Three years ago I would have considered myself the wrong person to review a DVD about the history of the Corvette. I was never a ‘car’ guy. While most of my friends were watching Nascar, I was generally nose deep in a book or watching a movie. I never really cared that much for sports cars and never really had a desire to have one. Then something strange happened. My wife and I came across a 1982 Corvette Stingray that was for sale for a very reasonable price, and as it was her dream car, we bought it. The moment I got behind the wheel I started to change. Suddenly I was a ‘car expert’, and started getting that feeling of superiority on the road. I never actually became a bona-fide road hog, but could always feel the stares of other drivers. Then I made the mistake of taking off the T-tops to take a cruise on the highway, and from that point on, I was in love. The Corvette became my absolute favorite car, and I formulated opinions about them all. The area I became most opinionated was in the area of the Corvette’s body styles.

I started looking at all the styles over the years and pretty much decided that (at least for me) 1982 marked the last of the classically designed Corvette. There were no Corvettes put out in 1983 as it was going through a major re-design. Unfortunately the re-design came out looking kind of blasé and way too much like a Firebird, and has gone downhill ever since. I look at the Corvette today, and just cringe at the ‘used up bar of soap’ body style and long for a return of the sleek look of the Stingray or any of the earlier models.

When I started watching the new DVD release of “Corvette: The Fastest 50 Years” I knew I was going to be in for one hell of a ride. This 2-disc set offers what has to be the most complete history of any car ever produced. The main documentary is very well produced and runs just over an hour, and utilizes film footage that was pulled straight from GM’s vaults. We learn everything there is to know about the evolution of the Corvette through this archival footage and interviews with some of the top experts and designers in the field. And if you think this documentary is only about the Corvette, think again. It’s as much a documentary of evolution of pop culture in our country. The documentary itself it broken up into the five styles, the C-1 through the C-5, and you have the choice to play them all, or individually.

Once you get through drooling at all the Corvettes featured in the main event, you can turn your attention to all the extra features that have been added to this set. There are some additional bits of footage that show the 1957 Sebring Race (which runs about 15 minutes) as well as the 1960 LeMans 24 Hours Race (which runs a little over 30 minutes). There is also a tribute to Zora Duntov, whom many look to as the godfather of the Corvette, as well as a sales film from 1953 hosted by Dave Garroway.

Once I got through the first disc, I moved on the second and was completely blown away by the Interactive Timeline featured on it. The Timeline shows you a listing of news highlights from each year a Corvette was produced. This includes little tidbits of info, like gas prices and the like. This in itself is very cool. But when you click on a specific year, it brings up a short video focusing on some of those highlights as well as giving you a look at the Corvette of that year. It must have taken an enormous amount of time to put this feature together and is alone worth the price of picking up this set.

Everything about the DVD release of “Corvette: The Fastest 50 Years” screams quality. The video enhanced menus are as cool as the cars themselves, and all of the features offer up more information than you can possibly sit through in a day. I understand the makers of this set might start working on some other projects featuring different cars. Granted, there is no other car as awesome as the Corvette, but there’s no doubt that any future DVD sets will be a car lover’s dream.

By the way, there is a great Easter Egg on this set that you have to see, but I guarantee will make you cringe. It’s a scene from the movie “Billy Jack” that features a 1968 427 Corvette Convertible. It is quite painful to watch. Happy Hunting.

Directed by: Frank Laughlin
Extras: 1957 Sebring Race, 1960 LeMans 24 Hours Race, Tribute to Zora Arkus Duntov, 1953 Sales Film, Interactive Timeline
Specifications: Full Screen
Studio: Motor Works Media
Release Date: 2/3/2004
Region 1
MPAA Rating: NR
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We'll give Corvette: The Fastest 50 Years an A.