Two weeks ago, Phase 4 Films released The Crash Reel on DVD.  The documentary opens a few months before the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, as champion snowboarder Kevin Pearce is training to make the team.  When tragedy strikes and he suffers a dangerous fall, we are taken back to see his rise to fame, before witnessing his new life with a traumatic brain injury.

Directed by the great Lucy Walker, The Crash Reel was my pick for the best documentary of 2013, and the powerful and incredibly well crafted film is required viewing.  The story has all the aspects of a great sports movie, charting the rise and literal fall of a celebrated athlete, before showing us his remarkable rise back up again to face the new challenges in his life.  Exhilarating, moving and inspirational, The Crash Reel is everything that a great film should be.  Please read my full thoughts on the documentary right here.

The DVD includes deleted and extended scenes.

The Crash Reel is 108 minutes and rated PG.

-John Corrado