Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season (2011/HBO Blu-ray)
Picture:
A Sound: A Extras: B Episodes: B+
Finally
available on HBO Blu-ray is Boardwalk
Empire: The Complete First Season.
This is
NOT the type of series where you can miss an episode or even a single moment;
each conversation and action is crucial to the story’s progression and viewers
can quickly become lost. With all of the
two timing, double crosses, and misdeeds of the inhabitants of Atlantic City it is not hard to imagine that
one could get lost quite easily. With
that said, however, viewers will not easily get bored or even dare to look
away. The series is wonderfully
detailed, exciting, and reconstructs a time (not too long ago) where corruption
ruled and power went to the highest bidder.
Steve
Buscemi is “Nucky” Thompson, treasurer of Atlantic
City; a roll that he has taken and taken to an
extreme. Nucky lives lavishly and has
established his place in the City of Atlantic;
he is king and anyone who apposes this shall face his wrath. Nucky casts his power in a cloud of ignorance
and innocence; one in which he uses his minions to do his bidding, so he can
keep up this guise and claim unawareness.
To the people of Atlantic City Nucky is God; a God who will give them what
they want…as long as they are willing to pay for it. Nucky has his hands in everyone’s pockets,
but that is how things are in Atlantic
City and its inhabitants have become apathetic and
complacent. The winds are changing,
however, and as Prohibition laws come into effect the world swiftly comes a
quite different place. Money and power
have always ruled the wills of man and this time around things are no
different.
A series
of events quickly go out of control and as Nucky tries to pull the reins he (and
others) soon realizes he is loosing grip.
Buscemi is joined by the talents of Michael Pitt as Jimmy (his right
hand man), Stephen Graham as Al Capone the future big time gangster, Michael
Shannon as Nelson the odd and obsessed Prohibition Officer, and many others who
make this series what it is. Boardwalk Empire is an amazing series
that is only getting better with each and every passing episode.
I love
this series and this season was great, but did not end up being as intense as
it had been previously described to me (not seeing it during its original
airing). What Season One does is establish the time period, its characters, and
give the series structure. This is not
to say there isn’t jaw dropping moments (because there are many), but there are
certain segments that are a bit drawn out and takes a while for the next
explosive moment to occur. What Season One does do is pave the way for Season Two (which I have seen in its
entirety). Season Two (which I will not get into) is head over heels better
than Season One and is so intense it
may be some of the best television ever created. So sit down and gear up as the troubles of
prohibition take center stage, because that is what Atlantic City is… a stage;
a stage for criminals to act like politicians and bad people to play and pray
on the innocent.
The
technical features of this new HBO set are astonishing. The picture and sound are superb and the
extras are up to snuff as well. The
picture is presented in a 1080p High Definition 1.78 X 1 Widescreen that leaps
from the screen with stunning visuals.
The colors are bright and vivid, coupled with wonderful detail and depth
that bring the episodes to life. The
black levels are deep and inky and even in the darkest night scenes that image
doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. The
sound is a 5.1 DTS-HD lossless Master Audio that is surrounding and
engaging. The full speaker range is used
here as the panning effects of the Atlantic
City backdrop are excellent and the crisp clean
dialogue doesn’t miss a beat. The series
utilizes many crowd sequences and a good deal of ambience as well; making for a
very lively track that is beautifully prioritized and balanced. The picture and sound combine make for a
cinematic presentation that only heighten the already excellent series.
The
extras are as follows:
- Audio Commentaries
- Six (6) episodes get this
treatment and all are excellently done; with the talents of Winter
(series creator), Korder (writer), Van Patten (writer), Williams (actor),
and Buscemi (actor) all lending their voice.
- Atlantic City the Original Sin City
- A wonderful ~30 minute
overview of the real History of Atlantic City that inspired the series.
- Speakeasy Tour
- Another wonderful
documentary on the more famous speakeasies of the era.
- Making of ‘Boardwalk Empire’
- Creating the Boardwalk
- Character Dossier
- Michael P. Dougherty II
