Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		2.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Versailles: Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman January 22, 2017

Versailles plays like a Johnny (Louis?)-come-lately TV show, a clone of any number of others out there that are set in some more opulent but super violent and ultra-steamy historical setting where a love of power, unquenchable lust, an excess of bloodshed, turbulent times, scheming galore, and all sorts of crisscrossed and backwards relationships drive the story. Combine it all and the filmmakers hope to entice viewers with a show of deep intrigue, complex characters, and an unstable landscape, set against one of the most revered periods and places in world history. Unfortunately, it doesn't really work. The show flashes its potential in plenty of instances. When it's on, it proves fairly lean, dramatically capable, and entertaining. When it's off, it's a mess of sloppy technical execution, repetitive scenes, and an excess of sex seemingly for sex's sake rather than dramatic value (which doesn't hold true in every lustful encounter, but the show does overindulge at times). Perhaps most disappointing is the overreaching cheapens of the thing, a show that looks bad on the surface, dreary and lacking any kind off punch or spark, even if its sets and costumes are well designed, which makes the Blu-ray viewing experience even more of a disappointment.

Kingdom Builder.

The year is 1667. Louis XIV (George Blagden) has ruled since childhood, guided by a Council of Ministers which was once led by his mother. But with her death has come a revolt against the king by the nobles. Louis' response is to move his kingdom's power seat from Paris to Versailles, the site of his father's old hunting lodge. But simply moving in is not enough. Louis orders a massive reconstruction of the area, one that will require incredible effort and manpower. Meanwhile, as Louis angles to regain control over the nobles, intrigue abounds, lust often prevails, and violence ensues as his kingdom grows and comes under fire at the same time.

There's a good show in there somewhere. It reveals itself here and there, in moments of critical plot dynamics and character depth, but it's also an overindulgent piece, sometimes to the point of laziness. It so often feels forced in one way or another, particularly in the bedroom but elsewhere, too, where the show seems to struggle for something relevant to say, wrenching in some unnecessary angle or character moment just as an excuse to rip off clothes and go at it. Sex serves a purpose in the show -- it's often used as leverage, a means to an end, a power play, so to speak, that sort of thing -- and sometimes it's just honest-to-goodness romance and uncontrollable lust, but just as often it's simply filler. Performances are a mixed bag, partly because character definition takes a long time to sort out and partly because the script isn't particularly poetic. It often favors a rawness and crudeness that matches the show's broader tone, and rarely does it seem that the scriptwriters have given much care to polish the episodes. Much has been made around the Internet about the show's historical accuracy, or lack thereof; Google will tell all in that department. It's a shame, because this is certainly an interesting slice of history, as the show capably demonstrates at the most crude narrative A-B-C storyline that arcs through the series. It's just down in the trenches, as it were, where it loses its way.

The following episodes comprise season one. Summaries are courtesy of the Blu-ray packaging. Spoilers follow.

Disc One:

• Welcome to Versailles: Louis XIV is 28 years old. It has been a year since the death of his mother. He is now alone in the seat of power. Haunted by the tramua of the nobles' Fronde revolt, he needs to keep his rebellious aristocrats in check. To this end, he decides to leave Paris for Versailles where he will build the world's most magnificent palace. His detractors are many, beginning with his younger brother, Philippe, who has been humilated since childhood. Louis is under threat from outside where a war looms, and beneath his own roof, where the Sun King's power remains fragile.
• I am the State: Louis launches the Grande Enquête to check the legitimacy of the nobles' titles, the first stage in his strategy to bring rebellious minds to heel. The first victim is the ever-conspiring Montecourt. The entire court now feels vulnerable. But Louis' political victories are underminded by more intimate dilemmas as his sibling rivalry with Philippe takes even nastier turns. Louis can't stand the wild escapades of his falmboyant, homosexual brother... who, for his part, claims his regal prerogative to show his warrior skills on the battlefield.
• Mirror for Princes: Louis welcomes the African Prince Annaba to Versailles. To gain access to African territories, Louis plays his trump card, his wife Marie-Therese. Henriette, Philippe's wife and Louis' mistress, is constantly harassed by the Chevalier de Lorriane. In the north, the indomitable Duke of Cassel harbors the scheming Moncourt. Cassel openly disdains the new rules Louis seeks to impose on the nobles of France. He is determined to sabotage the Versailles building project at all costs.
• The Road: Accounts of Philippe's prowess on the battlefield trouble Louis: what can he do with this brother who basks in military glory while risking his life? In the court, the Marchioness of Montespan begins to overshadow Louis de Valliere... making her a rival of Henriette, who is determined to maintain her position in the King's bed. On the country roads to Versailles, Moncourt's heinous attacks dissuade the nobles from coming to the court, while within the gilded walls of the palace, a mysterious conspiracy contaminates the King's inner circle.
• Bow to Your King: With the war over, Philippe returns to the court and the soldiers to the construction of Versailles. Philippe has won glory but returns from the battlefields a changed man. On the road to Versailles, a hold up leaves one of Cassel's henchmen dead: the trap is closing around the Duke. Louis decides to organize a spectacular Royal Show in the gardens of Versailles to celebrate the French victory. It is also part of his strategy to impose absolute control over the nobles, particulary the Duke of Cassel. For this, he engages the help of the duplicitous Montespan.

Disc Two:

• Invalides: On the Versailles construction site, Louis is confronted with a soldiers-workers stirke. They claim the honors and privileges of a victorious royal army. Philippe seems to be the only one able to persuade them to return to work, a notion unthinkable for Louis! A humiliated Cassel is now forced to live at Versailles. But the conspiracy spreads and influences more and more nobles. Beatrice informs Sophie that they are not after all the blue-blooded aristocrats they claim to be. Henriette again stokes up the rivalry between Louis and Philippe: She is pregnant but knows not by which brother!
• Revelations: Louis is gravely ill. This offers opprotunity for the conspiracy to act. Cassel, Montecourt, Beatrice and the Chevalier de Lorraine are now united with the aim: to put Philippe on the throne, with the help of William of Orange, General of Holland and the sworn enemy of the king. But Louis makes a miraculous recovery and the Chevalier is arrested for treason. He is thrown in jail and awaits execution.
• Diplomacy: Philippe is deeply upset and agitated at the arrest of the Chevalier. Though poisoned by Beatrice, Fabien manages to escape from the palace and find refuge with Claudine. Louis receives the ambassador of Charles II, King of England, to propose a secret agreement to invade Holland. Charles' sister, Henriette, is secretly designated to be an ambassador of France. The conspirators seize the opprotunity and plan Henriette's assassination. Unknown to Louis, his most dangerous enemy is among his closest friends.
• Etiquette: Henriette masterfully leads the negiotations with her brother, King Charles II. She returns to France in great honor, though gravely weakened by a mysterious illness. Montespan's power continues to assert itself, both in the court and in Louis' heart. The snare tightens around the conspirators: Fabien is determined to take revenge for Beatrice's treason. Louis' son comes to visit his father, who wishes to teach the Dauphin the art of kingship. He tasks his best friend, Rohan, to teach the Dauphin to hunt.
• Bring the Garden Here: Henriette's health violently deteriorates. The poisoning theory is confirmed. The palace is locked down and Claudine gives her all to save her patient. Louis is devastated. He wants to save his son from the stuffy atmosphere of the court and entrusts him to the care of Rohan. After a lengthy agony, Henriette dies, surrounded by the two men of her life, her lover and her husband. Philippe decides to abandon the court forever. In the forest, conspirators under orders from Rohan kidnap the Dauphin. The king has lost his love, his brother, and now his son.

Versailles: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Versailles: Season One doesn't put its best foot forward out of the gate, and there really isn't a best foot at all to speak of. Universal's 1080p transfer is a major disappointment for a show as would-be opulent as this. Many of the flaws appear to trace back to the source, but there's no mistaking it as a troubled and, really, unattractive image from top to bottom. Aliasing appears along a palace façade at the beginning of episode one, and various examples of aliasing, shimmering, and jagged lines are commonplace through the season. Perhaps more disturbing is how flat and bland the core image is. For a show with so much dense and complex fabrics and surfaces, it's all very flat, often showing only the most rudimentary details before giving way to a softness and haziness that eats the finer-point details. Even skin textures rarely find any sort of depth or complexity. If the lighting is just right and the costume or surface is resplendent enough -- like the outside of a golden carriage -- details can uptick enough to a level of base high definition satisfaction, but that's the Blu-ray's peak. Digital effects shots are noticeably blurry, too, and the production's cheapness, in that area, is often the most dominant visual cue. Colors show no serious punch, favoring a mostly drab appearance that, like the details, struggle to shine even in the most optimal of conditions. Black levels are dull and flesh tones are pasty. Noise is visible throughout. At times a score of 2.5 feels generous. At times it rises to a 3.0, maybe even a 3.5 at its absolute best, but 2.5 feels right on the whole.

Versailles: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Versailles: Season One's DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack fares much better than its 1080p video counterpart, but it's merely "good" and in no way memorable. The series opens with some quality depth and immersion to a rainstorm and rolling thunder, lacking the fullness and clarity of the best (and found, usually, paired with 7.1 or Atmos/X soundtracks) but offering a quality sense of realism and engagement that sets a good and proper tone for the show. Music is capably clear and wide, making naturally balanced use of both the surrounds and the subwoofer, whether score or the main title theme music. A few effects occasionally come across as shallow and crude -- a horse and rider smashing through murky terrain, again near the beginning of episode one -- but many other effects are very well defined, like rolling carriages or popping gunshots. Dialogue is clear and well prioritized, and it carries a bit through the stage as the situation and location warrants and allows.

Versailles: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

This Blu-ray release of Versailles: Season One contains no supplements content. No digital version is offered, either.

Versailles: Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Universal didn't provide a screener for Versailles: Season One, and it's easy to see why. The show is mediocre at best. It's historically inaccurate (going by what the Internet is saying, anyway...this reviewer's area of historical interest or expertise doesn't include 17th century France), acting is neither of a standout nor disappointing quality, and the show never feels like more than a repackage and redressing of the deluge of typically modern made and historically set violent and sex-crazed programs. Digital effects are borderline terrible, and even the sets and costumes don't exactly excite. It has its moments but at its best it's terribly average television that could have been so much more. Universal's featureless Blu-ray offers flawed and drab video along with good, but hardly noteworthy, lossless audio. Skip it.