Review of Blue Revolution: The Inside Story

Introduction

You could say that the Blue Revolution - to take the title of this DVD release - at Chelsea Football Club began with Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, and his purchase of the team in 2003. At the time, the club was heavily in debt under the stewardship of Ken Bates, and when Abramovich took over and began throwing money around like proverbial confetti (£440m between June 2003 and January 2006), it was in many ways, the answer to Chelsea fans` prayers.

One of the accomplishments of Abramovich was the appointment of Jose Mourinho, the ultra-confident Portuguese manager who would take them to two successive league titles in 2005 and 2006. But just as the argument could be made that Abramovich began the Blue Revolution, so it could be made that Chelsea`s new-found success revolved around Mourinho.

Perhaps that is one reason why the Russian fired the Portuguese in September 2007.

In any case, "Blue Revolution" is a feature-length film going behind the scenes at the club, to share the successes of the club under Mourinho. The "soccumentary" concludes with at the end of 2006/2007, in which Chelsea finished 2nd in the Premier League to Manchester United.

Video

Video is presented in 1.85:1 anamorphic PAL (Region 0 - All Regions), and is very good for a documentary-style piece. The television footage of Chelsea matches of course cannot compare to the specifically-shot film footage, but it hardly lets the DVD down.

Audio

Audio is presented in Dolby Digital 2.0, and is quite good. Some viewers may be disappointed that no 5.1 mix is included here, though how much it would have added to this genre of film is open to question.

The 2.0 mix is basic, but adequately does the job. Everything is clear and well-mixed, including the modern soundtrack, which includes music from Razorlight.

There are also subtitles available in English.

Features

There is quite a reasonable amount of extra content, much of which comes in the form of interviews with various members of the Chelsea staff. Here, we have words with Frank Lampard, John Terry, Joe Cole, Peter Kenyon, Jose Mourinho, and Sir Richard Attenborough. Unless you are a Chelsea die-hard, however, only really the latter two are of much interest. And even then, the interview editing is dreadful, as you get to hear the individual responses, but not the interviewer`s questions!

Away from these, we get a look at Chelsea`s celebrations in winning the 2005-2006 Premier League title, as well as the 2007 League and F.A Cup final. Again, they aren`t much to write home (or even, write here) about, and even Chelsea fans shouldn`t bother with the deleted scenes which speak to some of their peers.

Conclusion

Much like Manchester United`s "Beyond The Promised Land" film, made in 2000, Chelsea`s "Blue Revolution", subtitled "The Inside Story", really does not deliver on that promise.

The opportunity was here to go in-depth with the players and manager, to find out what goes on in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge, and to give viewers something that they couldn`t already see on Chelsea TV. Instead, there is only a flicker of dressing room/team-talk activity on show here, and the film is more centred around talking up Mourinho, and the success that he has brought the club.

A sizeable portion of the film is also dedicated to Chelsea fans, who tell us of their love for the club, even from as far away as New York City. Unfortunately, their displays of love for the club don`t make for interesting viewing.

For Chelsea fans, "Blue Revolution" may be a nice keepsake of the club`s successes under Mourinho, especially considering the fact that he was sacked on the evening of the premiere of the film. But those fans, and other football lovers, will find more exciting viewing in a Chelsea Season Review DVD.