Rating: 
Summary: Poor Digital Transfer
Review: ... the quality is horrible. It seems to stem from the digitalization process that any time there is motion within the frame (which is all the time) the image blurs. The people at Family Home Entertainment seem to have realized this because they superimposed new titles throughout the disc. This is very noticeable as the font used is quiet different than the originals. In addition the image seems washed out and the speed of the cartoon tends to vary especially during the opening theme. None of these problems are apparent in FHE's VHS versions of the episodes offered. Yet another serious drawback of this release is the lack of commentary from Peter Fernandez & Corine Orr the original voices on the show as was offered in the Speed Racer Movie released some time ago. What extras they do offer are .... In FHE's defense the idea of this release was great in packaging the first 11 episodes in order on one disc but any serious fan of this series would be FAR better off owning the VHS tapes.
Rating: 
Summary: THE FINEST in ANIMATED NOSTALGIA!!!!
Review: ....I honestly have to commend Family Home Entertainment for not only considering "Speed Racer" for DVD release, but for such elaborate programming for this 4.5-hour-plus disc...not only are the first 11 episodes chronologically & nicely compacted (compressed?) and presented into a single DVD, but the extensive menus & bonus materials are great! True, it would have been very interesting to hear an insightful commentary from Fernandez et al, but either it was because of the lack of digital space remaining (to keep it on a single-disc, that is), or that the folks at FHE were not entirely sure of what exactly the target audience would be for this DVD...Children between 4-and-10? Or 30-something's like myself, who are starving for nostalgia?--and would honestly enjoy hearing from the American cast. (I don't think a child, who's been jaded by 'Sponge Bob,' would benefit too much from hearing a voice reminisce about a (now) 36-year-old cartoon show.) Hopefully in the NEAR-FUTURE(!!) Family Home Entertainment will release the other 41 episodes and apply the same time & care it obviously took to issue this first collectible DVD, which is, in my opinion, an incredible bargain by far...and offers endless entertainment!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Yes, it is about time. But...
Review: ...a quibble - you decide how minor. The opening credits aren't original. The original white "Speed Racer" title's been replaced by the newer red, trademarked logo. That in itself isn't all that big a deal (unless, like me, you still think Star Wars oughtn't say "Episode IV" no matter what George Lucas says), but what is a big deal is that the whole credit sequence is obviously the time-compressed version from when the series aired (briefly) on MTV. For those of us who were glued to the TV every day after school watching the show, the obvious "rushing" of the theme music is jarring - and given the format (DVD and not broadcast TV) inexcusable.
Rating: 
Summary: Even MORE problems with this release....
Review: ...I compared the "Race Against The Mammoth Car" episodes contained here and on the "Speed Racer - The Movie" (SRTM) DVD. The SRTM version runs the same speed as the Japanese DVD version. The "Episodes 1-11" DVD version of this episode runs *faster* than both of these... (Try it yourself by running SRTM on one player and "Ep.1-11" on another. (I used my computer's DVD drive for the second player.) You'll find the "Ep. 1-11" version start to get ahead of the SRTM version immediately and it will continue to move away as you watch. While doing my research, I also discovered that the "Ep. 1-11" version was EDITED FOR CONTENT! There is a scene where Sparky is hauled into a room by a wrench-wielding bad guy. Both the SRTM & Japanese versions include a shot of the wrench being raised to hit ol' Sparky on the head. The "Ep. 1-11" version is missing this small scene. I can see why this scene may be cut on TV to prevent kiddies from being traumatized, but it shouldn't be cut from a supposedly "uncut" home video release! (FYI, the Japanese version includes a sound effect of Sparky actually getting conked, while the SRTM version just has the bad guy chuckling...!) The "Ep. 1-11" version also suffers big time in the audio department. When you watch it and then switch to the SRTM version, you'll notice a marked improvement in audio. The "Ep-1-11" version sound very flat in comparison... And, of course, the video quality of the "Ep. 1-11" version pales when you compare it. Its bit rate runs at less than half of the SRTM version. When you use the "step" mode of your DVD player, you get fuzzy "transition" frames most of the time. The SRTM version doesn't have these transition frames and steps smoothly & clearly (as it should). Finally, many people have commented on the credits (both opening and closing) being changed. Well, I also compared the "Ep.1-11" version with an old (now out of print) Speed Racer laserdisk, and I can tell you that BOTH sets of credits HAVE been changed! The orignal opening credits start with a "Trans-Lux Television Presents" credit, and has a white Speed Racer logo that slowly "dissolves" after it's on screen for a few seconds. The new version eliminates the Trans Lux credit, and the new red & yellow Speed Racer logo is obviously computer-generated. The opening credits have also been sped up and now run 5 to 10 seconds faster than the orignal... The closing credits have also been altered. The orignal version has a very distinctive font and typical filmed credits. The new version has computer-generated credits, a completely different font, AND to show how the producers really don't care about quality, they misspelled Jack Grimes' name (He's now "Crimes"...). The original version has his name spelled correctly. So, if you want 11 episodes of Speed Racer that have been digitally compressed too much, time compressed, edited for content, and had the opening & closing sequences changed, go for this. If you don't, then I suggest bypassing this low-budget offering.
Rating:
Summary: What a great little unanticipated treasure
Review: A terrific DVD... great picture, sound, and everything is well organized. And you actually get a lot more than the rubber wrap-around outer box says you get... the outer package says you get 120 minutes of cartoons, but in reality you get a very generous 360 minutes (the actual DVD box lists the correct running time). Also, some readers have observed that the opening and closing credits are different or revised from the original broadcasts. I don't know about those folks, but the credits seem to be exactly as I remembered them as a kid... the theme song, incidental music, what you see, etc. (for example, the closing credits have all the main characters driving old cars that slowly evolve into more modern ones, just as I remember from when I was a kid). Perhaps there were different credits in different markets, or the credits changed in later episodes, I don't know. Anyway, the stories hold up very well, and are still very entertaining for the adult me. They all have a great combination of thrills, adventure, whimsical humor, and great imagination (remember the "Mammoth Car"?) In any event, if it isn't clear already, this disc is highly recommended for anyone with a more than passing interest in the world of Speed Racer.
Rating:
Summary: So glad I bought this DVD!!
Review: At first I was a bit hesitant to buy this DVD;I kept thinking to myself,"Do you really,REALLY want to buy this DVD?" After watching the first five minutes,I was extremely happy that I did!
Everything was as I remember,and let me tell you,no kid's anime of today can beat Speed Racer!The action and plots are really cool, and nothing is better than watching the comic stylings of Spritle and Chim Chim ^__^I was only going to watch a couple episodes a night,but I got addicted and ended up watching all 5 hours in one sitting! There is also of course alot of "in humor" that cult fans of the show will find priceless.For instance how often we are reminded that "Racer X is in fact Speed's older brother Rex who ran away from home many years ago".Or how anything great or going well is "groovy";and of course how Trixie can fly a helicopter no problem,but she looks absolutely dumbfounded when Speed asks her to drive!Little things like these are all gold nuggets that make the show even more popular..and I loved it! The bonus material on this DVD is also really cool,such as the villain's gallery,the interactive Mach 5 control demonstrations and let's not forget the sing-along lyrics to the theme song! There is also alot of interesting information on the director/ translator Peter Fernandez,and all of the voice actors.I had no idea that Carrie Orrington (voice of Trixie/Spritle) also did the voice for "Snuggle" the fabric softener teddy bear on commercials!Lastly the DVD cover made out of rubber tire material was pretty clever,and just another reason to buy this set.By the way,everything is all on one disc,which makes for quick easy viewing. About five years ago,Cartoon Network used to play Speed Racer quite a bit...then they only played it late at night...then not at all.(Sigh) I guess they thought Dragonball Z and Pokemon were cooler;well shame on them! Now I can watch REALLY great anime whenever I want,and I look forward to buying more episodes.Go Speed Racer Go!!
Rating:
Summary: So glad I bought this DVD!!
Review: At first I was a bit hesitant to buy this DVD;I kept thinking to myself,"Do you really,REALLY want to buy this DVD?" After watching the first five minutes,I was extremely happy that I did!
Everything was as I remember,and let me tell you,no kid's anime of today can beat Speed Racer!The action and plots are really cool, and nothing is better than watching the comic stylings of Spritle and Chim Chim ^__^I was only going to watch a couple episodes a night,but I got addicted and ended up watching all 5 hours in one sitting! There is also of course alot of "in humor" that cult fans of the show will find priceless.For instance how often we are reminded that "Racer X is in fact Speed's older brother Rex who ran away from home many years ago".Or how anything great or going well is "groovy";and of course how Trixie can fly a helicopter no problem,but she looks absolutely dumbfounded when Speed asks her to drive!Little things like these are all gold nuggets that make the show even more popular..and I loved it! The bonus material on this DVD is also really cool,such as the villain's gallery,the interactive Mach 5 control demonstrations and let's not forget the sing-along lyrics to the theme song! There is also alot of interesting information on the director/ translator Peter Fernandez,and all of the voice actors.I had no idea that Carrie Orrington (voice of Trixie/Spritle) also did the voice for "Snuggle" the fabric softener teddy bear on commercials!Lastly the DVD cover made out of rubber tire material was pretty clever,and just another reason to buy this set.By the way,everything is all on one disc,which makes for quick easy viewing. About five years ago,Cartoon Network used to play Speed Racer quite a bit...then they only played it late at night...then not at all.(Sigh) I guess they thought Dragonball Z and Pokemon were cooler;well shame on them! Now I can watch REALLY great anime whenever I want,and I look forward to buying more episodes.Go Speed Racer Go!!
Rating:
Summary: One of the all-time greats on DVD at last
Review: Certainly a bit dated in a number of ways, Speed Racer is still an excellent and highly enjoyable cartoon from the early days of Japanese cartoons. The first 11 episodes (which include my personal favorite arc, "The Most Dangerous Race") have been crammed onto one disc, and with pretty good results. The opening credits and end credits look pretty bad, but the episodes, for the most part, look better than they have in years. (The intros and some of the eps seem slightly blurry when the camera is moving, but as far as I can tell, the episodes haven't been time-compressed or any other garbage like that. More than likely, it's a sign of shoving so much data onto a single disc.) The special features are a bit basic (cast bios, production info, etc.), but aren't entirely unwelcome, just not as plentiful as one would expect. All in all, though, this set is a fine start to the series on DVD.
Rating:
Summary: The first 11 episodes of the original anime!
Review: Finally the first 11 episodes of the Speed Racer anime are coming to DVD! Don't worry Speedy fans, more episodes of the show are coming but this is to start you off on your Speed DVD collection. If the other sayings on other sites are true, the next DVD of Speed Racer you will see will contain all 55 episodes of the show on a few DVDs in one package. No release date has been set for that release, but if you can't wait for that release, then spring out the money to get this one because it should be really good.
Rating:
Summary: IT'S A CLASSIC!!--JUST BUY & ENJOY!!!
Review: FIRST, the ONLY obvious difference from TV-run versions, is a new "SPEED RACER" title logo. THAT'S IT. The ending credits (as original as ever)--are still as smudgy as they were originally aired in the US with its early use of crude-looking video-over-animation titles (AND still horribly misspelling Jack Grimes' name as "Crimes")...if they were NEW titles, I think they would have corrected that legendary goof (considering the voice-over cast bios--including the correctly-spelled 'Grimes' in the Extra Features.)
As for any blurred images...there were a few "dramatic" film dissolves between scenes--that was all the blurring that could be seen in any of the 11 crystal-sharp episodes. And the colors are absolutely vibrant, causing me to assume that these episodes were taken from master prints. True, there are a few specks here-and-there, but you're talking about a much-handled, imported, re-dubbed animated show from 1967!
The only time the video portion "freezes," ...if anyone recalls the original episodes, is when, after the first minute-or-so, as each story begins, there was/is a dramatic freeze-frame image of the main subject of that particular episode (my guess is that the original Japanese title was inserted at that point).
There's honestly no way to be truly disappointed with this release--even being lucky enough to finally see the series (begin) to be digitally preserved. Any high-tech analysis down to the exact frame of video should be quickly dismissed and considered downright silly. There's approximately 4.5 hours of SPEED, and with Bonus Material (however minimal), this single and highly-affordable DVD (no flipping, even!) merits nothing short of 5-STARS!
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