8.6 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.2 |
Explores the early relationship between the renowned psychiatrist and his patient, a young FBI criminal profiler, who is haunted by his ability to empathize with serial killers.
Starring: Hugh Dancy, Mads Mikkelsen, Caroline Dhavernas, Laurence Fishburne, Scott Thompson (I)Horror | 100% |
Mystery | 70% |
Psychological thriller | 66% |
Crime | 31% |
Thriller | 22% |
Drama | 15% |
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
English, English SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.5 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
If the world “Htrae” looks familiar to you, or better yet, if you actually know to what it refers, you may inherently understand what I mean when I say Hannibal has entered its own Bizarro World as it slices and dices its way through its sophomore year. (For those who aren't comic book fans, Bizarro World refers to an alternate universe in DC comics where Earth has become Htrae.) The first season of Hannibal drew raves (including here at Blu-ray.com) for its vivid reinvention of the iconic characters of Thomas Harris. The first year of Hannibal managed to rather artfully revisit some standard tropes in the Hannibal Lecter canon while introducing several fanciful new elements, including various psychological tics and, ultimately, a breakdown for FBI agent Will Graham (Hugh Dancy). Graham’s almost hypersensitivity to crime scenes was a recurring motif of Hannibal, and it alerted the profiler to the “dark side” of Hannibal Lecter (Mads Mikkelson) long before others seemed to be aware anything was out of whack with the famous “good” doctor and epicurean. In Bryan Fuller’s smartly reimagined version, Graham pretty much goes off the deep end just when Hannibal’s scheming leads to Graham becoming the main suspect in a series of grisly murders (the show was and continues to be extremely graphic at times). That in turn leads us to Bizarro World Hannibal, where Graham is the lunatic (alleged) serial killer while the calm but menacing Hannibal Lecter is on the outside looking in. Hannibal has been almost audacious in how it virtually dares the audience to guess its twists and turns—and then repeatedly surprises. That’s certainly the case with this second season, which while playing topsy turvy with Lecter and Graham also has the added shock value of a discombobulating presentation of the season finale climax as the opening sequence, leaving the rest of the season to play "catch up" to what has already been depicted.
Hannibal: Season Two is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. Shot digitally with the Arri Alexa, Hannibal continues to be one of the more stylish outings on network television, one with a cinematic sweep in scenes like a great crane shot reveal of Hannibal with a victim in a cornfield or the recurring motif of a stag's head that haunts Will's waking dreams. The series continues to be rather aggressively color graded, something that tends to rob certain scenes of at least a little fine detail. For that reason, colors aren't always "accurate" looking, though they're almost always incredibly evocative and distinctive. The one qualm I have with this series' look is how relentlessly dark it is, to the point that there's virtually no shadow detail in many scenes. This is obviously an intentional stylistic choice, one meant to echo that similarly shadowy psychological states of its two main characters, but it might help to lighten things up a little now and again (typically only brief establishing shots tend to be well lit, as evidenced by screenshot 5). Sharpness and clarity are still excellent throughout these episodes, and there are no problematic artifacts to discuss.
As impressive as Hannibal continues to be from a visual perspective, its sound design is perhaps even more remarkable, offered here in a sterling DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. Brian Reitzell's very smart combination of electronic sounds and more traditional music for the series' score continues to be a high point, and is effectively rendered here, including very nice and at times extremely discrete placement throughout the surrounds. Foley effects continue to be very vivid and imaginative as well. Dialogue is always cleanly presented, and the track boasts excellent fidelity and rather wide dynamic range. There are no issues of any kind to report.
- Kaiseki with Bryan Fuller and Hugh Dancy
- Sakizuki with Bryan Fuller and Jose Andres
- Takiawase with Bryan Fuller and Hettienne Park
- Yakimono with Bryan Fuller, Raul Esparza and Steve Lightfoot
- Su-zakana with Bryan Fuller and Hugh Dancy
- Naka-choko with Bryan Fuller and Caroline Dhavernas
- Mizumono with Bryan Fuller and Hugh Dancy
- Mizumono with Bryan Fuller and Steve Lightfoot
They said it couldn't be done, and then Hannibal went ahead and did it, in spades, in its first season. The doubters continued to insist that the series simply couldn't maintain its artifice and reinvention of Harris' characters in a second year, and once again Fuller and his crew proved them wrong. However, we're at a tipping point now, as evidenced by this season's climax. There's only so long Fuller can forestall the inevitable, and how he chooses to get there will probably define how people ultimately view this series as a whole. In the meantime, dig in, the eatin' is mighty fine. Highly recommended.
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Hellraiser V
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