8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
A drama about one of New York's most prestigious ad agencies at the beginning of the 1960s, focusing on one of the firm's most mysterious but extremely talented ad executives, Donald Draper.
Starring: Jon Hamm, January Jones, Elisabeth Moss, Vincent Kartheiser, Christina HendricksDrama | 100% |
Period | 57% |
Dark humor | 44% |
History | 37% |
Romance | 31% |
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 SDH, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Two-disc set (2 BDs)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region free
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Ladies and gentlemen, in the grand tradition of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 — Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 and The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1 — The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part
2, we present to you now Mad Men: The Final Season, Part 1. In a perhaps craven attempt to keep the coffers full for as
long
as possible, AMC split the long running series’ “final” season into two mini-seasons of seven episodes each. It’s a marketing strategy that
probably would have made ad guru Don Draper (Jon Hamm) proud, but it can’t escape the slight whiff of bean counters in some recondite
skyscraper greedily poring over spreadsheets detailing the extra profits to be had by such a gambit. Mad Men has been filled with
fascinating arcs from its first episode, and if the show has struggled at times, giving in to what might be thought of as Douglas Sirkian
tendencies, it has been one of the more regularly well written and performed dramas on television. If the initial mysteries surrounding
Draper’s
identity have over time taken a kind of Freudian back seat, informing but not actually ultimately defining the character, Draper’s peccadilloes
and
missteps continue to provide grist for the mill as Mad Men enters its “final” year.
For those wanting to get up to speed or have a refresher course on Mad Men's story so far, click on our reviews of previous seasons
here:
Mad Men: Season One Blu-ray review
Mad Men: Season Two Blu-ray review
Mad Men: Season Three Blu-ray review
Mad Men: Season Four Blu-ray review
Mad Men: Season Five Blu-ray review
Mad Men: The Final Season, Part 1 is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The series continues to be one of the most visually appealing pieces on television, with this season's California sunniness standing in quite nicely for last year's jaunt in Hawaii. Once again colors are wildly vivid and well saturated, with detail on the frankly kitschy looking costumes (what's up with that daisy, Peggy?) popping very well throughout each episode. Contrast is generally very strong, though some scenes, like some in Don's shrouded bedroom, lack much in the way of shadow detail. Image stability is excellent and I noticed no artifacts of any note.
Mad Men's use of music continues to provide the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix with its most reliably consistent use of the surround channels, but there's good attention paid to both ambient environmental effects, whether those be in the hustle and bustle of an urban locale or simply something like a crowded boardroom, and even dialogue. Fidelity is excellent and there are no problems of any kind to address in this review.
- Time Zones with Matthew Weiner, Janie Bryant and Scott Hornbacher
- A Day's Work with Matthew Weiner, Michael Uppendahl and Jonathan Igla
- Field Trip with Matthew Weiner, Heather Jeng Bladt, Carrie Audino and Laura Schiff
- The Monolith with Matthew Weiner, Erin Levy and Dan Bishop
- The Runaways with Matthew Weiner and Chris Manley
- The Strategy with Matthew Weiner, Semi Chellas and Phil Abraham
- Waterloo with Matthew Weiner, David Carbonara and Chris Gay
Maybe it's the ennui engendered by the thought of Mad Men finally going off the air, but this season has a just slightly anemic quality at times. That said, the huge cast of characters continues to surprise with various skirmishes and denouements, and as always the show's production design is a complete knockout. Don may never figure out who he "really" is, and therefore hopes for a catharsis on the part of the show's rabid viewership may be a fool's errand, but watching him attempt to, well, "rebrand" himself still provides one of the most singular experiences in contemporary television. Once again, technical merits are very strong and this Blu-ray release laudably includes the kind of excellent supplements that fans had come to expect after the first few seasons. Highly recommended.
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First pressing in clear case
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40th Anniversary Edition
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