Television storytelling has absolutely reached a pinnacle with “Deadwood”.
One thing that I would like to touch upon is the considerable amount of obscenities that work its way into the dialogue. Some people I know were put off by the constant swearing on the show but according to Milch in one of the featurettes on Disc 6, this is a well-documented aspect of how most of the miners, laborers and other rough and tumble characters converse during that period in history. For sure, "Deadwood" is not your typical John Wayne Western but a realistic and almost dead-on portrayal of how harsh and unforgiving life can be in the Wild West where the streets are constantly covered in mud, urine and manure and the people there swore worse than well-lubricated seamen. I am reminded of one scene that had me rolling on the floor with laughter where Swearengen is trying to communicate with Wu, his Chinese opium supplier, and finds that the only effective English word that Wu has mastered so far is, c***s**ker. It is not pretty but it sure is a heck of a lot funny. For me, this is one of the major lures of "Deadwood" where nothing is ever clean cut (literally and figuratively) and absolutely everyone has their price.
With some of HBO´s critically acclaimed series ending their run soon, it has found great replacements in the form of "Deadwood" and the supernatural series "Carnivale". I would venture an opinion that "Deadwood" is on par with "The Sopranos" in terms of dramatic storytelling and acting performances. It is just that good. Watch it and I guarantee that you will be hooked.
The first season of "Deadwood" is presented on DVD in a 6-disc set with all the twelve episodes spread out over five DVDs and the sixth one set aside for bonus material.
Disc 1: "Deadwood", "Deep Water"
Disc 2: "Reconnoitering The Rim", "Here Was A Man"
Disc 3: "The Trial Of Jack McCall", "Plague", "Bullock Returns To Camp"
Disc 4: "Suffer The Little Children", "No Other Sons Or Daughters", "Mister Wu"
Disc 5: "Jewel´s Boot Is Made For Walking", "Sold Under Sin"
Video:
Presented in anamorphic widescreen measuring in at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the video images of "Deadwood" is very clear and free of any defects or dirt. HBO has a tradition of offering stellar video transfers on its products and "Deadwood" is no exception. Admittedly, the color palette for "Deadwood" is pretty small to begin with due to the many shades of dull colors that are dominant on the show. Expect to see shades of black and brown to dictate the coloring scheme. Also, many scenes are prominently dark as only the weak luminance force of candlelight is used to light the sets in some instances. Subtitle options on this DVD include English, French and Spanish.
Audio:
Listening to "Deadwood" using the English language Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is the best option if your home theater set permits it. Although there are not many instances of the surround channels being used, they dutifully come alive at the right moment to complement the action on screen. Generally, "Deadwood" is dialogue-driven and the occasional sounds of gunshots, wagons passing by and the galloping hoofs of horses seek to add another dimension to the sound field. Most importantly, the spoken word is precise and clear without any hint of distortion. Other audio options include non-digital English, French and Spanish 2-channel Dolby Surround.
Extras:
Surprisingly, "Deadwood" offers a wealth of bonus material that is uncharacteristic of most HBO DVD releases. First, there are a total of four audio commentaries on hand, each one by a different set of participants. They are:
Episode 1: "Deadwood" with commentary by series creator David Milch
Episode 4: "Here Was A Man" with commentary by Molly Parker (Alma Garrett) and Keith Carradine (Wild Bill Hickok)
Episode 5: "The Trial Of Jack McCall" with commentary by Brad Dourif (Doc Cochran) and Robin Weigert (Calamity Jane)
Episode 12: "Sold Under Sin" with commentary by Timothy Olyphant (Seth Bullock) and Ian McShane (Al Swearengen)
The one commentary that stands out for me is the last one by Olyphant and McShane. It is not the most informative but it is the most entertaining one. Having watched all 12 episodes, I am by now very familiar the voices of the Bullock and Swearengen characters. Listening to these actors speak, it feels as if their characters are doing the commentary. These two guys offer pretty funny anecdotes about their scenes with McShane stealing most of the limelight. The commentary by Milch is full on substance by not to the level that I had expected while the other two commentaries are more or less by the books and not that much more interesting to listen to.
The rest of the bonus material can be found on Disc 6.
First, we have a 13-minute documentary titled "Making Deadwood: The Show Behind the Show". It features brief interviews with Milch, the production crew and the actors as they talk about some of the reasoning behind the stories that you see on the show and what they are trying to achieve with the series. All told, this is a marketing-heavy feature that barely scratches the surface of the complexities that are abound on the show.
Next is "The Real Deadwood: Historical Featurette", which is presented in anamorphic wideacreen and is 25 minutes long. Essentially, this documentary explores the real history behind the emergence of Deadwood and the surrounding Black Hills area. Expect to see interviews with Milch and a few knowledgeable historians. History buffs will be entertained by the stories about historical characters like Bullock, Swearengen, Hickok and Calamity Jane and what their influences are in Deadwood.
The next feature is "The New Language Of The Old West: A conversation with creator David Milch and star Keith Carradine about the essence of language in Deadwood", a 16x9 enhanced 30-minute conversation between David Milch and Carradine, who plays Wild Bill Hickok. In this featurette, Carradine sort of interviews Milch about the arcane, almost Victorian-like language used back then in the West and also about the well documented use of profane language. Milch talks at length about his philosophy of recreating the West on the show and has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Deadwood and all the history and myths surrounding the town and its historical figures.
Presented in the same interview format as the previous feature, the next one titled, "An Imaginative Reality: A discussion with David Milch and Keith Carradine about the melding of historical and fictional characters" is again 16x9 enhanced and 28 minutes long. This one has Milch talking about how he came up with the various stories that are so appropriate and effective in combining the historical and fictional characters together.
From the last two featurettes, it is clearly apparent that David Milch is a very intelligent writer who has obviously done a lot of research on the history of Deadwood. It is very satisfying to listen to him talk at length about his many thoughts about the attitudes and customs and the kinds of people who were living back in the 19th century and how that figures prominently in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed both of the Milch-Carradine conversation features.
Packaging:
"Deadwood: The Complete First Season" comes in a multi-disc Digipak foldout unit which is in turn, encased in an attractive hardcover box.
Film Value:
Anyone who has experienced the extraordinary first season of "The Sopranos" will immediately recognize the same masterful work of genius with this, the first season of "Deadwood". I can foresee that future Westerns, post-"Deadwood", will never be created the same way again. We have seen some sort of that dirty realism with Eastwood´s 1992 opus "Unforgiven" and the more recent "Open Range" but television Westerns have never been this real or this satisfying. "Deadwood" proves once again that HBO has the uncanny eye for quality and the right attitude of not meddling with the creative process. Television storytelling has absolutely reached a pinnacle with "Deadwood".
With some of HBO´s critically acclaimed series ending their run soon, it has found great replacements in the form of "Deadwood" and the supernatural series "Carnivale". I would venture an opinion that "Deadwood" is on par with "The Sopranos" in terms of dramatic storytelling and acting performances. It is just that good. Watch it and I guarantee that you will be hooked.
The first season of "Deadwood" is presented on DVD in a 6-disc set with all the twelve episodes spread out over five DVDs and the sixth one set aside for bonus material.
Disc 1: "Deadwood", "Deep Water"
Disc 2: "Reconnoitering The Rim", "Here Was A Man"
Disc 3: "The Trial Of Jack McCall", "Plague", "Bullock Returns To Camp"
Disc 4: "Suffer The Little Children", "No Other Sons Or Daughters", "Mister Wu"
Disc 5: "Jewel´s Boot Is Made For Walking", "Sold Under Sin"
Video:
Presented in anamorphic widescreen measuring in at an aspect ratio of 1.85:1, the video images of "Deadwood" is very clear and free of any defects or dirt. HBO has a tradition of offering stellar video transfers on its products and "Deadwood" is no exception. Admittedly, the color palette for "Deadwood" is pretty small to begin with due to the many shades of dull colors that are dominant on the show. Expect to see shades of black and brown to dictate the coloring scheme. Also, many scenes are prominently dark as only the weak luminance force of candlelight is used to light the sets in some instances. Subtitle options on this DVD include English, French and Spanish.
Audio:
Listening to "Deadwood" using the English language Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track is the best option if your home theater set permits it. Although there are not many instances of the surround channels being used, they dutifully come alive at the right moment to complement the action on screen. Generally, "Deadwood" is dialogue-driven and the occasional sounds of gunshots, wagons passing by and the galloping hoofs of horses seek to add another dimension to the sound field. Most importantly, the spoken word is precise and clear without any hint of distortion. Other audio options include non-digital English, French and Spanish 2-channel Dolby Surround.
Extras:
Surprisingly, "Deadwood" offers a wealth of bonus material that is uncharacteristic of most HBO DVD releases. First, there are a total of four audio commentaries on hand, each one by a different set of participants. They are:
Episode 1: "Deadwood" with commentary by series creator David Milch
Episode 4: "Here Was A Man" with commentary by Molly Parker (Alma Garrett) and Keith Carradine (Wild Bill Hickok)
Episode 5: "The Trial Of Jack McCall" with commentary by Brad Dourif (Doc Cochran) and Robin Weigert (Calamity Jane)
Episode 12: "Sold Under Sin" with commentary by Timothy Olyphant (Seth Bullock) and Ian McShane (Al Swearengen)
The one commentary that stands out for me is the last one by Olyphant and McShane. It is not the most informative but it is the most entertaining one. Having watched all 12 episodes, I am by now very familiar the voices of the Bullock and Swearengen characters. Listening to these actors speak, it feels as if their characters are doing the commentary. These two guys offer pretty funny anecdotes about their scenes with McShane stealing most of the limelight. The commentary by Milch is full on substance by not to the level that I had expected while the other two commentaries are more or less by the books and not that much more interesting to listen to.
The rest of the bonus material can be found on Disc 6.
First, we have a 13-minute documentary titled "Making Deadwood: The Show Behind the Show". It features brief interviews with Milch, the production crew and the actors as they talk about some of the reasoning behind the stories that you see on the show and what they are trying to achieve with the series. All told, this is a marketing-heavy feature that barely scratches the surface of the complexities that are abound on the show.
Next is "The Real Deadwood: Historical Featurette", which is presented in anamorphic wideacreen and is 25 minutes long. Essentially, this documentary explores the real history behind the emergence of Deadwood and the surrounding Black Hills area. Expect to see interviews with Milch and a few knowledgeable historians. History buffs will be entertained by the stories about historical characters like Bullock, Swearengen, Hickok and Calamity Jane and what their influences are in Deadwood.
The next feature is "The New Language Of The Old West: A conversation with creator David Milch and star Keith Carradine about the essence of language in Deadwood", a 16x9 enhanced 30-minute conversation between David Milch and Carradine, who plays Wild Bill Hickok. In this featurette, Carradine sort of interviews Milch about the arcane, almost Victorian-like language used back then in the West and also about the well documented use of profane language. Milch talks at length about his philosophy of recreating the West on the show and has an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Deadwood and all the history and myths surrounding the town and its historical figures.
Presented in the same interview format as the previous feature, the next one titled, "An Imaginative Reality: A discussion with David Milch and Keith Carradine about the melding of historical and fictional characters" is again 16x9 enhanced and 28 minutes long. This one has Milch talking about how he came up with the various stories that are so appropriate and effective in combining the historical and fictional characters together.
From the last two featurettes, it is clearly apparent that David Milch is a very intelligent writer who has obviously done a lot of research on the history of Deadwood. It is very satisfying to listen to him talk at length about his many thoughts about the attitudes and customs and the kinds of people who were living back in the 19th century and how that figures prominently in the series. I thoroughly enjoyed both of the Milch-Carradine conversation features.
Packaging:
"Deadwood: The Complete First Season" comes in a multi-disc Digipak foldout unit which is in turn, encased in an attractive hardcover box.
Film Value:
Anyone who has experienced the extraordinary first season of "The Sopranos" will immediately recognize the same masterful work of genius with this, the first season of "Deadwood". I can foresee that future Westerns, post-"Deadwood", will never be created the same way again. We have seen some sort of that dirty realism with Eastwood´s 1992 opus "Unforgiven" and the more recent "Open Range" but television Westerns have never been this real or this satisfying. "Deadwood" proves once again that HBO has the uncanny eye for quality and the right attitude of not meddling with the creative process. Television storytelling has absolutely reached a pinnacle with "Deadwood".
![Lost [TV Series]](/images/displaymedia.php?id=23770&sizew=70&cat=3)
Average user rating (1-5):
[release]13652[/release]