8.3 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Set in the 1860s it centers on former confederate soldier Cullen Bohannan, whose quest for vengeance has led him to the Union Pacific Railroad's westward construction of the first Transcontinental Railroad.
Starring: Anson Mount, Colm Meaney, Common, Christopher Heyerdahl, Tom NoonanWestern | 100% |
Period | 18% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Adventure | 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
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Having grown up largely in Salt Lake City, Utah, my childhood history lessons in school were often infused with tales of the Mormon pioneers
and related
epochal events, which included the joining of the Central Pacific Railroad Company of California’s eastward bound tracks and the mirroring
westward approach by Union Pacific Railroad Company at the otherwise fairly unremarkable spot known as Promontory Point or Promontory
Summit. Utah begins playing a more central role in Hell on Wheels as it enters its fourth season, with none other than “the”
Mormon pioneer, Brigham Young himself, showing up in a featured role. The series’ historical accuracy may be at least somewhat
questionable
at times, with real life characters interacting with fictional ones in sometimes improbable ways, but the show continues to be generally quite
compelling even as it has tended to delve more and more into the soap operatic byways of its large and at times ungainly cast, rather than
the
straight and narrow pathway of the Transcontinental Railroad itself. Utah’s neighbor Wyoming is also a focal locale for much of this fourth
season, with major characters including both Cullen Bohannon (Anson Mount) and Thomas Durant (Colm Meaney) either residing (if only for a
veritable moment) in places like Cheyenne, or (in the case of Cullen) trying desperately to get there. Cheyenne’s seemingly paramount
importance to various characters might be a somewhat whimsical formulation on the part of the show’s writers, but it gives the series
another
“watering hole” around which several interlocking stories congregate, even as apparently incremental progress on the actual railroad occurs,
sometimes in the veritable background.
For those wanting a "refresher course" on events in this sometimes densely plotted series, reviews of previous seasons of Hell on
Wheels can be accessed by clicking on the following links:
Hell On Wheels: The
Complete First Season Blu-ray review
Hell On Wheels: The
Complete Second Season Blu-ray review
Hell On Wheels: The
Complete Third Season Blu-ray review
Hell on Wheels: The Complete Fourth Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Entertainment One with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. This continues to be one of the nicer looking series to dot the cable landscape, with especially evocative, of also at times gimmicky, framings of the gorgeous western countryside. The palette is occasionally toyed with, but overall things like flesh tones look accurate and are vividly suffused. Fine detail is often exceptional in close-ups, offering great looks at the crags of Meaney's expressive face as Durant or, later, some of the horrific injuries visited on Common's Elam. Depth of field is generally excellent in the wide shots capturing the vastness of the outdoor spaces, but some of the CGI and special effects work can look soft, at least in comparison to the bulk of this often impressively sharp looking presentation. Once again, the directors and cinematographers play with angles and POV shots, including little moments like perspective from a newspaper's "point of view" as it's being prepared on an old time printing press.
Hell on Wheels: The Complete Fourth Season features a nicely expressive DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix, one which utilizes the surrounds quite effectively for both source cues and well placed ambient environmental sounds. Redolent effects like the whoosh of steam escaping from a locomotive engine can gently pan through the channels, creating an instant sense of aural space. Dialogue is cleanly presented and well prioritized. Fidelity remains top notch throughout the season, and dynamic range is very wide. There is also a DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 option on this season for those who don't have a home theater system supporting surround sound.
Cullen Bohannon continues to be one of the more riveting characters driving a historical drama, and while some of the traumas facing him and other characters this season verge on the florid and soap operatic, the series continues to provide well scripted episodes which neatly develop characters in often somewhat unexpected ways. There are great little turns by the rather large cast here, with supporting players like Phil Burke as Mickey McGinnes really given a chance to shine in some unusual ways. If Hell on Wheels hews to the actual historical record, the series should be reaching its endgame starting with the fifth season, and the writers have carefully established several longer arcs which seem to be about to collide in calamitous fashion. Technical merits are very strong on this release, and Hell on Wheels: The Complete Fourth Season comes Recommended.
2011-2012
2012
2013
with Character Cards
2013
2015
2015
2014
1939
Per un Pugno di Dollari
1964
1966
2015
1971
1950
1972
Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo
1966
1930
1965
C'era una volta il West / Paramount Presents #44
1968
2014
1962
1956
1969
2001
1976
2010
50th Anniversary
1961