8.4 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
A relationship blossoms between Princess Diana and Dodi Fayed before a fateful car journey has devastating consequences. Prince William tries to integrate back into life at Eton in the wake of his mother?s death as the monarchy must ride the wave of public opinion. As she reaches her Golden Jubilee, the Queen reflects on the future of the monarchy with the marriage of Charles and Camilla and the beginnings of a new Royal fairytale in William and Kate
Starring: Claire Foy, Matt Smith, Vanessa Kirby, John Lithgow, Jeremy NorthamBiography | 100% |
History | 95% |
Romance | 23% |
Foreign | Insignificant |
Drama | 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
French: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, French
Blu-ray Disc
Four-disc set (4 BDs)
Region A (B, C untested)
Movie | 3.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Why the royals? What's the fascination? For as long as I can remember, England's figureheads have been a source of whispers, conversation, speculation and rumors. Even across the pond, in the good ol' US of A, the royal family has been a mystery that's drawn attention the likes of which most celebrities dream of. The ultimate tabloid fodder, the late Queen and her ilk are an enigma; one we feel we must solve, or perhaps just understand. But really, we just want to know. To see the curtain pulled back. To peek inside. To see in rooms that have been tightly shut to the public for centuries. And it works. At least for The Crown. But what happens when a series based on glimpses into the unknown lives of the royals crashes head-on into the world we live in today? Where secrets are a luxury even the princes and princesses of the UK have been unable to hold onto? What happens when The Crown approaches the age of the internet, of the peering eye that makes it infinitely more difficult to hide anything? And what happens when that series, creeping and crawling towards its endgame, goes soft; loses its nerve and falls a bit too head over heels for its subjects? The Crown's sixth season answers those questions, but the answers are rather dull and saccharine; a shame considering how riveting its soap opera trappings were in the beginning.
Sure, you can simply stream The Crown on Netflix anytime you want. Why spend the extra cash on the series' Blu-ray releases? Because, like previous seasons, The Complete Sixth and Final Season looks far, far better via its 1080p/AVC-encoded presentation than its streaming counterpart. Gone is the macroblocking, banding and hitches that litter Netflix's stream. Here we have near perfection, without any significant encoding issues and with plenty of room on each disc for the episodes to peddle their visual wares. Colors are intentionally subdued but quite lifelike, with occasional bursts of color offering some punch. Scenes in which William meets and initially courts Kate are brimming with primary power; bold, flashy hues with which the halls of Buckingham can hardly compete. The majority of The Crown's settings are suitably subtle, to the point of antiquation. Skintones remain lifelike and black levels deep regardless of setting, and the slight sepia toning of the Queen's scenes are gorgeous, with such flawless contrast leveling that light and shadow are given full reign, lending the series' some of its finest filmic qualities. Detail is excellent too, with natural edge definition and revealing fine textures, not to mention pinpoint shadow delineation that allows the aforementioned lighting to conceal as much or as little as the cinematographers desire. A bit more of the richness in palette of the William and Harry outings would be appreciated elsewhere, particularly when it comes to sequences like Charles and Camila's wedding (which appears a tad monochromatic to my eye), but so it goes. The Crown's sixth Blu-ray release doesn't disappoint. Kudos to Sony for continuing to release shows on Blu-ray even when streaming services offer the same episodes for less. They're not the same episodes. They're lesser in quality. This is the way to watch the likes of The Crown.
The Crown's sixth season offers yet another strong DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track, even if its best traits are kept under wraps until William and Harry venture out into public. Parties, fashion shows, night clubs and other events feature plenty of low-end oomph, which the LFE channel is more than happy to throw its weight behind. The rest of the series is business as usual: quiet, light-footed sonics that offer more in the way of spatial acoustic nuance than bark and bite. The rear speakers are actually at their best when there is quote-unquote little to do, creating a convincing sense of space and place with each locale. Vast rooms sound as large as they should, while smaller quarters are intimate. Directionality is precise and involving, crafting an immersive experience that really sneaks up on you. Dialogue is perfectly prioritized and intelligible throughout, dwarfed only when its meant to, as is the case when William and Kate have their first awkward conversations next to a roaring dance floor. And the music? Whether by way of club speakers or, more typically, the series' score, there isn't a misstep. The Crown's lossless audio doesn't falter.
The Crown: The Complete Sixth and Final Season Blu-ray release is a 4-disc set with a standard case; one which holds all four discs on a single,
elongated spindle. It's not exactly the most efficient or user-friendly option, but then studios have long struggled to find a multi-disc case that pleases
everyone. There also isn't a slipcover. Strange, considering previous season releases included one. The real disappointment, though, is the extras, which
amount to a paltry three featurettes on Disc One:
The Crown's final episode is easily the best its sixth season has to offer, as the focus falls almost solely on Elizabeth II as she looks toward the future while reflecting on the past. The rest of the season is a bit of a shoulder shrug, unable to craft the scintillating drama that earned the show so much attention in its earlier seasons. But as the story approaches events we remember all too well, there's less and less of a curtain to yank back, and less and less to see that we don't already know. Stakes shrink, conflict lessens and the royals struggle to retain interest after Diana's tragic death. Thankfully Sony's Blu-ray release of the sixth season is on point. Other than the fact that there's little in the way of supplemental material, the studio's latest four-disc television release features terrific video and enveloping audio, elevating the sixth season far above its streaming counterpart.
The Platinum Edition
2016
2016
2017
2017
2019
2020
2022
(Still not reliable for this title)
1964
Special Edition
1968
2010
2017
2009
1966
2006
Limited Edition to 3000
1969
Director's Cut
2017
2015
La Reine Margot | 20th Anniversary Director's Cut
1994
2018
Choice Collection
2006
2017
Masterpiece
2015
2008
1998
2021
2015
2014