unsold seats, attendees were encouraged to move to the middle for the television cameras), to Coach Hank Schram being the first “wired for sound” guy on the field for Super Bowl IV (and confusing KC's quarterback Len Dawson--who didn't know Schram was miked--with some of his sideline directives). Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (R. Pitman)