Prison Break: Season Four Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		3.5
Overall		4.0

Prison Break: Season Four Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman July 18, 2017

As I discussed in our Prison Break (Event Series) Blu-ray review, and as my colleague Martin Liebman mentioned in his Prison Break: Season Three Blu-ray review, 20th Century Fox’s home video relationship with this series has been a kind of on again, off again affair, where Blu-ray releases of various seasons have appeared in a somewhat haphazard fashion. The good news at least is that all current seasons of this series are now available, something that fans of other Fox series like The Strain: The Complete First Season or The Bridge: The Complete First Season may be eyeing with a certain amount of envy. That said, having watched and reviewed the so-called Event Series before this fourth and ostensible “last” season of Prison Break (which it in fact was for several years before the Event Series was hatched), makes some of the supposedly earth shattering events of the fourth season seem either overly contrived or in some cases kind of ridiculous, given what ends up happening the Event Series. When seen “appropriately” chronologically, though, shorn of some of the subsequent developments in the Event Series, this fourth season of Prison Break is often incredibly exciting, and (again willfully divorced from some revelations that accrue in the Event Series) will probably be unexpectedly moving for some longtime fans.

The same kind of quasi-Homeland quality that I mentioned was so prevalent in the Event Series is certainly on hand in this fourth season of Prison Break, with an almost baffling array of counterintelligence activities, and a resultant lack of the series’ supposed titular focus. Prison Break’s pretty labyrinthine conspiracy theories, ones that could give even The X-Files a run for its money, spill into this season in a number of patently outlandish but still adrenaline pumping ways, as both Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) and Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) have to wend their way through the precarious environment of The Company. The Homeland resemblance is probably only increased by the fact that this season also includes references to actual Homeland Security, as some supposedly secret Company archives become the object of pursuit.

There are elements of caper shows like Leverage and even The A-Team at play in this season of Prison Break, this time divorced from any strategies to break folks out of stir. Instead a DHS Agent named Donald Self (Michael Rappaport) enters the story and in fact is arguably the most central character for at least the first half of the season. Self is obsessed with bringing down The Company and it’s revealed he has a longstanding relationship with the Burrows-Scofield family. With a promise of being completely cleared should a secret Company database be purloined, Michael and Lincoln join Self in his quest. The fact that Rappaport was chosen to play this focal character may be a clue that not is all as it seems, and in fact there a number of revelations about both Self and those vying for access to the Company data trove that provide a couple of shocks along the way.

Perhaps because Self seems to overpower the story, at least in the early going, the relationship between Michael and Lincoln almost takes a back seat this season, something that may deprive the supposed “finale” of some of its intended emotional resonance. The show functions best this year when it’s solidly in action-adventure mode, something that is commendably consistent throughout the season, albeit with some perhaps needlessly convoluted intrigue along the way. While it’s kind of moot given the developments in Prison Break (Event Series), it’s interesting to note how some late revelations about at least one central character are doled out almost discursively, something that actually makes their appearance perhaps more of a shock. As with previous seasons of the show, there are probably a few too many ludicrous coincidences to sit easily with some viewers, but the series regularly exploits a breakneck pace and some exciting set pieces which help to keep the adrenaline pumping at a steady pace.

Prison Break: Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Prison Break: Season Four is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The IMDb lists both 35mm and digital capture having been utilized on the series, without clarifying where, but that may account for what is at times a pretty heterogeneous looking production. A lot of sequences, especially flashbacks, tend to be tweaked pretty radically, with an often "distressed" look with a blanched palette and pretty heavy grain, while other moments have a much more naturalistic and sleek "traditional HD" appearance. One thing that binge watching this season made apparent is how often the various directors of episodes like to shoot through interstitial elements, as if to convey the viewers themselves are engaged in spying, peeking at characters from various vantage points. That conceit tends to perhaps intentionally tamp down fine detail levels at times, simply because there's something in the way of seeing what is supposed to be the focal object. Some of the outdoor locations this season provide vast vistas that offer great depth of field and a naturalistic and appealing palette. In brightly lit environments, fine detail is also typically excellent, making little items like a couple of hairs that stick out of William Fichtner's forehead readily observable. I'd rate this season as just slightly softer looking at times than the Event Series, and so while I'm officially scoring this at the same 4.5 I gave that release, it might be more at the 4.25 level.

Prison Break: Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Prison Break: Season Four features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track which is much in line with what Marty described in his Prison Break: Season Three Blu-ray review. While I didn't hear any outright prioritization issues like Marty describes, there is certainly a glut of overpowering effects in many (maybe even most) of the episodes of this season. From gunfire to hand to hand combat to more explosive situations, various episodes offer a regular supply of discrete channelization and some pretty powerful LFE. This season is perhaps just a tad less intense in terms of nonstop set pieces than Season Three, and as such tends to rely more on expository dialogue scenes, all of which are offered with excellent fidelity. The series continues to exploit the surround channels quite winningly, even while tending to keep most dialogue anchored front and center. Fidelity is top notch and dynamic range extremely wide on this problem free track.

Prison Break: Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Disc One

• Commentary for Scylla & Breaking and Entering by Zack Estrin, Kevin Hooks, Matt Olmstead, Nick Santora and Karyn Usher

Disc Two

• Commentary for Blow Out by Seth Hoffman, Graham Roland, Christian Trokey and Kalinda Vazquez

Disc Three

• Commentary for Greatness Achieved by Seth Hoffman, Nick Santora, Christian Trokey and Agatha Warren


• Commentary for Quiet Riot by Seth Hoffman, Nick Santora, Karyn Usher, Kalinda Vazquez and Nick Wootton

Disc Four

• Commentary for Just Business by William Fichtner, Mark Helfrich, Matt Olmstead and Graham Roland


• Commentary for Going Under by Zack Estrin, Matt Olmstead, Dawn Olmstead and Karyn Usher


• Commentary for The Sunshine State by Seth Hoffman, Kevin Hooks, Matt Olmstead and Nick Wootton

Disc Five

• Commentary for S.O.B. by Garry A. Brown, Dominic Purcell, Karyn Usher and Kalinda Vazquez


• Commentary for Cowboys and Indians by Zack Estrin, Nick Santora, Agatha Warren and Nick Wootton

Disc Six

• Fade Out: The Final Episode (480i; 11:48) seems a little outdated, now with the Event Series' developments.


• The Plan, the Execution and the Bullet (480i; 11:04) looks at the filming of a sequence.


• Director's World (480i; 12:56) spotlights Kevin Hooks while detailing how certain scenes were shot.

Prison Break: Season Four Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Kind of interestingly, as I was writing the review for this season I received promotional email from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment detailing upcoming DVD releases of various Fox series which have had at least one previous Blu-ray release for a prior season. These include such popular shows as Modern Family, Empire and Sleepy Hollow (even current "it" series is slated for only a DVD release according to this same press release). This suggests that Fox is simply not invested (literally or figuratively) in consistent Blu-ray releases for its series, something that may well disappoint some fans, especially if they've already invested in some seasons of their favorite show which were released on Blu-ray. The fact that all of Prison Break is now available on Blu-ray should therefore be applauded by aficionados of this somewhat over convoluted but still often exciting series. While the Event Series puts the lie to some of what is supposedly detailed in this "final" season, the fourth year of Prison Break continues the series' winning combination of conspiracy fueled action and intrigue. Technical merits are strong, and this season boasts a number of interesting commentaries along with a few featurettes. Recommended.