Jeffrey Blitz' documentary about the National Spelling Bee, Spellbound comes to DVD with a standard full-frame transfer that preserves the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.33:1. English and French soundtracks are rendered in Dolby Digital Stereo. Supplemental materials include a commentary track recorded by Blitz, his co-producer Sean Welch, and the film's editor. The threesome go into great detail about the process of making the film, as well as the difficult task of whittling the movie down to its 97-minute running time from the hours and hours of footage they filmed. Extra materials include an update on what has happened to the eight contestants featured in the movie since their appearance at the Bee. Those with a DVD-ROM drive can access an interactive hangman game. This is a strong release from Columbia/TriStar that offers quality extras both for those with an interest in the subject matter, as well as people who want to learn about the realities of documentary filmmaking.
