Charmed: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.0

Charmed: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie Review

The complete series of the rebooted genre favorite.

Charmed is a fantasy-drama series rebooting the original fan-favorite drama. Based on the Charmed television series created by Constance M. Burge, the rebooted and retooled fantasy series revolves around a group of witches. The series was broadcast on The CW network. From production companies Poppy Productions, Reveal Entertainment, and Still Married Productions, the new version of Charmed was developed for television by Jennie Snyder Urman (Jane the Virgin, Something Borrowed), Jessica O'Toole (Greek, Jane the Virgin), and Amy Rardin (Echo, Greek).

Following the unexpected death of their dearly departed mother, Mel Vera (Melonie Diaz), Maggie Vera (Sarah Jeffery), and Macy Vaughn (Madeleine Mantock) unite and form the “Charmed Ones” as a group of magical women with supernatural abilities that only witches can brew. The group is joined by their special aid, dashing Harry Greenwood (Rupert Evans). Harry serves as their whitelighter: a guide providing the sisters with the ingredients necessary to battle evil-doers, demons, and other nefarious monsters.

The performances are one of the essential components of the series and the reason why the reboot was successful with a four-season run. The central actors certainly manage to imbue their performances with the right ingredients for a successful drama. Melonie Diaz, Sarah Jeffery, and Madeline Mantock provide performances with a sense of dedication to the respective roles. These actresses provide more that just good looks and charming personalities: the cast provides the right notes for an emotional backdrop to the production.

The cinematography by Ciaran Kavanagh (A Series of Unfortunate Events, Penny Dreadful) and Stewart Whelan (A Million Little Things, The Flash) is exquisite. Charmed has a remarkably beautiful aesthetic with superb cinematographic effort from Kavanagh. The series has a sleek and modern sensibility: professional, artistic, and unique. The series excels beyond ordinary television productions and it provides a robust visual style befitting a series that revolves around witchcraft.

A bewitching brew.

No spell is requited for the engaging score composed by Will Bates (Another Earth, Imperium) and John Paesano (Daredevil, The Maze Runner). Composers Bates and Paesano provide the production with an impressive balance of character themes and dramatic depth. The composers have an understanding of the storyline and the requisite requirements for the television drama. The music is certainly exciting and full of wonder. A solid effort from both series composers.

The costumes by Mandi Line (Shameless, Pretty Little Liars) are top-notch and provide the lead actresses with beautiful wardrobes. Line manages to provide each character with a unique and charming look that showcases the playful nature of “witches” alongside the modern sensibilities of the storyline. A solid and compelling component of the production which enhances the entire profile of the series.

The production design by Ken Rempel (Limetown, Polaroid), Gregory G. Venturi (Once Upon a Time, The Night Agent), and Matthew Budgeon (The Barbarian and the Troll, Gunless) is first-rate. The designs are more involved than some television productions and are a nice showcase for the genre roots inherit in the story. Expanding on the original Charmed series, the reboot has a compelling production design that delivers in spades (with an icy cold aesthetic and warm tone in the different shades of the production design).

Another excellent component of the production is the art direction. The art direction by Jennifer McEachern (When We Rise) and Patrick Lo (A Million Little Things) are essential ingredients. An outstanding effort by McEachern and Lo. The art directors understand the essentials. This is an entertaining drama and it has a compellingly slick art style.

Charmed features series direction by Stuart Gillard (The Outer Limits, Avonlea), Joseph E. Gallagher (Billions, Deadwood), Vanessa Parise (Runaways, Firefly Lane), and Brad Silberling (Casper, A Series of Unfortunate Events). The direction by Silberling effectively lays the groundwork with the compelling pilot episode starting the series off on the right note. Charmed is a television series with a compelling sense of style and the filmmakers have fun with the genre (exploring witchcraft in a hip and modern style) and it is no surprise that fans of the genre were excited by the rebooted version of the original television hit.

Charmed: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Paramount, Charmed: The Complete Series is presented in MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original television broadcast aspect ratio of 1.78:1 widescreen. Paramount has done an exceptional job of presenting the series with a top-notch high definition encode. The presentation is remarkably crisp and engaging. Colors "pop" with adequate depth and detail and the series is exceptionally crisp. The series does not suffer from over-processing and other video detriments that could hinder the presentation. The action sequences are similarly well preserved and look great on the Blu-ray format (with more detail than one would find on a streaming option). A strong presentation from Paramount.

Charmed: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround sound. The first thing to note about the surround presentation is that it is more impressive and robust than some television productions are. The soundstage was creative and enveloping. The sense of directionality on display with the surround (rear and front stage) speakers was remarkably engaging. Unique details could be heard and appreciated from the sound design and it greatly enhanced the experience. Dialogue was clear, crisp, and easy to understand. The score was also well integrated to the sound design and was well reproduced. A strong lossless audio encode.

Charmed: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Season 1:

Disc 5 –

The Charmed Life: A Bewitching First Season (HD, 11:06)

Gag Reel (HD, 5:43)

Season 2:

No bonus features.

Season 3:

Disc 4 –

Gag Reel (HD, 3:42)

Season 4:

Disc 2 –

Truth or Cares – Deleted Scene (HD, 1:02)

Disc 3 –

Gag Reel (HD, 6:45)

Charmed: The Complete Series Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Charmed is an entertaining reboot of the original fan-favorite television series. The new version of the story has an impressive cast including Melonie Diaz, Sarah Jeffery, and Madeline Mantock as the bewitching heroes of the story. The production has exceptional design merits and superb visuals. Paramount has provided the complete series with an exceptional presentation with top-notch video and audio. The set has a small supplemental package and fans won't find as many behind-the-scenes extras as some might hope to find. Though the extras could have been a bit more robust on the complete set release, the superb video and audio quality is first-rate and far exceeds streaming options. For those hoping to own the complete series with the best presentation quality available, Paramount has delivered a must-own set for series fans. Recommended.