THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH (2010, Blu-ray released November 23, 2010 – MSRP $69.95)

I missed out on The Pillars of the Earth when it aired a few months back so the 3-disc Blu-ray set served as my introduction. Despite a general aversion to the mini-series format I found myself quickly sucked into this brilliantly executed medieval melodrama, adapted from the bestselling novel by Ken Follett.

Whatever reservations I might have had, as I sat down to view episode one of The Pillars of the Earth, evaporated as soon as the credits for Ridley and Tony Scott rolled by. When you’ve got the directors of Blade Runner, Alien and Top Gun on your side, your project is bound to be somewhat amazing. But they alone are clearly not the only reasons to celebrate the creative side of this new cable television extravaganza. The Scott brothers and director Sergio Mimica-Gezzan (Battlestar Galactica, Heroes) have assembled a stellar cast for their 8-episode drama, including Donald Sutherland, Gordon Pinsent, Hayley Atwell, Ian McShane, Rufus Sewell and Matthew Macfadyen, to name but a few.

The multi-generational story set during the time known as The Anarchy or The Nineteen-Year Winter is one of “war, religious strife and power struggles which tears lives and families apart.” Encounters on bloody battlefields are punctuated with steamy bedroom scenes and naked frolics in English lakes – enough sex and violence to make any plot centering on religion and politics far more palatable. The only disappointment of the whole affair is the ending, which seems far too clean and trite when all revelations come to the fore, all the players gathered together at once, pointing fingers. And for all the political wrangling over who should wear the crown, little is made of the outcome of the struggle after eight hours of story.

The castles and bloody battles look great on the 3-disc Blu-ray set, despite the fact that the 8-episodes are actually encoded in 1080i (the back of the packaging incorrectly states that the encoding is 1080p.) You won’t be disappointed. This is a fabulous, detailed transfer of a great looking, digitally shot production. The epic DTS-HD MA 5.1 lossless soundtrack will leave you slack-jawed at its power and presence. I’ve never heard a TV show sound so cinematic!

Special features are few in this 3-disc Blu-ray set. Frankly, I’m happier to have that disc space spent on the episodes themselves, sacrificing extra content for a truer presentation of the films. The most compelling feature is easily “The Making of ‘The Pillars of the Earth’“, a half-hour featurette that provides a nice overview of the production. A brief featurette on the creation of the main titles, one on the digital effects and a collection of trailers round out the package.

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This is an amazing week for Blu-ray – not only in that there are a handful of pretty amazing new releases (and some duds) to grab up but that there are more deals to be had this week on titles and players than at any time of the year, thanks to the incredible BLACK FRIDAY sales in the USA. If new releases aren’t your thing this week, you can find a handy, constantly-updated Black Friday Blu-ray Guide to sales and sale prices here.

1. AMERICA LOST AND FOUND: THE BBS STORY

I know I’ve said this a few times recently, but this really might be the Blu-ray release of the year. Criterion have assembled a box full of seven of the most important and influential films from the late 60s/early 70s, all made and produced by Bob Rafelson, Bert Schneider and Steve Blauner. And of course, each one has been prepped and transferred with the same love and care that Criterion give each standalone release, individually stacked with great special features.

Less well-known films, Head, A Safe Place and Drive, He Said hold up well amongst their popular siblings. In fact, though most film fans will pick up the boxed set for The Last Picture Show or Five Easy Pieces, I think the true delight will be the discovery (or re-discovery, as the case may be) of these hidden gems.

Higher profile Blu-ray releases and boxed sets might steal the spotlight this holiday season but the true coveted prize for any true film-fan will be this incredible, robust collection of films from Criterion. America Lost and Found: The BBS Story receives our highest possible recommendation.

FULL DETAILS HERE: Criterion Collection America Lost and Found: The BBS Story Blu-ray set contains Easy Rider, Last Picture Show, Five Easy Pieces

Amazon: $87.49

2. THE COMPLETE METROPOLIS

Speaking of incredible, influential and must-own releases of the week, The Complete Metropolis Blu-ray release from Kino is the newly released disc that you don’t put on your Christmas list – you run out and buy it today. Metropolis is inarguably one of the most important films ever made and now, for the first time in decades, we have the opportunity to see it in its complete form. Well, as close as technology and available resources allow.

The film was censored, ravaged from its initial length to a truncated 90-minutes. This version, which looks incredible on Blu-ray, for the most part, restores a good deal of the story and brings the run-time to a more film-accurate 145-minutes. This is a landmark Blu-ray release that shouldn’t be missed at any cost!

Amazon: $29.49

3. DEADWOOD: THE COMPLETE SERIES

On any other week, this would have easily been the number one release. The Deadwood: The Complete Series Blu-ray boxed set showed up at my door just as I was stepping out on vacation. As a result I haven’t been able to watch it yet but I’ll tell you, the damn thing weighs a ton! It’s packed with 13-discs of one of the best shows to ever have aired on television. And knowing HBO as I do, I’d be willing to bet that the quality of the packaging and the transfers are all beyond reproach. It’s an expensive set but an easy recommendation, even without having viewed a single one of the 13 discs.

Amazon: $137.99

4. THE EXPENDABLES

Ahhh, Sly. I totally missed this one in the theatres. (I know, you’re shocked, right?) But strangely, I have a feeling that this testosterone-fueled 80s callback will be better enjoyed on the smaller screen, just as we all truly fell in love with this type of film on cable and VHS back in the day. Call me crazy, but I’m actually more excited to check this out on Blu-ray than in the theatre. I’m looking forward to having the boys over, ordering pizza and busting out The Expendables very soon. Too bad the disc doesn’t have a VHS-quality transfer as one of the special features. … I can’t believe I just wrote that…

Amazon: $19.99

5. THE PILLARS OF THE EARTH

I have a feeling I’ll take a little heat for this but I loved The Pillars of the Earth! After steadfastly avoiding the television mini-series format for ages, I found myself quickly sucked into this brilliantly executed medieval melodrama, adapted from the bestselling novel by Ken Follett. Admittedly, the fact that the show is produced by Ridley and Tony Scott and stars a ton of amazing actors (Donald Sutherland, Gordon Pinsent, Hayley Atwell, Ian McShane, Matthew Macfadyen to name a few) makes watching what could have been a very weak movie of the week-style program an easier pill to swallow. The castles and bloody battles look great on the 3-disc Blu-ray set, despite the fact that the 6-episodes are actually encoded in 1080i (the back of the packaging incorrectly states that the encoding is 1080p.)

Amazon: $38.99

6. SALON KITTY

Another week, another sixth title in the Top 5 list. I’m sorry, but I can’t wrap up this column without pointing out that the lude, rude and all-together very nude (see what I did there, with the rhyming?) Salon Kitty has made its way to Blu-ray thanks to the dirty boys and girls of Blue Underground. Three years before he would shock the world with Caligula, Tinto Brass delivered a lengthy, somewhat muddled World War II-era film about a madame whose brothel is bugged in an attempt to gather bedside intel from unsuspecting Nazi soldiers. Brass takes the subject matter seriously but undermines his intent with over the top tits and ass. Fans of the film will be happy to know that Salon Kitty looks and sounds better than ever on Blu-ray and includes a limited but informative collection of extras (“Inside ‘Salon Kitty:’ Interview with Director Tinto Brass“, “Designing ‘Salon Kitty:’ Interview with Production Designer Ken Adam“, international trailer and three radio spots)

Amazon: $22.49

ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY THIS WEEK
Clicking an image will take you to Amazon.com where you can learn more about and purchase the Blu-ray disc:

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