kal
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Location: Ottawa, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Nov 27, 2014 2:16 am Post subject: The Sopranos: The Complete Series |
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The Sopranos: The Complete Series
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| Quote: | 'The Sopranos' is the kind of television series that is built to be pored over again and again, not to seek a definitive answer (especially to the ending), but to examine and parse, and hopefully discuss with likeminded individuals who are interested in exploring the layered complexity of a dynamic and engaging series that always had more to say than it led on. With terrific video, wonderful sound, and piles of tremendous extras, 'The Sopranos: The Complete Series' is nothing short of a must own.
The Video: Sizing Up the Picture
The 1080p AVC/MPEG-4 encoded transfer presents 'The Sopranos' with a mostly pristine picture that is often full of fine detail, background elements, and bright, vivid colors. What's most interesting is how many scenes (especially exterior scenes) were filmed using a filter, and how that filter, along with the slightly skewed angles the cinematographer would use during these moments help to augment the dreamlike quality of the show. There are a few moments when Tony and his crew are gathered outside Satriales's Pork Store and the scene is infused with a golden hue that gives the sky behind, say, Silvio's immaculate pompadour the sense of a heightened reality. It looks great.
Fine detail is strong in most cases, revealing plenty of facial features and textures on everything from clothing to background elements. Close ups are generally loaded with fine detail. Wider shots tend to maintain a similar level for the most part, but can sometimes be a little off. Aside from the opening sequence, the image is free from grain of any kind, resulting in a strong, resonant image with clean, firm edges almost all of the time.
Along with the vivid colors that generate bright hues of red, blue, and especially green, the contrast is terrific throughout. Black levels are strong and robust; delivering inky shadows that can run from slightly murky to full-on pitch black. Whether it is a slight shadow or the dead of night, the image does not contain a trace of banding or of crush. Similarly, white balance is handled very nicely throughout. Here, the show plays with blowing the picture out a bit more, so some scenes are deliberately brighter or hazier than the rest, but it's clear when the scene is intended to do so. The rest of the time, white balance is quite nice, rendering the image bright and clear without any obstruction.
There are a few episodes here and there that are uneven. The most blatant is in the brilliant 'College.' While the Tony and Meadow scenes look tremendous, and may even be some of the best on the disc, the scenes between Carmela and Father Phil (Paul Schulze) tend to run red, and green. Now, granted, Carmela was just getting over the flu in the story, but even then, it is a little off putting.
Overall, though, a few questionable moments in 86 episodes are like drops of water in the ocean. This is a very sound, very nice looking image throughout. It is also one that manages to be truly surprising in its detail, depth, and richness of color.
The Audio: Rating the Sound
The DTS-HS Master Audio 5.1 track handles the two things that made 'The Sopranos' special (amazingly well-written and often profane dialogue, and musical cues) by presenting them with tremendous clarity and strength. Dialogue is rich throughout; every character is crystal clear, whether they are having a quiet conversation or yelling in someone's face. Moreover, the dialogue is balanced so well, and presented with so much emphasis on directionality and imaging, even the most casual conversations in the back room of the Bada Bing sound like they're emanating around your living room.
The same goes for the musical selections, which are balanced wonderfully with the dialogue and sound effects. Music is robust, but not overbearing; it wants to be heard and enjoyed, without completely taking over the scene. The only song that does dominate the soundtrack is the one accompanying the opening sequence, and that one comes with the expectation of being more aggressive than the rest.
Other elements are balanced nicely throughout the discs as well. Sound effect come in a variety of immersive and straightforward moments that are either subtle and nuance, or blunt like a shotgun to the face. Rear channels often generate strong sense of atmosphere and immersion by bringing large and small elements to the listener's ear. As such, the main floor of the Bada Bing sounds completely different from, say, Dr. Melfi's office or Artie Buco's (John Ventimiglia) Nuovo Vesuvio. In other words, the mix delivers a convincing atmosphere filled with many different components, regardless the location.
And with a little LFE here and there to round things out, the mix on 'The Sopranos' is about as good as these things get. |
Kal
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