Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Team Marketing
EAN: 9780790799827
Feature: Officially Licensed
Format: Box set
Is Autographed: 0
ISBN: 0790799820
Is Memorabilia: 0
Item Dimensions: Array
Label: Warner Home Video
Languages: Array
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
MPN: TM0970
Number Of Items: 5
Publisher: Warner Home Video
Region Code: 1
Release Date: 2004-11-02
Running Time: 1141
Studio: Warner Home Video

• Officially Licensed
• Highest Quality Recording

Over the past 50 years the Celtics have won an unprecedented 16 World Championships including 8 in a row from 1959-1966, making them the the most storied franchise in NBA history. This 5-disc special edition collector's set features the complete Boston Celtics history including year-end compilation programs highlighting the Championship seasons. Plus for the first time ever on DVD, the team's most memorable games in franchise history.
Boston Celtics: The Complete History recounts the glory days of the Celtics, and few have ever been more glorious. The franchise's Hall of Fame players and still-record 16 championships are revisited in a five double-sided-DVD combination of new and old documentaries and actual game footage. The main documentary, The Celtics Dynasty (47 min.) tracks the team from the '50s through the '80s, and shorter vintage featurettes from the '70s and '80s (about 130 min. total) focus on the 1974 playoffs, the classic 1976 game against the Phoenix Suns that's often called the greatest NBA game ever, the renewed rivalry with the Lakers, and the 1986-87 team. Two NBA highlight films (55 min. each) summarizing the 1984 and 1986 seasons are less Celtic-centric but provide some memorable moments such as Ralph Sampson's miracle shot to beat the Lakers. A postscript needs less than three minutes to discuss the highlights of the franchise since its last championship (1986) through 2004, from Reggie Lewis to Paul Pierce. (Interestingly, neither it nor the 1986-87 summary mentions the tragic death of Len Bias, who was the best hope to carry on the winning tradition from the Big Three.)

But that's all a prelude to the six complete games (plus one quarter) included in the set. It's a rare chance to see all-time great players such as Bill Russell, the Bird-Parish-McHale front line, and even a pre-TV-personality Bill Walton grabbing a key offensive rebound to remind everyone of the player he was before the injuries. It includes the aforementioned Phoenix Suns game, two games against the Magic-Kareem Lakers in 1984, a game against Houston's Twin Towers by the 1986 team that some call the best ever, and a 1987 game against Detroit that didn't lead to a championship but allowed Bird to create his own John Havlicek-esque moment. Light up the victory cigar for the Boston Celtics on DVD! --David Horiuchi

Customer Rating:
Summary: HAVLICEK STOLE THE BALL !!
Comment: The other reviewers have said it all. There's not much to add.

I'd emphasize each disc, of the five in the set, has video on BOTH sides ... so we are talking about LOTS of highlights and full-length copies of games. It takes a whole "rainy day" to watch it.

DISC ONE
A-
INTRO
VIDEO: "THE CELTICS DYNASTY"
B-
VIDEO: BOSTON CELTICS: "A TRADITION OF GREATNESS"
THE CELTS ARE BACK: 1974 NBA PLAY-OFFS
THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED: 1976 NBA PLAY-OFFS
RIVALRY RENEWED: 1984 NBA PLAY-OFFS

DISC TWO
A-
DYNASTY RENEWED: 1981 NBA PLAY-OFFS
1983-84 NBA SEASON: "PRIDE AND PASSION"
B-
SWEET SIXTEEN: 1986 NBA PLAY-OFFS
1986-87 NBA SEASON: "HOME OF THE BRAVE"
VIDEO: "SEARCHING FOR NUMBER 17"

DISC THREE
A-
1969 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. LAKERS (GAME 7)
[4TH QUARTER/POST-GAME ONLY]
1976 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. PHOENIX SUNS (GAME 5)
B-
1981 NBA EAST CONF FINALS: CELTICS V. SIXERS (GAME 7)

DISC FOUR
A-
1984 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. LAKERS (GAME 4)
B-
1984 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. LAKERS (GAME 7)

DISC FIVE
A-
1986 NBA FINALS: CELTICS V. ROCKETS (GAME 4)
B-
1987 NBA EAST CONF FINALS: CELTICS V. PISTONS (GAME 5)

My favorite segment of the entire series had to have been Game #7, as won by the Celts over the Lakers, in 1969, as Bill Russell and Sam Jones were retiring. You get 4th Quater and post-game only.

I still liked it because, as a grade-schooler at the time, I was not allowed to stay up late enough, on a Monday night, to watch that game live from Los Angeles. In those days, the networks lacked the "juice," so as to get weekday games from out west into "prime time."

I think that game may have tipped off at 10:30 p.m. EST -- way too late for me, then !! So I love seeing it now.

Pass the word ... the Celts are back !!

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great DVD Set For Celtics Fans
Comment: This five-disc set chronicles the history of the Boston Celtics, the National Basketball Association's most successful franchise.

The first two discs contain miscellaneous features highlighting the complete history of the team, from the early days of the NBA to today. There is footage covering the Russell-led teams of the Fifties and Sixties, and coverage of the mid-1970s title teams. Also included are the championship videos describing the titles that the team won in the 1980s.

The last three discs contain portions of games or complete games as they were originally broadcast from the 1969, 1976, 1981, 1984, and 1986 title drives, as well as Game 5 of the 1987 Eastern Conference Finals when Larry Bird stole the Isiah Thomas pass to preserve what ultimately led to another trip to the NBA Finals.

This set contains some of the greatest basketball ever played. Owners of this set will be able to see, in the old Celtic clubs and the squads that they faced in these games, some of the greatest teams in NBA history. And what Celtics fan wouldn't love to have Game 7 of the 1984 NBA Finals in all its glory on DVD?

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Customer Rating:
Summary: A must for celtic fans
Comment: This collection is a must for celtic fans. Unfortunately 5 DVDs can not cover the entire history of a team that has won 16 NBA titles. The games presented in their entirety are mostly from the 80s (Bird, Parish, McHale era) with the addition of the triple overtime classic of 1976 against the Suns. One could argue that one game against the Milwalky Bucks during the 79s could have made it to the collection. It is also a pity that no whole game from the Russell era made it to the set in it' s entirety, but probably the 60's footage wasn' t that good to be included in the DVD, and the documentaries included make up for that omission.
On the technical side, there are very few technical hitches and the games are presented in their original broadcast (not as shown in the NBA's greatest games show, as for example in the Lakers box set)

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Customer Rating:
Summary: buy it at wal mart for 25$
Comment: i have really enjoyed it so far, esp complete epic playoff games that arent edited...where have all the good times gone?

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Essential Viewing if You Are a Celtic Fan!
Comment: Or if you are a fan of selfless play, super passing and true teamwork; I started becoming a fan of NBA basketball in the early 80's and so I was spoiled by the Lakers-Celtics rivalry and their unique brands of basketball. I still think the '86 Celtics are the best team ever and would have beaten the Lakers handily even if they had managed to get past the Rockets that year. They were a true team and were almost machine-like in the way they got the job done, methodically dissecting their opponents.

And so, while us long-suffering Celtic fans wait for the next Larry Bird, we have this dvd set to keep us company and to remember where and how this team came about on 5 discs. As the game footage come from deteriorated master tapes, the visual quality isn't perfect but is still good enough to enjoy.

Recommended.

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