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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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“Night
Gallery: The Complete First Season”
|
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Reviewed
by: |
Wayne A. Klein |
| Genre: |
Horror |
| Video: |
1.33:1 Full
screen |
| Audio: |
Dolby Digital
Surround 2.0 (mono) |
| Languages |
English
|
| Subtitles |
English |
| Length |
8 hours and
43 minutes |
| Rating |
NR |
| Release Date |
8/24/04 |
| Studio |
Universal
Home Video |
| Commentary:
|
None |
| Documentaries:
|
None |
| Featurettes:
|
None |
| Filmography/Biography:
|
None |
|
Interviews: |
None |
| Trailers/TV
Spots: |
None |
| Alternate/Deleted
Scenes: |
None |
| Music
Video: |
None |
| Other:
|
Bonus episodes
from seasons 2 & 3 |
| Cast
and Crew: |
Roddy MacDowall,
Barry Sullivan, Joan Crawford, Larry Hagman, John Astin, |
| Written
By: |
Rod Serling,
Richard Matheson, Douglas Heyes |
| Produced
By: |
William Sackheim,
Jack Laird |
| Directed
By: |
Steven Spielberg,
Boris Sagal, Jerrold Freedman |
| Music:
|
Billy Goldenberg
|
| The
Review: |
Rod Serling’s body of work as a
writer/producer is virtually untouchable. His unique stage
presence and voice made even the weakest episodes of “Night
Gallery” memorable. From early TV (“Playhouse 90”, “The Twilight
Zone”) to the big screen (“Planet of the Apes”, “Seven Days
in May”, “The Man”) Serling’s work always bore his undelible
stamp. His ability as a writer to create memorable characters
in a short period of time made him the master of anthology
television. Serling tackled a number of subjects in a wide
variety of genres but he’s best remembered for his fantastic
work on the two TV shows that bore his name.
|
| Image
and Sound: |
“Night Gallery”
finally arrives on DVD with mixed results. The picture quality
varies considerably between the pilot and the first season.
The pilot occasionally looks a bit washed out (probably due
to the lack of stability of the dies used to create the negative)
and has a lot of analog blemishes marring the picture. We get
hair, dirt, dust and imperfections throughout the pilot. While
there clearly wasn’t a huge amount of money or effort put into
restoring this classic TV movie, it’s great to have it on DVD
despite numerous imperfections. The first season episodes demonstrate
a marked improvement with less analog blemishes and with sharper,
richer color. It’s hard to determine if these flaws could be
due to the ravages of time (more than likely) or careless storage
of the original negative. Are these episodes perfect? No. Still,
they're better than many of the episodes that have been shown
in syndication for years. The series wasn’t digitally remastered
specifically for this boxed set. Instead, they’re from new masters
produced about a decade ago for home video. The sound has considerable
presence and, despite some analog flaws, comes across with remarkable
clarity. --- |
| The
Extras: |
There’s
no retrospective documentary or any information on Serling’s
prolific career as a writer/producer for both radio, stage,
TV and screen. We do get an introduction giving a synopsis
for each episode on each disc. We also get an Episode listing
on disc three as to which titles are on each disc. Disc three
also has “bonus” episodes from the second and third season.
While I appreciate having these episodes, I’m a bit concerned.
Does this mean that Universal has no plans to release seasons
two and three of “Night Gallery”? Hopefully not because, despite
the flaws, this is an essential set for fans of horror and
TV from the 70’s. If Universal has no plans to release further
sets (that will, most likely be determined by the sales of
this set), why not include essential episodes like “Green
Fingers”, “Cool Air” and “Pickman’s Model”? Perhaps these
extras are designed to provide a taste of what’s to come.
I’m hoping that’s the case. ---
|
| Commentary:
|
There’s no
commentary tracks included on this set. Although Spielberg doesn’t
do commentary tracks, I’m surprised that some of the other living
directors and writers weren’t asked to contribute. Writer Richard
Matheson a long time friend of Serling and a well regarded writer
of novels, films and short fiction would have been a perfect
choice on the episode he penned as well as on Serling’s pilot
episode. Either way, let’s hope that in the future Universal
will involve some of the actors/writers/directors in contributing
to a commentary track. |
| Final
Words: |
While these
fine episodes could use some serious restoration, Universal
has done its best to present them in their original format at
an affordable price. Additionally, we get bonus episodes from
further seasons on the last disc. The packaging is similar to
other sets and is presented in an accordion style set. There’s
no booklet which, again, would have provided an inexpensive
way to tackle Serling’s career and discuss the contributions
he made to TV and movies as a writer. |
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