Wind (1992
1.85:1 (16x9 Enhanced)
Dolby Digital 2.0
Columbia/Tri Star Home Video, $24.95

The second paragraph on the back of this DVD mentions “stunning cinematography,” and rarely has there been more truth in advertising. Wind marked the feature debut of John Toll, ASC, and this recently released disc of the sailing drama features a new high-definition transfer that was supervised by the cinematographer.

Wind is a fictionalized depiction of the United States’ first loss of the America’s Cup (which broke the longest winning streak in sports history), and the subsequent match that reclaimed the cup for the U.S. The tale follows Will Parker (Matthew Modine), who sails for an eccentric millionaire, Morgan Weld (Cliff Robertson), and drags along a girlfriend, Kate (Jennifer Grey), as the team prepares for the race. When tragedy strikes at sea and Weld becomes the first American to lose the race, the crew splits up, as do Will and his girlfriend. When Will later finds Kate working in an airplane hangar in the desert, he persuades her new beau (Stellan Skarsgård), an aeronautical engineer, to build a yacht and help him race for the Cup again.

Wind was directed by Carroll Ballard, who is well-known for sweeping visuals thanks to pictures such as The Black Stallion, Never Cry Wolf and Fly Away Home. Toll, who was working on commercials at the time, had teamed with Ballard on a spot and heard the director talk about prepping Wind. Toll told Ballard the idea sounded fantastic, but privately he thought the shoot would be an absolute nightmare. Four months later, after Toll had forgotten their conversation, Ballard’s production office called and invited him to shoot the picture. Toll eagerly accepted. It was only after he hung up that he recalled his initial impression that the shoot would be problematic.

Shooting on 12-meter class sloop-rigged vessels racing at over 30 knots (about 45 mph) and trying to figure out how to cover the action was no small feat. After trying to work with Ballard’s own Éclair CM-3 cameras and deeming them impractical, Toll managed to get his hands on two new, handholdable Aaton 35mm cameras, one for himself and one for Ballard. The crew aboard the boats consisted of Ballard, Toll, two camera assistants, a key grip and a soundman. After trying several types of rigs, Toll and his team settled on an unlikely tool for most of the boat photography: a boom rest (a sawhorse type of device) was secured to the boat’s transom and used as a seat, and an additional bar was rigged to pin Toll’s legs, securing him in place. This gave the cinematographer a stable, safe platform from which to capture much of the action.

Wind also is peppered with stunning aerial cinematography by Stan McClain; some shots capture the races from what appears to be the middle of the action. During the dramatic first race, when a shipmate is seriously wounded while trying to make a repair, the action is impressively covered from three positions, two below deck (Toll and Ballard both crouched in the yacht’s sail hold) and one in the air.

Wind’s theatrical release was originally intended to coincide with the 1992 America’s Cup, but financing delays and adverse weather conditions mandated a much longer production schedule, and the picture was eventually released well after the race, with little publicity. “The wonderful thing about DVDs is that films get to live again,” Toll recently told AC. The cinematographer noted that this crisp new transfer features more contrast and saturation than the theatrical version. “When we went in for the new transfer, I decided to push the contrast a bit further to bring the picture a little more up to date. With these re-transfers, we have the opportunity to really get the picture to where we want it.”

Unfortunately, the only supplement on this DVD is Wind’s rather cheesy theatrical trailer, which has been given a poor transfer.

— Jay Holben