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| Dvdivas
was founded by John Gabbard in 2000. It's purpose has been and
remains to be to provide you, the entertainment community with
the latest dvds and movie reviews. It will continue to be your
link to the most popular dvd movies. |
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“Deadwood:
The Complete First Season”
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Western |
| Video: |
1.78:1 full
screen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
5.1 |
| Languages |
English |
| Subtitles |
English,
Spanish |
| Length |
720 minutes
|
| Rating |
NR |
| Release Date |
2/1/05 |
| Studio |
HBO Home
Video |
| Commentary:
|
David Milch
on the pilot, Molly Parker & Keith Carradine on “Here Was a
Man”, Brad Dourif & Robin Weigert on “The Trial of Jack McCall”,
Ian McShane & Timothy Olyphant on “Sold Under Sin” |
| Documentaries:
|
Making Deadwood:
The Show Behind The Show |
| Featurettes:
|
The Real Deadwood, The
New Language of the Old West |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
David Milch
and David Carradine |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
Previews for each episode,
recaps of each episode |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
None |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Ian McShane,
Timothy Olyphant, Brad Dourif, Molly Parker, Jim Beaver, John
Hawkes, Keith Carradine, William Sanderson, Powers Boothe, Jeffrey
Jones |
| Written
By: |
David Milch,
Malcolm MacRury, Malcolm Macrury |
| Produced
By: |
Jody Worth,
Walter Hill Davis Guggenheim, David Milch, Ted Mann, Bryan McDonald
|
| Directed
By: |
Walter Hill,
Davis Guggenheim, Steve Shill |
| Music:
|
David Schwartz
|
| The
Review: |
Don’t let the fact that this is
a western fool you. May 1876 former Montana marshal Seth Bullock
(Timothy Olyphant) and his new partner Sol Star (John Hawkes)
open a hardware business in the gold-mining town of Deadwood,
South Dakota. Deadwood becomes the crossroads for the famous,
infamous and they people they kill. Bullock meets Wild bill
Hickok (Keith Carradine) and hasa run in with Gem Saloon owner
Al Swearengen (Ian McShane). Swearengen lives up to his name;
he’s a man with the foulest mouth one can imagine and a pretty
nasty fellow to cross. “Deadwood” becomes the nexus for some
of the most important figures of the old west creating a great
opportunity for storytelling from writer/creator/producer
David Milch (”NYPD Blue”). A sprawling, down and dirty revisionist
western, the pilot directed by Walter Hill (“Southern Comfort”,
“Hard Times”, “The Warriors”) features marvelous performances
from Ian McShane, Brad Dourif, Timothy Olyphant, Molly McShane,
Keith Carradine and Powers Boothe. Authentic right down to
the pig crap, “Deadwood” features the great dialogue, action
and storytelling kills we’ve come to expect from Milch, Hill
and the other collaborators on this cable TV series. ---
|
| Image
and Sound: |
Twelve episodes
spread over six discs presented in a high quality anamorphic
widescreen presentation, ensures that the image quality of the
show is kept sharp, clear and with nice, robust rustic colors.
The 5.1 sound mix actively surrounds you in the environment
of the old west. Since much of this drama is dialogue based
the 5.1 atmosphere comes across most effectively when there’s
action sequences. --- |
| The
Extras: |
Although
this isn’t an extra per se, the designing and packaging of
this series makes “Deadwood” special right away. One of the
best packaged boxed sets I’ve seen, the box resembles the
Star Trek: The Next Generation sets with a sturdy outer box
and an accordion fold out holder for the DVDs. While there
isn’t any booklet to tell you about the show, each episode
has a brief preface giving a synopsis of each one. There’s
also a preview and recap for each and every episode included.
***
There’s
a featurette on the making of the show with a generous helping
of interviews, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with
Milch and the cast. Featuring vintage photographs of the actual
Deadwood. Milch, the cast and crew appear in the featurette
as well discussing the intersection of fiction and reality
in this 25 minute glimpse into the inspiration for the show.
Milch and his collaborators discuss both the attraction of
the town and the mythos that it represented. Essentially a
promo piece for the series it also provides a nice introduction
to the series with a generous helping of clips from the show.
Interviews with local historians highlight the featurette
on the real Deadwood. Keith Carradine and Mich interview each
other for “The Language of the Old West”. ---
|
| Commentary:
|
Flush with
the success of a popular series the golden throats of most of
the main cast and writer/creator/producer Milch sing out the
praises and hardships of working on this unique series. Since
each track has two commentators (the exception is the pilot
with just Milch) which keeps the tracks entertaining and involving.
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| Final
Words: |
A terrific
series well packaged (but you end up paying for the packaging)
with excellent extras, “Deadwood” will keep you involved in
the petty dealings of saloon owner Swearengen and his conflicts
with the residents and prospectors of the town. |
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