The Strain: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie

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The Strain: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie United States

Premium Collector's Edition
20th Century Fox | 2014 | 596 min | Rated TV-MA | Jun 09, 2015

The Strain: The Complete First Season (Blu-ray Movie), temporary cover art

Price

List price: $52.99
Third party: $44.41 (Save 16%)
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Buy The Strain: The Complete First Season on Blu-ray Movie

Movie rating

7.4
 / 10

Blu-ray rating

Users0.0 of 50.0
Reviewer4.0 of 54.0
Overall4.0 of 54.0

Overview

The Strain: The Complete First Season (2014)

Dr. Ephraim "Eph" Goodweather, the gifted head of the Center for Disease Control's canary team in New York City, and his team are called upon to investigate a mysterious, rapidly-spreading virus reminiscent of an ancient and evil strain of vampirism. As the strain spreads, Eph, his team, an enigmatic Holocaust survivor, and an assembly of regular people wage a desperate war for the fate of humanity itself.

Starring: Corey Stoll, David Bradley (IV), Kevin Durand, Richard Sammel, Jack Kesy
Narrator: Lance Henriksen
Director: Phil Abraham, Peter Weller, Guillermo del Toro, David Semel, Guy Ferland

Horror100%
ThrillerInsignificant
Sci-FiInsignificant
DramaInsignificant

Specifications

  • Video

    Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
    Video resolution: 1080p
    Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
    Original aspect ratio: 1.78:1

  • Audio

    English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
    French: DTS 5.1
    German: DTS 5.1
    Japanese: DTS 5.1
    Spanish: Dolby Digital 5.1 (448 kbps)
    All DTS tracks are 768kbps/24bit. Japanese is hidden.

  • Subtitles

    English SDH, French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Dutch

  • Discs

    50GB Blu-ray Disc
    Three-disc set (3 BDs)

  • Playback

    Region free 

Review

Rating summary

Movie3.5 of 53.5
Video4.5 of 54.5
Audio4.5 of 54.5
Extras4.0 of 54.0
Overall4.0 of 54.0

The Strain: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman June 17, 2015

There may be a bit of an ongoing debate about the future of physical media, but physical media with swag—well, that seems to be here to stay. Barely six months after The Strain: The Complete First Season hit retail shelves as a standalone Blu-ray release, 20th Century Fox is back (from the undead?) with another release of this series sprung at least partially from the fervid imagination of Guillermo del Toro. This time there’s a deluxe box (7.5” wide x 6” deep x almost 9” high) which houses an equally deluxe bust of the series' nefarious villain, The Master, on a dais of sorts with a compartment in the back containing the Blu-ray keepcase (see the pictures accompanying this review). In what will be either better or worse news for collectors (dependent upon how one feels about “double dipping”), Fox has included new supplements on this release, perhaps adding to the allure of the overall package.


For my thoughts on the series, please see our original The Strain: The Complete First Season Blu-ray review.


The Strain: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality  4.5 of 5

Video quality, including screenshots, is assessed in our original review, linked above.


The Strain: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality  4.5 of 5

Audio quality is assessed in our original review, linked above.


The Strain: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras  4.0 of 5

As mentioned above, this new Premium Edition contains new supplements in addition to porting over the previously released bonus content. New supplements are identified with an asterisk (*) below.

Disc One:

  • In the Beginning (1080p; 14:11) gives an overview of some of the show's major plot components and characters, and includes interviews with many of the principal cast and crew.

  • Audio Commentary on "Night Zero" by Guillermo del Toro*

  • Deleted Scenes* (1080p; 6:58)
Disc Two:
  • A Novel Approach (1080p; 9:38) features Guillermo del Toro discussing some of the inspirations for the original book version of The Strain.

  • Deleted Scenes* (1080p; 6:03)
Disc Three:
  • Setrakian's Lair (1080p; 9:47) presents David Bradley, who plays Setrakian, providing a tour of the "Batcave" like lair of the character.

  • Audio Commentary on "The Master" by Carlton Cuse*

  • Deleted Scenes* (1080p; 11:33)

  • Gag Reel* (1080p; 2:59)

  • FX Teasers: The Strain Season One* (1080p; 2:11)

  • He is Here* (1080p; 9:22) profiles The Master.


The Strain: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation  4.0 of 5

As this review goes live there's only about a $10 difference between the first, standalone Blu-ray release of the first season of The Strain and this new "premium edition." That would seem to make this newer version the obvious choice for anyone who hasn't yet picked up the series and who has an interest in doing so. Those who did spring for the first release will have to decide whether a box, bust and some new supplements are worth the price of admission. One way or the other, The Strain comes Recommended.