Ultimate Gretzky (2003 Video) User Reviews (3)

From Prodigy To Hall Of Fame Player

[ccthemovieman-1 · 8/10 · 16 June 2009]

I'd have to say this documentary was pretty good overall and certainly gave us a detailed portrait of who many people say is the greatest hockey player ever. Yes, the documentary could have been a little more exciting or fun with a more dynamic host as former goalie John Davidson is so bland here, but it still was fine to watch. There were a lot of a high points in this two-hour presentation; it wasn't just a straight interview.

In between the questions-and-answers, we see footage of "The Great One," hockey legend Wayne Gretzky, from the time he was a little boy through his youth hockey years, juniors, WHA and then, of course, NHL career. It's always amazing to see child prodigies and to see little "Gretz" skate through and around a whole team of players at the age of about 9 or 10 is pretty cool. The kid was superstar before he hit double-digits in age....and the Canadian newspapers knew it. We see some interesting headlines in stories written about young Wayne.

Without giving away everything, I appreciated Gretzky's honesty in the interview, found his father to be a big reason his son wound up so great (he's interviewed too) and enjoyed comments from past teammates and opponents (Mike Bossy of the Islanders was particularly good). Wayne constantly mentions his dad, so he must still be a huge influence on him. What Gretzky thought were his most important goals and team wins was a surprise, here and there.

Great like the Man it represents (but I still wanted more)

[demondrummer_2000 · 22 January 2004]

Once I heard about this DVD coming out, I had to have it. When I was younger (around 11) I became a fan of the Los Angeles Kings, mainly (probably solely) because of Wayne Gretzky. I remember seeing the SI (I believe it was) cover story when he was traded to LA from Edmonton (I was 7 at the time), and I didn't fully understand then how big a deal it was. Anyways, the majority of the first disc is one on one with The Great One, interviewed very casually (and it fits perfectly) by former goaltender and current broadcaster John Davidson. There are a lot of video clips, insight from Wayne, but my favorite parts are the snippets from guys like Kevin Lowe (especially the Sony Walkman part on Disc 2) and Craig Simpson who used to play with Wayne. There are also introductions and retrospectives with Kiefer Sutherland, and it all fits together very well. The second disc contains clips from Wayne's last game in Toronto, Canada, and his final NHL game, as well as clips from his wedding, two separate honor ceremonies by the Edmonton Oilers, one by the Los Angeles Kings, shooting footage from the Pond of Dreams spots from a few years back, and a heck of a lot more. Like my summary states, I would loved to have had more game footage, more interviews with teammates, but I understand that for much of that it would have taken much more than two discs, but certainly Wayne is worthy of a library's worth of DVDs. As it stands, this is a very personal look at the life and career of the greatest hockey player to grace any sheet of ice. All hockey fans should have this in their collection.

The Great one

[paulbutterworth1978 · 18 April 2004]

Growing up in Canada, I was naturally a hockey fan. And being a hockey fan in Canada in the early-mid '80's meant I was a fan of the man known simply as the "Great One". So, it was with a great deal of interest and excitement I picked up the 2 disk DVD set, "Ultimate Gretzky". This DVD incompases all of Gretzky's greatest pro accomplishments (of which there are far too many to list here), and it is a great idea to have Gretzky talk about his opinion on them, as opposed to the usual comments from teammates, coaches, family and friends (of course those comments are still here). My two complaints about this disk are minor, but I still feel the need to mention them. The first complaint is the complete overlooking of Gretzky's stop in St. Louis. It's true that Gretzky's stay in St. Louis wasn't overly noticable, but to get the full picture it would have been better if there would have been some mention of his time there, as opposed to jumping from Los Angeles to New York. The second complaint I have is much minor and it is based on the timing of the disk. I think that if NHL productions and Warner Brothers (the studios involved) would have held off releasing this disk for a short time, then they could have included the Heritage Classic game between the Edmonton Oiler Allumn and the Montreal Canadian classic stars, a game which Gretzky played in, and a game that most likely will be the last time anyone will ever see Wayne on skates again. It was a missed opportunity, but it's not enough to really complain about. Overall, this is a great disk for anyone who wants to see the GREATEST professional athlete ever, and it's a real tribute to the true Great One!