America's Greatest Roller Coaster Thrills: The Ultimate Scream Machines (2000)
Review by Dindrane
Film:
DVD:

Directed by Ned Rogers
Cinematography by Dave Cutler

Features:

• Separate original score by Troublemaker
  
• Director and Director of Photography commentary
  
• Coaster manufacturer design animation
  
• Interviews with theme park owners, representatives and coaster designers
  
• Sidebar stores and park histories
  
• Bonus "liquid coaster" segment
  
• Coasters by region
  
• Coasters by type
  
• Coaster access by name
  

Rating: NR; suitable for all audiences.

Anamorphic: No.

My Advice: Rent it.

This installment in the Roller Coaster Thrills series presents the top 20 roller coasters in the USA. Armchair travelers beware—this disc gives you two camera angles for each coaster. Many variations on the roller coaster theme are covered, including wooden coasters, dual-track terror rides, and even stand-up coasters. Even NASA was interested in one of these coasters; it’s hard not to catch the excitement.

Some of the coasters covered in The Ultimate Scream Machines are Dueling Dragons, a dual-track, steel looping coaster in Orlando, Ghostrider, a woodie found in California, and Raging Bull, a steel mega from Illinois. There was a genuine effort to include coasters from across the nation, with each ride still chosen to maximize excitement. There’s also a special bonus track that will interest you, especially if you’re intrigued by “liquid roller coasters.” If your personal favorite coaster isn’t featured on this disc, rest assured that you just may find some new favorites, or at least be induced to seek out the real things on your next vacation.

The features list is nice and hefty, showing just how interesting roller coasters can really be. The commentaries by the director and cinematographer are quite interesting, especially to anyone with a fondness for movie-making. It’s also nice to be able to choose coasters by region—perfect for planning that next vacation. The only thing I would have liked to have seen is a behind-the-scenes featurette on making and designing roller coasters. The coaster design companies must be fascinating, and I would love to know more about the logistics of building one of these thrill machines. The provided coaster design animations only whet a viewer’s appetite for more of this kind of thing.

The audio and video quality are both solid. The exciting music played during parts of the documentary fades away nicely when people are talking, as well as when you’re first-person riding one of these great coasters—this lets you hear the screams of your “fellow” riders nice and loud.

In short, anyone with an interest in roller coasters or theme parks will enjoy this disc. It will remind you why you loved coasters as a child, as well as tempt you to rediscover them now. Engineers and architects will be amazed at the sheer guts it takes to design these things, though they might have wished for a bit more behind-the-scenes information. You’ll be clamoring for a Six Flags to open in your neighborhood, or begging your kids to let you take them to the theme park of their choice.