8.5 | / 10 |
Users | 4.8 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.3 |
Sons of Anarchy, a dark drama set in Charming, a sheltered community watched over by a renegade motorcycle club intent on protecting the town from the newcomers that threaten it. Jackson "Jax" Teller is one member of the brotherhood, who finds his own loyalty to the group tested when he experiences its increasing lawlessness and notoriety, while at the same time adjusting to life as a father. But confusing matters are Jax's mother and stepfather, two ruthless individuals who happen to be the masterminds behind the club.
Starring: Charlie Hunnam, Mark Boone Junior, Katey Sagal, Kim Coates, Tommy FlanaganCrime | 100% |
Thriller | 65% |
Drama | 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
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1
English SDH, French, Spanish
50GB Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
Region free
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
Adapting a Shakespearean masterpiece for a modern audience is a perilous prospect; a prospect typically associated with pretentious ideas, misguided execution, and unwarranted alterations to the adaptation's source. So, as you might imagine, when I first learned that FX's latest hyper-violent, boundary-pushing television series, Sons of Anarchy, was loosely based on Shakespeare's "Hamlet" (with a pinch of "Macbeth" tossed in for good measure) I was quite skeptical. Mortified even. Name-dropping a literature classic can be relatively harmless, but when a creator attempts to weave their own plot and characters into the fabric of that same classic, the results tend to either be utterly brilliant or, as is most often the case, completely foolish. To my relief, Anarchy merely samples Shakespeare's Elizabethan heavyweight, drawing upon its betrayals and family sins, but forging a path all its own; a path soaked in blood, oil, and the rough-n-tumble law of the open road.
Love it or hate it, you have to admit the series boasts a talented ensemble cast...
Sons of Anarchy: Season One features a faithful 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that renders the sun-bleached streets and shadowy bars of Charming with meticulous care. Colors are rich and lively (gorgeous reds ooze off the screen), blacks are deep and well resolved, and contrast is bright and bold. While a fine veneer of grain spikes and lulls as it sees fit, detail remains sharp and refined, offering an endless assortment of crisp textures, clean edges, and wonderfully delineated backgrounds. Likewise, even though noise permeates the darkest skies, the technical transfer isn't plagued by significant artifacting, aliasing, noise reduction, or distracting edge enhancement. Minor halos still pop up from time to time, but crush is one of the only lingering issues that detract from the overall presentation. My only other major complaint? Skintones, while frequently warm and natural, are sometimes flushed, leaving a few actors looking as if they've come in from a jog when, in actuality, they're doing little more than sitting pretty in the shade of Morrow's shop. Thankfully, it isn't a persistent problem, and only caught my attention on a handful of occasions.
All things considered, Sons of Anarchy looks great, bests the DVD version by leaps and bounds, and should satisfy everyone but the most stringent grainophobes.
With a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that drops a legion of full-throttled Harleys into your home theater, Sons of Anarchy stands apart from the usual television fare, delivering powerful, at-times stunning effects, crystal clear dialogue, and an immersive soundfield. LFE output is quite staggering, boasting enough low-frequency oomph to challenge a Hollywood blockbuster, all while adding subtle weight to voices and other more subdued elements of the soundscape. Likewise, the rear speaker are lively and aggressive, yet still take every opportunity to enhance the acoustics of a tiny office or the wet splatter of blood against a nearby wall. Prioritization is spot on as well, directionality is accurate, and pans -- whether transporting a speeding bullet across the soundfield, hurling a table across a bar, or simply allowing the Sons' bikes to roar by the listener -- are smooth and believable. Some lines of dialogue occasionally get lost in the shuffle during action-oriented scenes, but I suspect the buried bits of conversation are meant to intentionally increase the tension of such sequences, and aren't the result of some nefarious technical issue. All in all, fans, newcomers, and audiophiles alike will sit up and take notice when Sons of Anarchy's convincing sonics graces their ears.
The Blu-ray edition of Sons of Anarchy: Season One mirrors its DVD counterpart, offering three audio commentaries, a decent helping of deleted scenes, and an assortment of solid production featurettes. The material isn't mind-blowing, and certainly won't make you reevaluate the series, but it's fun to watch the actors, particularly those who play the show's less savory killers, wax poetic about their characters and the various storylines that populate the first season.
What begins as a contrived, somewhat unwieldy gimmick quickly becomes a taut, suspenseful ensemble drama that delivers the goods (particularly in its last five or six episodes), and promises to deliver even more over the course of its upcoming second season. While it doesn't boast the nuanced intricacies of The Sopranos or the riveting characters and gut-check intensity of The Shield (at least not yet), TV junkies and FX fans will feel right at home in the not-so-charming town of Charming, California. Luckily, anyone who picks up the Blu-ray edition of Season One is in for an excellent release. With a faithful video transfer, a rousing DTS-HD Master Audio track, and a generous collection of special features, this 3-disc set is worth some serious consideration. I wouldn't recommend a blind buy -- not without sampling a few episodes first -- but I have a feeling most people, at least those armed with appropriate expectations, will thoroughly enjoy this sick-n-slick television release.
2009
2010
2011
Bonus Disc
2011
2012
2013
Blu-ray + Beanie
2013
with Digital Comic Book
2013
2014
Exclusive Slipcover
2014
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2015
1997
1990
2011
2014
2007
2013
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2016
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2019
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Theatrical Edition
1997
2015
1996