Deadwood – The Complete Series (2004 – 2006/HBO Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B Extras: A- Episodes: A-
Not many
television series can live up to the quality of feature films, but HBO has a
running record of producing such series.
After the end of The Sopranos and
the untimely end of Rome, fans
were (and are) left with little to fill the void. For those who have not discovered Deadwood, however, with the coming of The Complete Series on Blu-ray viewers
are in luck. Deadwood is an epic series that embodies the values, corruption and
struggles of the “old west;” and for good measure they through in a s*%$ load
of cursing.
Deadwood, as mentioned in a previous
review, is another historically based series from HBO that takes place in the South Dakota Territory in the 1870’s and chronicles the
growth of a society as it goes from a simple base camp to a full thriving town. The early first two seasons are brutal and
lawless with the community members barely knowing if they will survive, coupled
with the fact that a number of heinous individuals are up to no good. To put it simply, Deadwood is not your grandpa’s Western. This is not Bonanza and much grittier than
any John Wayne film. The fact of the
matter is audiences don’t want simplified versions of history, we want the down
and dirty, even if slightly dramatized at times. What creator David Milch delivers to
audiences here with Deadwood is
essentially cinematic genius, with stunning visuals and a gripping storyline
that has viewers on the edge of their seats.
For Deadwood it boils down to
relationships and whether it is a double cross, a love affair or a deal gone
wrong it all manages to flow brilliantly.
The colorful cast propels the series to the next level and quickly
dismisses the romanticized notions of the West, for a more realistic though
vicious frontier.
The
series uses the South Dakota
gold rush backdrop to emphasize the town’s quick economic growth from shanty
town to boomtown. The characters
featured on Deadwood are a mix of fact
and fiction, highlighting many real events and personality traits but often
exaggerating them for the purpose of entertainment. One of the main personalities on the series
is entrepreneur Al Swearengen (Ian McShane) who will seemingly stop at nothing to
rule the town, overpoweringly consumed with greed in turn twisting law to meet
his needs. Others are seen trying to
oppose his views on law throughout the series, but quickly are dismissed as
powerless. The law man in town is the
hesitant Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) who gave up the badge, but by
necessity is pulled back into the life of a lawman. There are a variety of characters on the
series that are not easily categorized.
It would be oversimplifying the series to cast any individual as good or
bad. Though it may seem at times that
characters like Swearengen is the “man in the black hat,” Deadwood is much deeper than that and there is no good versus evil
here. Deadwood emphasizes that people are flawed and whereas law and
order is attempted, it is often slapped down by the misdeeds of others; most of
time unexpectedly.
Deadwood is an amazing series that sadly
only lasted three amazing seasons. The
series is vividly diverse and consistently delivers.
The
technical features are much like that of the recently released Rome on Blu-ray. The technical features here on Blu-ray for Deadwood are overall well done with a
solid picture and sound presentation. The picture is a 1080p AVC, MPEG-4
High Definition presentation that is as immaculate for such a gritty series;
demonstrating a consistent clarity and color palate that is commendable.
Whereas shadow delineation is well done certain scenes I found to be darker
than I would have liked, but throughout the series the details are simply amazing
as ever wrinkle, hair and grain of dirt are easily visualized. The colors
of the day sequences are vividly presented and even as the series embodies a
certain hue (intended goldy browns), the colors and contrast are nice.
There are some light/dark issues (especially in the night sequences), but the
rest of the series is well done and nothing is too distracting. The sound
is a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio lossless 5.1 mix that gets the job done,
though like Rome it lacks the power I was looking
for. I felt that this series, though dialogue driven, had an overwhelming
amount of atmosphere that was not represented well here on Blu-ray. Most of the dialogue comes from the front
with ambience coming from the rears here and there.
The best
manner to describe the extra features is overwhelming. In order to get through all the features here
the viewer will need to invest a serious amount of time, as this reviewer has,
but they are completely worth it; as they are some of the best extras a TV
series has had to date on Blu-ray. The
extras include the following:
- Audio commentaries
- There are a number of
interesting audio commentaries spread throughout the three seasons,
featuring different cast, crew and writers. Each commentary has brilliant
personality and truly emphasizes the passion everyone involved had for
the series.
- Making Deadwood: The Show
behind the Show
- The Real Deadwood
- The New Language of the Old
West
- An Imaginative Reality
- The Real Deadwood: 1877
- Making of Episode 12
- Deadwood Daguerreotypes
- Deadwood Matures
- The Education of Swearengen
and Bullock
- Deadwood Daguerreotypes
- The Meaning of Endings
- *SPOILER* Deadwood never got
the conclusion it deserved and ends quite abruptly, so here we have Milch
(somewhat bitterly) discussing how the series was not renewed. He discusses the intended direction of
the series and what he would have done with a follow-up film or
season. It is probably the best
extra in the set (at 23minutes), because often times when series are
canceled, we (as an audience) never get to see what would have/could have
happened.
- The Real Deadwood: Out of the
Ashes
- Q&A with cast and crew
- Deadwood 360 Tour
- Al Swearengen Audition Reel
Though
there is a tombstone where Deadwood used
to be on HBO, it is a series that will be remembered for all time for its
colorful characters and immersive storyline.
- Michael P. Dougherty II
