6.8 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
From the award-winning Lee Daniels, Brian Grazer and Danny Strong, comes "a genuine cultural phenomenon" (The Village Voice). After music mogul Lucious Lyon is diagnosed with a potentially fatal disease, he must choose which of his three sons will succeed him at the legendary EMPIRE entertainment company. The game changes when ex-wife Cookie returns from prison. This groundbreaking series features a pulsating soundtrack from legendary music hit maker Timbaland.
Starring: Terrence Howard, Taraji P. Henson, Bryshere Y. Gray, Jussie Smollett, Trai ByersRomance | 100% |
Music | 34% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
If nothing else, Empire has proven that there can still be viewing phenomena which sweep the nation almost like a virus. Without a lot of fanfare, this show premiered to rather staggering numbers (for broadcast television, anyway) in January 2015 and then did the virtually unheard of, building that viewership population repeatedly over the next several weeks until the show ended its first season in March with almost twice the number of fans as it began with. I’ve joked repeatedly about that old Presley greatest hits compilation album whose title stated 50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can’t Be Wrong by asking the simple rejoinder “Why?”, and something similar may strike some curmudgeons with regard to Empire, for as sleek and well produced and even viscerally exciting as the show is, it’s also undeniably a throwback to prime time soaps of yore like Dallas and/or Dynasty, with impossibly rich and glamorous families battling through various dysfunctions in an overtly florid manner. Sure, Empire gussies it all up with a setting in the world of hip hop, something that allows the show to appeal to “music drama” geeks who might be jonesin’ for something new now that Glee’s club isn’t meeting weekly anymore. The series also takes a page from (as odd as this may sound) Sons of Anarchy, or perhaps more appropriately, a page from The Bard, reinventing certain plot tropes of Shakespeare in an updated, modern setting. In this case, instead of Hamlet transported to motorcycle gangs in Charming, California, Empire offers up a “new, improved” version of King Lear, with a machinating paterfamilias attempting to divvy up his, well, empire to his offspring, in this case three sons (as opposed to Lear’s daughters). The result is often completely over the top histrionics, with a melodramatic fervor that may end up annoying some who aren’t able to simply give in to the show’s hyperbolic tendencies. For those who are willing to cut Empire a little slack, the show provides a lot of interesting content, even if its depiction of the recording industry (or at least one corner of it) is highly fanciful.
Empire: The Complete First Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This is a sharp and very well detailed presentation though perhaps surprisingly the palette is often unexpectedly tamped down and even drab looking at times, something that may seem counterintuitive to a show exploiting the bling filled lifestyle of the rich and famous. Lucious' recording studio, for example, is a wash of different brown tones, with detail succumbing to minimal shadow detail and occasional slight murk in some sequences. The series has a tendency to exploit various visual bells and whistles for other sequences, including flashbacks that have been variously color graded or tweaked to differentiate them from the bulk of the contemporary sequences (see screenshot 4). Even some of the contemporary sequences feature elements like pushed highlights that bloom intentionally, another choice that adds some variety but tends to mitigate detail. In normal lighting situations and without the addition of overt grading choices, the palette looks natural if at times not especially vivid.
As should probably be expected for a show focusing on hip hop, R&B and other rhythmically acute music, Empire: The Complete First Season's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track springs to really forceful life during the performance and/or recording sequences. Surround activity is impressive in these moments, as is the often very forceful low end. Some of the cityscape environments also offer more discrete placement of ambient environmental sounds. Dialogue is cleanly and clearly presented and well prioritized. Fidelity is excellent and dynamic range very wide for episodic television dramas.
Disc One:
For those who were around during the era of JR and/or Blake Carrington, a lot of Empire's roiling family dysfunctions within a rich and famous ambience are going to seem like old hat. Some curmudgeons are probably already wondering if there is a "catfight" between Taraji P. Henson and Grace Gealey (as Luscious' fiancée) coming down the pike. Other cynics may also wonder if the outré hairstyles and over the top fashion choices various characters sport are going to look as dated in a couple of years as Dynasty's big shoulder pads do to us now. All of that said, Empire still delivers on an enjoyable if undemanding level virtually all of the time in its first season, slowly building intrigue between the Lyon family while also providing chances for some winning musical performances. Technical merits are generally strong and Empire: The Complete First Season comes Recommended.
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