The
Young Pope: Season One (2016/HBO Blu-ray Set)
Picture:
B+ Sound: B+ Extras: C Episodes: B
Jude
Law stars in award-winning The Young Pope (2016), the new HBO
dramatic series Directed and Edited by Paolo Sorrentino, co-writer
and director of The Great Beauty, which won an Academy Award
for the Best Foreign Language Film in 2014.
The
show is highly cinematic with swooping crane shots, great costumes,
and more familiar faces than you can shake a stick at, even if the
content isn't quite up your alley. Controversial for sure, The
Young Pope tells the story of Lenny Belardo, a.k.a. Pius XIII
(Law), in this fictional story that centers around the first-ever
American Pope and the youngest elected by the College of Cardinals.
Belardo brings with him not only his passion for religion, but has
several ideas and ways of going about things that are constantly
being questioned and frowned upon, as he is unwilling to fit the mold
that has been cast for him. With that comes a long list of scandals
and other drama that complicates his powerful position.
The
Young Pope has a strong supporting cast including Diane Keaton
(Sister Mary), Scott Shepherd (Cardinal Dussolier), James Cromwell
(Cardinal Spencer), Ludivine Sagnier (Esther), Silvio Orlando
(Cardinal Voiello), Cécile De France (Sofia), Javier Camara
(Monsignor Bernardo Alonso Gutierrez), Toni Bertorelli (Cardinal
Caltanissetta), and more.
Ten
episodes span three Blu-ray discs and the set comes with a Digital UV
copy as well.
Presented
in 1080p high definition with a widescreen aspect ratio of 1.78:1 and
a great sounding DTS-HD MA (Master Audio) 5.1 lossless mix, the
presentation here is comparable but slightly better than the original
digital broadcast of the show that is on HBO GO and digital
television. The sound mix is the biggest difference as its nice mix
is fleshed out a bit better on Blu. Also on the disc is a Spanish
DTS 2.0 Stereo track for foreign language speakers. As mentioned,
the show is highly cinematic so it looks fantastic on disc with a
presentation that is deserving of an eventual 4K release, I feel.
The
only Special Feature is a Making Of featurette.
HBO
once again proves that it is the leader in great cinematic television
content with The Young Pope, as it is another notable title to
add to their library.
-
James Lockhart
https://www.facebook.com/jamesharlandlockhartv/
