8.9 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 4.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
The disappearance of a young Arkansas boy and his sister in 1980 triggers vivid memories and enduring questions for retired detective Wayne Hays, who worked the case 35 years before with partner Roland West.
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Woody Harrelson, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Potts, Tory KittlesDrama | 100% |
Crime | 65% |
Psychological thriller | 54% |
Mystery | 40% |
Thriller | 3% |
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
French: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 2.0
German: DTS 5.1
Italian: DTS 5.1
Spanish: DTS 5.1
English SDH, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Dutch, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Blu-ray Disc
Three-disc set (3 BDs)
Digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A, B (C untested)
Movie | 4.0 | |
Video | 4.5 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 2.0 | |
Overall | 4.0 |
In his True Detective: The Complete First Season Blu-ray review, my colleague Ken Brown kind of interestingly wondered what direction any then potential future “seasons” of a so- called "limited series" offering like this one might take. And as I myself mentioned in my True Detective: The Complete Second Season Blu-ray review, the departure (as performers) of Matthew McConaughey and Woody Harrelson seemed to indicate the show was going the “anthology” route, and thus any perceived connective tissue between the first and second seasons was probably tenuous at best. A lot of fans found the second season of True Detective to be at least something of a letdown when compared to the first, and for that reason perhaps, writer (and in this season, director) Nic Pizzolatto probably understandably returns to a couple of tropes he explored in the first season, including an emphasis on partner policemen, as well as a rather interesting refractive approach that pits several different timelines against each other, with each giving new meaning and context to the other eras as events unfold.
True Detective: The Complete Third Season is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of HBO with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.78:1. The IMDb can be a tad confusing when listing technical credits of a show like this that utilizes different technologies over the course of its different seasons, but if I'm understanding their listing correctly, this season was captured at a native 8K by Panavision's DXL camera. The only DI data I see seems to be for season 2, so I'm not entirely positive if this was finished at 2K or 4K (any authoritative, verifiable information that anyone can pass on to me would be appreciated, and as always I will post an update to the review if such information comes to me). One way or the other, this is an invitingly detailed presentation, despite the prevalence of what I'd call wintry environments that don't offer a ton of color. While the palette is arguably on the drab and even dowdy side, detail and fine detail levels are typically excellent throughout, with elements like some of Hays' tweedy jacket fabrics looking really precise and flawlessly rendered. Interestingly, there really doesn't seem to be a consistent way the different eras have been delineated in terms of grading and the like, though several of the 1980 sequences do feature a kind of jaundiced yellow tone, something that can occasionally mask fine detail levels. I noticed no issues with compression anomalies.
True Detective: The Complete Third Season features a workmanlike DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that does offer some decent surround activity in some of the outdoor material, where ambient environmental sounds frequently spill into the side and rear channels. A lot of this season is given over to rather long dialogue sequences, though, and as such immersive qualities can be at least relatively limited. Fidelity is fine throughout the presentation, and there are no problems with distortion, dropouts or other damage.
Disc One
- Episode 5 Scene #10 (1080p; 00:49)
- Episode 5 Scene #13 (1080p; 2:18)
- Episode 5 Scene #22 (1080p; 2:02)
- Episode 6 Scene #8 (1080p; 00:42)
- Episode 7 Scene #1 (1080p; 5:15)
- Episode 7 Scene #6 (1080p; 3:43)
- Episode 8 Scene #18 (1080p; 6:47)
- Episode 8 Scene #73/74 (1080p; 5:14)
This third season of True Detective probably intentionally harkens back to some elements that worked especially well in the series' first, acclaimed season. Ali is hugely compelling as a character seen over the course of several decades, but even the visceral qualities he brings to his portrayal of Wayne Hays can't completely obfuscate the fact that the mystery at the center of this piece has a somewhat hackneyed feel to it. The cast is filled with some impressive supporting performances, though, and my hunch is those who really liked the first season of True Detective but who weren't quite as enthusiastic about the second season may well feel that this year is at least a halting return to form. Technical merits are solid, and True Detective: The Complete Third Season comes Recommended.
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