The
Sopranos: The Complete Series (1999 - 2007/HBO Blu-ray Box Set)
Picture:
A- Sound: A- Extras: B Episodes: A
Hands
down, one of the best television series of all time.
The
Sopranos was a landmark series that changed television forever;
not only for HBO, but for every and any series that would come after
it. The Sopranos showed the world that there was a creativity
of expression available on the television medium beyond sitcoms of
the past and even beyond cinema itself.
The
series used the tagline 'Family. Redefined.' and that is the truth.
The Sopranos took what could have been a very stereotypical,
violent mob series and created something wonderfully familiar, but
concurrently distant. As the series kicks off we are introduced to
Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), a powerful mob boss who (now seeing
a psychiatrist) is trying to come to grips with his life. As
previously mentioned, The Sopranos is unlike any mob series or
film that audiences had seen before and the funny part is that Tony
wants his life to be like those familiar films or stories. He longs
for 'the glory days' when a man could be a man and being in the mob
meant something; at least that is what he tells his psychiatrist.
Here is where the 'familiar' part comes in as we are shown that life
is not like the movies or those tall tales we were all sold; life is
hard, dark, gritty, and full of strife. Nothing is handed to you and
you have to fight for what you want and to keep what you have;
something that is even for those that live in a life immersed in
crime.
It
was no easy task to become one of (if not THE) best American crime
dramas of all time. It was through its use of the family within THE
FAMILY style that made the series so incredibly engrossing and
memorable. This is to say, even the mob husbands have to take out
the trash and mob kids get bad grades. The seemingly simple things
in life were simultaneously simple and complicated as the Sopranos
had to go through the daily routine of life (pretending to be
normal), while also keeping up appearances in their second family.
In
the past, television series were somewhat restrained, with little
exploration of the inner workings of individuals and groups and films
only gave that 1-2 hour glimpse into a situation or life; with the
coming of The Sopranos everything changed as we as an audience
went through their lives with the characters. We learned with them,
we developed with them, and had an emotional investment (as if we
were there) in their lives.
It
is no surprise that David Chase had created such a thoroughly
gripping, twisting tale as he had worked on other series as a staff
writer/producer/editor that had hints of greatness themselves such as
Kolchak: The Night Stalker and Northern Exposure.
Chase started working on The Sopranos in concept as early as
1995; originally conceived as a feature length film, before convinced
to adapt to a premium network television series (HBO took forever to
show the pilot, not thinking they had a hit). It is well known that
Chase used his own life experiences growing up in New Jersey,
fascination with the mob, and own emotional issues with his mother
(and subsequent use of a psychiatrist) that inspired him in creating
The Sopranos. The vibrant cast of characters and the
exploration of their instability, both the inside and out, made the
series a hit.
From
the pilot onward each episode was a shocker; revealing more and more
about the individuals. Whereas the action and crime in the series
was surely captivating; it was perhaps the inner turmoil and
relationships that kept audiences coming back for more. As
previously mentioned, the highly detailed, gritty emotional series
that exist today like that of Game of Thrones, Breaking
Bad, and The Walking Dead would not exist without The
Sopranos. The Sopranos exemplified that audiences wanted
more from their TV shows and there was no turning back.
Contained
in a large Blu-ray box that holds all six seasons (27 discs) of the
award winning series the set is beautifully displayed, while
concurrently saving viewers shelf space. The picture is presented in
a 1080p, AVC encoded MPEG-4, 1.78 x 1 aspect ratio coupled with a
lossless English DTS-HD Master Audio (MA) 5.1 mix; both of which are
near perfection. The image is crisp, clean, and clear from episode
one to episode eighty six. Fine detail is observed throughout,
seeing every wrinkle, blood speck, and hair with ease. The colors
are fantastically bold, with framing/inky black levels to heighten
the already wonderful image quality. There was a stylistic choice
from the beginning (by the creators/cinematography) to go heavy on
the filters at times; in the end giving the series a somewhat bright
hue or aura at times. This is most likely to play around with the
'out of body' or psychiatric elements the series explored, but
(whereas not distracting) is noticeable. The sound is spot on as it
properly prioritizes from beginning to end; with crisp dialogue,
solid ambience, and (at times) immersive action. The music (being
very timely) in each episode shines on this presentation as it
projects cleanly and clearly with no issues to mention. The voices
and activities of the Mafia life surround the viewer, making it seem
as though we are in the heart of the action.
The
extra features nicely flesh out the series offering fans such things
as audio commentaries, deleted scenes, interviews, and much more.
Extras are:
25
Audio Commentaries with a mix of writers, director, cast, and crew
Interviews
Behind
the Scenes featurette
Lost/Deleted/Extended
Scenes
Music
of The Sopranos featurette
Defining
a Television Landmark
Supper
with the Sopranos
Alec
Baldwin Interviews David Chase (2 parts)
Again,
The Sopranos is one of the best series to ever air on TV. If
you are a longtime fan or have never seen the series, now is the time
to buy this wonderfully constructed Blu-ray set.