7.8 | / 10 |
Users | 4.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In this original movie based on David Milch’s acclaimed, Emmy(R)-winning HBO series, the indelible characters of the show are reunited after a decade to celebrate South Dakota’s statehood. Former rivalries are reignited, alliances are tested and old wounds reopened as all are left to navigate the inevitable changes that modernity and time have wrought.
Starring: Timothy Olyphant, Ian McShane, Molly Parker, Paula Malcomson, Gerald McRaneyWestern | 100% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.00:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
French: DTS 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: DTS 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 5.0 | |
Extras | 0.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Deadwood: The Complete Series was a major success for HBO, both in terms of the largely rapturous critical response the series received, but also in terms of audience approval. When the series perhaps unexpectedly came to an end after only three seasons, there was a fair amount of outcry that all sorts of loose ends hadn’t been tidied up as much as some might have hoped. It may have taken well over a decade, but those dangling plot threads are at least touched upon, if not always completely woven together into an organic whole, in Deadwood: The Movie, a “sequel” of sorts that actually takes the passage of time between the end of the series and this story into account, giving the tale a somewhat elegiac tone at times.
Deadwood: The Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of HBO with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.00:1. The IMDb lists Arri Alexa Minis as having digitally captured the imagery, and I'm assuming things were finished at a 2K DI. This is an often beautifully detailed looking transfer, this despite the fact that there is prevalence of low light shots as well as other shots that utilize backlighting, something that can often create effulgent quasi-halos around foreground objects. The palette often tends to favor browns and beiges, though there are occasional very bright pops of color, as in Hearst's red vest. Some low light, nighttime material can look just a tad noisy at times, and fine detail levels can occasionally falter as well in these moments. A few passing uses of CGI aren't especially believable, but fine detail on practical props and Deadwood itself is often excellent.
From the thundering roar of a locomotive that starts out Deadwood: The Movie, the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track offered here is boisterous, consistently immersive and often very forceful. Sequences that take place in crowded environments like the bar provide regular engagement of the side and rear channels for background "spill" of conversation and ambient environmental effects. Outdoor sequences often bristle with really nice discrete channelization of individual sound effects. Dialogue is presented cleanly and clearly throughout on this enjoyable track.
There were reports around the time of the original series' demise that not all of the drama in Deadwood was taking place on screen (so to speak). Whatever may have led to the end of the show after three seasons has evidently had enough time for the dust to settle, though some of the on screen dust certainly gets kicked up again in this largely satisfying "conclusion" to the story. There are some wonderful performances on display here, and if Milch's writing is occasionally a little precious, that's a small price to pay for the bulk of this offering. Technical merits are solid, and even without much in the way of supplements, Deadwood: The Movie comes Recommended.
1971
Warner Archive Collection
1960
2014
1962
2016
1939
1969
50th Anniversary Edition | Shout Select #57
1968
2018
1955
Limited Edition to 3000
1966
Sweet Vengeance
2013
1957
1965
1992
Warner Archive Collection
1952
2018
1993
2018
1951