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The Sopranos: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Disc Review

THE SOPRANOS: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON (1999, Blu-ray released November 24, 2009 – MSRP $69.98)

The Sopranos: The Complete First Season Blu-ray DiscI’ve been a fan of The Sopranos since day one. I watched every episode as it aired and loyally purchased every season set on DVD as they were released. With both parts of season six available on Blu-ray for some time now, I’ve found myself waiting quite impatiently for the rest of the series to make its way to the format. I’m happy to tell you that the recently released The Sopranos: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Disc set is a marked improvement over the DVDs!

I’m certain that everyone is familiar with the concept of the Sopranos by now – mobster grapples with the demands of his two families, both at home and in service to La Cosa Nostra, and has to seek therapy to cope with the pressure. No look inside the world of the mob has ever been so nuanced and textured. James Gandolfini‘s portrayal of Tony Soprano gives the vile killer more heart than the other big-men of TV. More than Ralph Cramden or Archie Bunker. And as much as the series becomes a chronicle of Tony and both of his families, it also becomes somewhat of a detailed exploration of a real-world side of New Jersey. By the time the series drew to a close in 2007, I felt like I had a great familiarity with the city. And I missed having the opportunity to spend time there. This Blu-ray set of the complete first season is a welcome return for me. I’m seriously looking forward to revisiting the following seasons when they’re released on Blu in the near future.

I’m sad to report, however, that The Sopranos: The Complete First Season doesn’t sparkle on Blu-ray. It’s a marked improvement over the previously available DVDs, exhibiting more vibrant, stable colours, greater detail and deeper blacks than ever before. But the presentation is uneven, with some episodes, some scenes revealing an excess of shimmer and aliasing while the whole set suffers from some edge enhancement. It’s not as bad as it sounds. Everything looks on par with modern HD broadcasts here. It’s just not quite up to the standards set by HBO in previous Blu-ray sets. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track on The Sopranos: The Complete First Season is outstanding.

The set really falls short with its special features, especially when you compare it to other Blu-ray releases from HBO (by contrast, it took me days to get through all the extras on their Rome Blu-ray set!) There’s nothing new here. Just the sparse set of extras ported over from the DVD set. The commentary track on the pilot episode, with series creator David Chase being interviewed by director/actor Peter Bogdonavich is quite revealing but is echoed in the 77-minute “Interview” featurette, that sees the two men sitting down for a chat before the cameras. A couple of SD featurettes round out the set.

While it might not be the picture of perfection I’d hoped, this The Sopranos: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Disc set is still a recommended upgrade for DVD owners and a necessary purchase for fans of the show.

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2 comments for “The Sopranos: The Complete First Season Blu-ray Disc Review”

  1. [...] ranging from the extraordinary efforts on Rome and Band of Brothers to the unfortunate oversight of The Sopranos Season One boxed set. But the programs themselves seem to always look and sound incredible on Blu! And the same can be [...]

    Posted by Top 5 New Blu-ray releases for the Week of June 22 | The Blu-Ray Blog | June 22, 2010, 11:22 am
  2. Gotta love this show. Still sends chills up my spine when I watch it. It’s easy to find things you missed the first time around, too.

    Posted by sopranos box set | January 11, 2011, 5:36 am

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