7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Captain Flint and his pirates, twenty years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Treasure Island".
Starring: Toby Stephens, Hannah New, Zach McGowan, Luke Arnold, Jessica Parker KennedyAdventure | 100% |
Period | 37% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: Dolby TrueHD 7.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
UV digital copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Starz doesn't have the market cornered on the recent trend of historically based television sagas, but the studio is certainly making a name for itself with what can now be dubbed an "onslaught" of adult-oriented dramatic television set in a time and place before the advent of cable TV. The epic success of the sword-and-sandal, sex-and-slaughter Spartacus spearheaded the charge. It was followed by the uneven and largely formulaic Da Vinci's Demons. The studio has now turned its eyes to another histo-drama, this one a little closer to its 21st century home in Black Sails, a show that rewinds the clock on a couple of centuries for a look into the nitty-gritty, nuts-and-bolts world of high seas piracy and the land-loving sex, politics, secrets, and generally dark dealings of cutthroat rogues who, here, will do whatever it takes to make the next big score, whether that means plundering treasure, ravaging women, or killing all who stand in their way. Like Da Vinci, Black Sails doesn't dig too deeply into the complex stories and boundary-pushing sex and violence that defined Spartacus. It's a bit tame in comparison, a serviceable entertainer that's not much more than skin-deep fun but that should nevertheless satisfy the craving for something adventurous and risqué after the children have been put to bed.
Who has my page?
Black Sails: Season One features a rich, boldly colored, and intricately detailed 1080p, 1.78:1-framed transfer. The image offers striking clarity. It's a little flat and a touch glossy, but the level of precision detail evident on faces, attire, wooden ship decks, furnishings, grasses, and other objects is commendable. Viewers will be consistently privy to the world's richness and the characters' most intimate skin details in every shot. Colors are lively and bold. Brightly colored exterior scenes are gorgeous; the sun-drenched Bahamas exterior reveals every shade with a natural precision that instantly transports the viewer to the tropical paradise. Aqua colored waters are particularly vibrant and healthy. Skin tones appear even and influenced only by surrounding lighting conditions. Black levels are a little uneven, favoring light crush in spots but also drifting to a noticeable dark purple on some occasions. Likewise, darker backdrops are frequently littered with excess noise. Otherwise, this is an excellent presentation from Anchor Bay.
Black Sails: Season One plunders sound systems with a Dolby TrueHD 7.1 lossless soundtrack. It's beautifully aggressive and immersive, with every environment springing to incredible life with pinpoint detail and placement. The opening battle literally shakes the soundstage to its core. Canon fire and impacts hit ridiculously hard. They whoosh through speakers with a precision that may very well leave listeners ducking for cover. Shrapnel in the form of splinters and other broken materials likewise zip around and fall onto other surfaces. The general sounds of chaos -- yells, creaks, and even some gunshots and sword clanks -- only better serve the moment. In calmer scenes, listeners will enjoy gently rolling waves and various light creaks around the listening area that effectively transform the home theater into ship's deck. At Nassau, the din of a busy port springs to life in any number of scenes, filing the stage with the sounds of commerce and idle chatter. Dialogue is presented evenly and robustly through the center, rounding out a track that's amongst the best of its kind.
Black Sails: Season One contains all of its extras on disc three. A UV digital copy code is included in the Blu-ray case.
Despite loads of promise and a terrific setting -- even if it's more land-loving than many might like -- Black Sails proves a quality entertainer in the modern adult television realm where scheming, sex, and violence are the order of the day. It follows not big, open-seas adventure but rather the minutia of a pirate's life, the scheme and scandal necessary to plunder the big score, working in a world where X doesn't mark a darn thing except, probably, the grave of an unknown pirate who died for a morsel of information or for turning his back at an inopportune time. The show is populated by scruffy and worn but otherwise attractive figures who probably auditioned for Spartacus but found a home here and who could grace the cover of any muscle magazine in the country. They play mostly one dimensional figures who are shaped by plot conveniences and molded for dramatic purpose more so than strict believable realism, but all-in-all they populate a satisfyingly entertaining program that opens a door for an entire ocean's worth of possibilities in the upcoming second season. Anchor Bay's Blu-ray release of Black Sails: Season One contains excellent video, reference audio, and a disappointing hodgepodge of short featurettes on disc three. Recommended.
w/ Pirate Bandana
2014
2014
2015
2015
2016
2016
2017
2003
2007
2006
2006
DVD Packaging
2011
2013
2011
2012
2014
2011
2011
2014
2016
2015
2010-2013
1995
2015
2000
2008
2016