DVD Review: The Flying Scotsman

The thing about movies based on true stories is you can pretty much guess how it will end, even if you aren’t familiar with the people who inspired it. The underdog always comes out on top. These stories give us hope that our own average lives might somehow take a turn and be inspirational. These stories also show us the importance of working towards accomplishing our dreams; miracles won’t just drop into our laps. These stories also tell us there might be some nasty bumps before we find our happy endings.

Such is the truth of The Flying Scotsman. It is based on the real story of Scottish cyclist Graeme Obree. Not quite a rags to riches story, it follows Obree from being a cycling courier to breaking cycling world records with depression and suicidal thoughts thrown in the middle. The film is done well enough, though I am not sure it would be so compelling if it weren’t true. But fans of cycling and those who like any movie based on a true story will enjoy the film. The Flying Scotsman isn’t a bad film; it just fails to capture your emotions the way more successful inspirational sports films do.

But The Flying Scotsman, directed by Douglas Mackinnon, does provide a new twist in the big obstacle being suicidal tendencies. The cycling races in the film add to the feeling of despair because it was Obree on an empty track. Perhaps the obstacle didn’t present itself big enough or long enough to reel in the audience. Showing the madness to be deeper and darker might have helped us want him to succeed. The battles between Obree and the World Cycling Federation (based on the Union Cycliste Internationale) were interesting and perhaps could have been expounded upon. The film was too much of Obree’s successes with not much of his obstacles getting in the way preventing the true inspirational nature of Graeme Obree’s successes from coming through.

It is interesting to know that the real Graeme Obree was a technical consultant for actor Johnny Lee Miller (who plays Obree) during the shooting of the film and rebuilt some of his exceptional bikes for the production. Johnny Lee Miller also did most of the cycling himself with only a few of the biking shots being done by his double.

The DVD is scheduled to release September 18, 2007. It is dual sided with both Widescreen and Full Screen versions of the film on one disc. The audio is Dolby Digital 5.1 in English with options for subtitles in English, French, or Spanish. Three trailers (Beyond the Gates, Rescue Dawn, Death At A Funeral) are the only extra on the DVD. The film is 96 minutes and rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements and strong language.

The Flying Scotsman stars Johnny Lee Miller, Billy Boyd, Laura Fraser, and Brian Cox.

Armstrong's Team Discovery Calls It Quits

The sport of cycling’s image is tarnished. At least for now.

Team Discovery may have won the sport’s most prestigious race, but they are disbanding at the end of the season. In February, Discovery Channel announced this would be their last year of sponsoring the cycling team that was previously the US Postal Service Team, the team Lance Armstrong belonged to when he won a record number of Tours de France (7 wins in a row). And with winning 8 of the last 9 Tours, at least the team is going out on top.

The disbanding of Team Discovery is certainly a sign of troubles in the world of cycling, but on top of that it is a sad note for American Cycling. Sure, the team isn’t made up of only Americans, but the work of Lance Armstrong and the team has given cycling a bigger chance in the United States. It propelled a cyclist’s name into American homes and hearts. The team’s success helped the sport find new fans in a country where cycling isn’t often thought of. Then again, it’s also the only International Cycling Union’s ProTour team based in the US. Armstrong’s first team, and the first American squad to race in the Tour de France, quit cycling in 1996 when they couldn’t find a new sponsor after losing Motorola.

It seems cycling’s current bout with scandals and controversies is too much for companies to want to sponsor a team; after all they might be a bunch of dopers. Even though the team owned by San Francisco’s Tailwind Sports (partly owned by Lance Armstrong) had been in talks with several potential sponsors, all the recent doping allegations have made for an environment not conductive to investment. The team’s owners realized it was a difficult spot to be in and chose to step aside instead; a decision made more difficult after the team and individual wins in the Tour de France last month.

A cycling team needs the funds of a sponsor to exist. The teams earn money not from ticket sales or TV rights, but from sponsors. Unlike companies who buy naming rights of stadiums or sponsor teams in other sports, a cycling team’s name is the sponsor and therefore a riskier investment. The Austin, TX based team was also looking for a three year commitment of $15 million annually. But doping scandals aren’t the only problems sponsors have to worry about. Last month it was clear that leadership within the sport couldn’t get along with the governing body of the Tour de France (ASO) saying they didn’t want to work with the International Cycling Union (UCI) next year.

The team will still ride in the Tour of Spain and the first Tour of Missouri later this year. However, the 27 cyclists of Team Discovery will need to find new teams for the 2008 season. While none of the riders on the team have ever failed a drug test, they are not without suspicions. This year’s Tour winner Alberto Contador held a press conference Friday in Spain to deny the allegations that have plagued him recently – he was one of the Spanish cyclists cleared during the Puerto Operation with new accusations emerging following his Tour win. Armstrong had dodged allegations throughout his career. Team Discovery even fired its lead rider this year, Ivan Basso, when he was involved in doping investigations.

Armstrong said he is confident cycling will not only continue but will thrive, but that it won’t happen in the next year. Let’s hope he’s right.