7.9 | / 10 |
Users | 4.5 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
"Little House On the Prairie" debuted on NBC on September 11th, 1974. Based on the best selling books by Laura Ingalls Wilder, this classic television series was nominated for 17 Emmy Awards(R) and 3 Golden Globes(R). This dramatic and gripping story of a young pioneer family's struggle to build a new life for themselves on the American Frontier of the 1870's, captured the hearts of viewers around the world. Contains all 23 Season 1 Episodes plus the pilot movie.
Starring: Michael Landon, Karen Grassle, Melissa Gilbert (I), Melissa Sue Anderson, Lindsay GreenbushFamily | 100% |
Romance | 39% |
Western | 18% |
Drama | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.36:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.33:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0
French: Dolby Digital 2.0
Spanish: Dolby Digital 2.0
English SDH
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Five-disc set (5 BDs)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Michael Landon was attempting to swim upstream through several simultaneous torrents when he launched Little House on the Prairie in 1974. Like many actors who yearn for success and then find themselves trapped by it, Landon had just ended a fourteen year run on Bonanza and was indelibly linked with the role of Little Joe Cartwright. Just as importantly, the western genre seemed to be on its last remaining breaths on television, as evidenced by the cancellation of the stalwart Bonanza itself. The perennial Gunsmoke had seen its popularity decline precipitously, to the point where it had come perilously close to being canceled in 1967. And other popular westerns like The Virginian had, like Bonanza, recently bitten the dust after long runs. Lastly, as odd as it may sound to those who grew up with television’s Little House on the Prairie or who have come to love it in its innumerable syndicated broadcasts, Laura Ingalls Wilder’s source novels, while popular with the young reading set, were certainly not in the “phenomenon” league of today’s blockbuster franchises like Harry Potter. And yet there were some encouraging signs for the nascent series, including the unexpected success of CBS’ The Waltons, a homespun series based on Earl Hamner, Jr.’s reminiscences and which featured a kind of modern day pioneer spirit running rampant in its titular family who lived in rural Virginia in the mid-20th century. The Waltons was in fact the second most popular series on television during the 1973-74 season, which would have been when Landon and NBC’s Ed Friendly were no doubt considering how they could adapt Wilder’s works for the small screen. There’s a very Waltons-esque ambience running through much of Little House on the Prairie, with an emphasis on family pulling together to overcome any hardships. Perhaps surprisingly, Landon creates a sometimes brusque character with his Charles Ingalls, a notably at least occasionally "anti-Little Joe" who is a somewhat obsessed husband and father who takes his family westward in order to make a new life, first in Kansas (for the pilot) and then for the bulk of the series in Minnesota.
Little House on the Prairie: Season One and the Pilot Movie is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films and NBC Universal Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.36:1. This release is being touted as completely restored and remastered, and for the most part fans of the series will be more than pleased with the results, especially when compared to previous home video releases. First of all, this release presents unedited versions of the pilot and all of the first season's 24 episodes. Colors are noticeably more vivid now, nicely saturated and accurate looking. It appears to me that contrast has been just slightly boosted at times, something that tends to make shadows loom a bit more in darker interior scenes. It also appears that some moderate denoising has been applied here, but grain is still apparent, especially in bright outdoor scenes where things like a shining blue sky show a natural if perhaps slightly diminished grain field (see screenshots 2 and 6 for good examples). There's noticeably even more grain apparent in the optically printed credits sequences and things like dissolves, as should be expected. There is some very minor warping in the opening credits sequence, but otherwise the image is very stable and sharp looking.
Little House on the Prairie: Season One and the Pilot Movie features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono mix
that nicely recreates the somewhat unambitious sound design of the original series. David Rose's sweeping score sounds
just fine, and dialogue is always presented very clearly. Some nice sound effects—like the increasingly menacing Native
American drumming in the pilot—have actually surprising acuity and depth here.
Update: Several of our astute members have reported, and I can confirm, that DIsc 4's episode "Family Quarrel"
actually repeats subtitles from the previous episode "Christmas at Plum Creek".
I've seen a few isolated episodes of Little House on the Prairie through the years, but I wouldn't go so far as to say it's ever been a particular favorite of mine. I was therefore rather pleasantly surprised with how well done the series is once I settled down and watched the entire first season along with the pilot movie. Landon obviously knew exactly what he wanted to do with this series, and Little House's depiction of a strong family unit withstanding every challenge that comes their way is an often moving account of the sturdy pioneer spirit that helped to forge our nation. The series is very well shot and often unexpectedly well written. If it occasionally lapses into cliché and a few too many false threats, that's a small price to be paid for such an overall heartwarming experience. This new Blu-ray set has generally great looking video and sounding audio and comes Recommended.
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1975-1976
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1976-1977
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1977-1978
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1978-1979
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1979-1980
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1980-1981
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1981-1982
Deluxe Remastered Edition
1982-1983
2008
1991
55th Anniversary Edition
1960
2014
1993
1982
1987
1994
2005
2002
1991
Standard Edition
1994
1955
Koneko monogatari
1986
The Man from Snowy River II
1988
1957
2005
1993
2017
2018