8.6 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
It's been nearly a year since Will's strange disappearance. But life's hardly back to normal in Hawkins. Not even close.
Starring: Winona Ryder, David Harbour, Finn Wolfhard, Millie Bobby Brown, Gaten MatarazzoHorror | 100% |
Fantasy | 95% |
Supernatural | 66% |
Sci-Fi | 66% |
Teen | 56% |
Period | Insignificant |
Drama | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Thriller | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 2.00:1
Original aspect ratio: 2.00:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (640 kbps)
English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Six-disc set (3 BDs, 3 DVDs)
DVD copy
Region free
Movie | 5.0 | |
Video | 3.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 0.0 | |
Overall | 3.0 |
In 2016, rising industry powerhouse Netflix released Stranger Things, a Mystery/Sci-Fi period show that earned immediate, and overwhelming, critical and audience acclaim. The story of four preteen friends in a sleepy 1980s Indiana town, the frightening mysteries they uncover, and the new friends they make quickly became the the most talked-about show of the year and almost overnight became a popular culture icon and part of the modern lexicon. Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, themselves children of the 1980s, Stranger Things has now completed two full seasons with a third season scheduled to release in the coming months. Netflix has once again partnered with Target on a store-exclusive Blu-ray release alongside a companion UHD, this time released simultaneously with the Blu-ray rather than mysteriously appearing on shelves just weeks after that season's Blu-ray release, itself kept under tight wraps at the time. Both sets are, like the matching season one releases, problematic in several areas but are home to what is unquestionably about 7.5 hours of the best television of the year.
Stranger Things' first season was of near reference quality on Blu-ray, but such is not the case with the season two release. The opening
Pittsburgh sequence, a nighttime car case, features some heavy noise which is just the first of many, albeit often isolated, trouble points. Viewers will
spot some macroblcking in places, insignificant for the most part but very clearly visible as it appears, particularly in lower light situations. Some shots
at the beginning of episode two are a good example. Black levels are sometimes prone to appearing a little too flat and bright, again evident in the first
six minutes of episode two. There's a noisy and purple push at the beginning of episode four. Banding is an issue in places. It can be heavy at times,
with some of the most prominent struggles coming in the penultimate episode in the darkness that defines much of the first 15 minutes. These issues
are not isolated to the timestamps above but are rather semi-common occurrences throughout the season.
On the plus side, the digitally photographed 1080p image boasts ridiculously high levels of detailing. Facial textures are extremely crisp and intimately
defined, whether considering Sheriff Hopper's beard, Max's freckles, or Steve's hair. Period clothes are likewise complex, and effortlessly so.
Environmental detailing is striking, even in low light around the
bowels of the Hawkins National Laboratory or inside Hopper's rustic, away-from-it-all cabin that is decorated with variously clear and well defined
accents but dominated by the dusty, character-infused woods that hold it together. Colors are bright and accurate in daylight and hold serve at
nighttime and in low light. Highlights include red and orange glowing space heaters pushing beyond their limits near the season's end and period attire
seen in well lit school hallways and exteriors. The digital image occasionally passes for film in terms of depth and textural intimacy, but the season is
littered with some fairly significant source and encode eyesores that detract from the otherwise excellent presentation.
Stranger Things 2 features a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack which actually carries over to the UHD this time. The Blu-ray's lossless presentation is largely terrific. The show's synth/electronic score features prominently throughout the season, of course, and notably over the opening titles. It's often accompanied by extreme surround saturation which sometimes (early on in particular) overpowers surrounding elements, including dialogue. There is also some deliberate distortion to some of the score which adds to a retro feel that's not ever-present but that does punctuate some key moments. The track is also comprised of various 80s Pop and Rock tunes that don't miss a beat and deliver energetic guitar riffs, Rock You Like a Hurricane being a terrific example. The track folds in various, and high quality, discrete effects, from more mundane details like rustling corn stalks in episode one to buzzing flies in a few scenes around the mysteriously rotted pumpkin patches. Open, airy dialogue in chapter three of episode six also creates a sense of sonic expanse within the listening area. More prominent effects like swirling thunder and electrical storm type sounds when Will experiences his visions of the Upside Down engulf the listener in the frights and madness of each occurrence. Gunshots engage from around the listener in the opening minutes of the seasons' penultimate episode, but shots in the final minutes of the final episode want for added depth and power. A few instances of dialogue sounding a little shallow are obvious but the spoken word is generally clear, distortion-free, and well prioritized. Most shortcomings are usually infrequent and intermittent. Generally, sounds command the stage with rich clarity, wide and deep engagement, and usually a complimentary, balanced, and well defined low end accompaniment.
Stranger Things 2 contains no supplemental content, as was the case with the season one release. Disc menus do offer brief episode
synopses. DVD copies are included but no digital copy has been bundled in, which is not a surprise since the show was born and airs on a digital
service.
Michael Reuben recently coined the phrase "Stupid Disc Authoring" and that
applies to this release. A forced trailer (2:42) for Netflix's Lost in Space plays every time the first disc is inserted into the player. It's like The Terminator. There is no reasoning or bargaining with it, there is no pressing
chapter skip or fast-forward, and the top- and pop-up menu buttons do nothing to sneak past it, either. It will not stop until it's done. Netflix did the
same thing on the season one Blu-ray release with a forced trailer for Stranger Things 2, so while the studio hasn't learned to make trailers
skippable like most others, there's at least no unforgivable forced spoiling of the next season this time around.
The packaging is very cool, at least on the surface. Rather than the cardboard slip for season one that housed the discs in a box disguised as a (very
large) VHS tape, season
two ships in a hard clamshell case that feels much better in the hand and more closely replicates a true video store rental box from back in the day.
This review is not going to get into packaging specifics beyond to say that opening the case reveals a pocket on the left that houses five photos of cast
and crew while on the right is a liftable VHS-looking flap (rewind it!) underneath of which are the six discs. They are clumsily housed on flaps and on
foamy hubs, which don't hold the discs very securely. Good luck navigating to the DVDs; it requires a good bit of dexterity to hold open various flaps
and keep discs from sliding off of the nearly nonfunctional hubs.
Stranger Things 2 ends with a final shot that could be tricky for season three to navigate if only because there's more than one direction the show could take, including recycling main storylines from season two. But the Duffer Brothers have yet to disappoint audiences, and the smart money is on season three living up to the standards of narrative construction, agreeable character growth, thrills, chills, and heartache that have driven the first two. Netflix's three-disc Blu-ray set for Stranger Things 2 delivers flawed, but very watchable, video. It includes a high quality 5.1 channel lossless soundtrack but contains no supplemental content. Packaging is very good and more attractive than the season one retro VHS style, at least on the surface. Seasons one and two don't match in terms of construction but they do match in size, at least. Very highly recommended, but hopefully Netflix gets its act together for season three: BD video more in line with season one, matching exterior packaging, more manageable and secure interior disc management, extras, and no forced trailers. A show this good shouldn't have so much going on around the periphery, and Netflix definitely should have learned from season one. At least BD and UHD released on the same day and the UHD has HDR and lossless audio.
Collector's Edition
2016
Collector's Edition
2016
Collector's Edition
2017
2019
1990-2000
1969-1971
2019
Alternate Cut
2011
1964-1965
2013
2002
25th Anniversary
1999
2015
Låt den rätte komma in
2008
1959
1956
2011-2017
1935
Import
2018
1957
Behemoth the Sea Monster / Warner Archive Collection
1959
1989
1996