How to Make It in America: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

How to Make It in America: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Gone... and forgotten.

How to Make It in America made it just two seasons, which isn't as much of an accomplishment as it might sound, even in this day and age of quick network-cuts and knee-jerk cancellations. HBO has always been slow on the draw, so when a show disappears so soon, it speaks volumes. Blame critical ambivalence, blame low ratings, blame creator Ian Edelman's inability to transform the fledgling series into essential TV... or just blame the show itself. Much as I wanted to give How to Make It a fair shot, much as I tried to overlook its flaws, much as I worked to ignore its fumbled premise, I came away from each episode feeling a distinct and total apathy. I just didn't care, and nothing -- not Bryan Greenberg or Victor Rasuk's turn as two upstart twenty-something hustlers try to make it big in New York fashion, not the pulse or rhythm of the city (easily Edelman's greatest passion and asset), not even Luis Guzman as a tough-talking ex-con with dreams of his own -- seemed capable of changing that. And without a Season Two Bu-ray release on the schedule, without any hope of a new season, there's really little left to do other than dig through The Complete First Season's video presentation, lossless audio track and extras...

How to Make It in America: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

How to Make It in America's first season makes a strong impression thanks to a determined, by-the-bootstraps 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation that doesn't deviate from the showrunners' intentions. Softness invades, but only insofar as the original photography allows; colors wane, but only when DP Tim Ives pushes or pulls his palette; black levels are inconsistent, but only as the source dictates. Otherwise, fine detailing is quite striking, with plenty of refined edges, crisp, clean closeups, and nicely resolved textures to go around. Grain-like noise spikes on occasion -- albeit rarely at the expense of clarity -- but artifacting, banding and aliasing don't bother to make any scene-stealing appearances. All the while, Ives' asphalt-bleached visuals are loaded with flashy Times Square primaries, Upper East Side mahoganies and oranges, wintry city skintones, Central Park greens, back alley grays and satisfying shadows. Contrast is pleasing and consistent as well, and the encode doesn't falter, even when night falls and the boys decide to party until the wee hours of the morning. The show itself isn't the most stunning series on television but, once again, HBO delivers on Blu.

How to Make It in America: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

HBO's tough, tenacious DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track doesn't miss many opportunities either. Dialogue is clean and grounded, even when Ben and Cam are making their way through the busy NYC streets, and passing yellow cabs, chatty passersby, blaring horns, hissing steam and clinking bottles roll past seamlessly. Rear speaker activity drops the listener square in the middle of New York's fashion scene, even if apartments and offices are decidedly less immersive than the city itself. LFE output is decent; a bit weak-willed, but decent enough to commit its full attention to the series' soundtrack when, otherwise, there really isn't that much to do. It all comes together nicely, though, in an Entourage sort of way, and it makes it that much easier to sink into each episode. A few front-heavy scenes spoil things a bit, sure, but that's just nitpicking. Fans of the show will be pleased.

How to Make It in America: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Audio Commentaries: Eight commentaries are available for four episodes -- "Pilot" with Bryan Greenberg, Victor Rasuk and Lake Bell; "Pilot" with creator/executive producer Ian Edelman and executive producers Rob Weiss and Julian Farino; "Unhappy Birthday" with Greenberg, Rasuk and Bell; "Unhappy Birthday" with Edelman, Weiss and Farino; "Big in Japan" with Greenberg, Rasuk, Bell and Luis Guzman; "Big in Japan" with Edelman, Weiss and Farino; "Never Say Die" with Greenberg, Rasuk, Bell and Guzman; and "Never Say Die" with Edelman, Weiss and Farino.
• The Get By: Making it on the Streets of NYC (HD, 19 minutes): "Everything is a hustle. Life is a hustle." Meet the skateboarders of New York, learn about NYC's denizens and deviants, watch the impassioned skaters take their boards to every inch of the city, and listen to them gripe, reminisce and wax poetic about their stomping grounds.
• The Legend of Wilfredo Gomez (HD, 10 minutes): "He's the guy. He's the dude. Legendary dude, but no one really sees him. Just talks about him all the time." More professional skaters sit down to talk about squirrelly skateboarding legend Wilfredo Gomez, apparently the "cool" in "what's cool" in New York City.
• Hustle Stories (HD, 24 minutes): Members of the cast and crew -- on-set photographer Boogie, designer John Varvatos, Jean Shop co-owner Eric Goldstein, hip hop recording artist Scott "Kid" Mescudi, costume designer Stacey Battat, artist Lee Quinones, and actors Bryan Greenberg, Victor Rasuk, Eddie Kaye Thomas, Lake Bell, Luis Guzman, and Shannyn Sossamon -- discuss the series.
• Deleted Scenes (HD, 6 minutes): A small collection of deleted scenes round out the package.

How to Make It in America: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Is The Complete First Season a sound investment? Not in my estimation. Undeterred fans of the series either already have this 2-disc set in their collections or on their wish lists, casual fans are either waiting for a price drop or so disheartened by the show's cancellation that owning Season One is a wash, and newcomers will be faced with the age-old debate: sink money into a dead series or shift that cash elsewhere. My advice? Take advantage of HBO GO (if you have access), rent the first season, or skip it altogether. Those who do pick up The Complete First Season, though, will at least be rewarded with a strong video presentation, an able-bodied DTS-HD Master Audio track, and a generous assortment of extras, so that's certainly a plus.