Cycle News - Archive Issues - 1990's

I, Video Review ULegacy___ " W hen I first ca ught wind of G reg Godfrey's new film, "Legacy," I was excited. Ru m or had it that Godfrey, a diploma-carrying film-school gra duate, had taken great pains to create a historically flavored film tha t displays the great sport of motocross in a very favor able and dignified ligh t. When I placed the tape into my VCR, I was rooting for it. "Legacy" opens with an edgy montage and title treatment that immediately segues into a quick introduction of wha t the sporl of motocross is all about. Some of the ancient film conjured up of Roger DeCoster racing through Europe was both haunting and mind-boggling. Soon thereafter, the overall premise of the film is verbally set up with a voiceover by some girl wh o, in through a deep, Texas twang voice over, proclaims, "...In 1995, we grabbed a couple of bikes, four cameras, 15,000 feet of film, a few buds and a wicked hankering for adv enture to hunt do w n Roger DeCos ter a nd the boys." Whatever you say... I guess the master plan was to hook up with DeCoster, Jeff Ward and Rick Johnson, sit them around a campfire, and have them reflect on their careers (and the careers of others) and speak of the mindset required to be a champion. If anyone would know, it's this pantheon. Conceptually, the idea of creating a type of visual/celluloId timeline through the words and memories of the aforementioned racers is a great idea. However, there's a lot of historical ground to cover here, and in the overall execution of the film, the vari- ous memories, people and time periods spoken of by the trio become, at times, a bit confusing and erra tic. Th e his tor y lesson began with Bob Hannah, from his home in Idaho, refleeting on his infamous Trans-AMA battles with DeCoster. As expected, Hannah is animated and interesting, and does a phenomenal job of articulating just what it takes to be a mo tocross champion. Very cool. Somewhat surprisingly, thro ughout the film, no one - including DeCoster · ever really speaks about Hannah. Hearing "The Man" tell his side of the epic duels involving Hannah could have been very mesmerizing. It's amazing what people will eat at the State Fair. And if you've got an appetite for the fastest dirt oval in the midwest then get your tickets for the August 16th AMA Indy Mile Motorcycle Race at the Indiana State Fair. It's the most competitive race in the AMNCamel Pro Racing Series, and admission to the fair is included with every ticket purchase. 7:00 pm Saturday, August 16th. Gates open at 5:30 pm. Indiana State Fair August 6-17. Next up w as an imp ressive historical se gmen t on th e Carlsbad 500cc Uni ted tales Gran d Prix of Motocross. As the tape rolled forward, the careers of DeCoster, Ward, Johnson, Hannah and, to a lesser degree, Bailey, "Magoo" Chandler and O'Mara are documented w ith va rious snippets of vintage racing footage. Sadly, a number of great champions are left out of the film - namely Howerton, Glover, Barnett, Lechien, Smith , Weinert, Shultz, Sun, Burgett, laPorte, DiStefano and Jones. However, that said, the film ma ke r still d oes a commendable job of featurin g the key heroes who played an integral part of shaping the spo rt. Furthermore, the d osing stage of the documentary is su pplemented by a nice, succinc t segment on tod ay's current champions, Jeff Emig and Jeremy McGrath. All th ings cons id ered, "Legacy" is a very solid effort. While the histori cal narrativ e becomes sketchy at times, and some of the music has a cognitive- d issonance feel, the re a re plenty o f shi m meri ng moments. I've viewed v irtually every m ajo r motocross video on the market, and with the exception of one or two, they've all been tossed into a closet, never again to see the light of day. I have now sat through "Legacy. four different times,and I suppose that says something. Greg Godfrey should be applauded for doing something fresh, uniqu e and outside of the dusty, tom and frayed video box. Eri c Johnson Tickets are $18 for adults, free for kids 12 and under when accompanied by an adult To order yo ur tickets call 31 7-927- 1482 o r to order by m ail, write to th e Indiana State Fair, 1202 East 38th Street, Indianapolis, IN, 46205. Please include $2 processing fee per order. When you choose SBS STREETexcel sinter compounds. you choose the bestIn sinter replacement padsfor your hIgh· performance street applications. 0,70 ~ 0,65 We offer hIgh frletlon IHSl fronts and k)wer frletlon {LSI rears to provide you wIth the ultimate Instepping power nomatter what thecondltlons. When you're ready to replace your worn, smteree metal paCts, be sure to choose STREETeXCe! trom SBS - me sinter compound, w1l1llhe powerto SlOll you. ~ 0,60 ~ i: 0,55 20.50 §"" 0,'0 o 100 200 300 .wo IIUUt DlK TUlP'P'lATWlI. ~ C) 500

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