The Sopranos: Season Six, Part I Blu-ray delivers stunning video and audio in this exceptional Blu-ray release
Tony Soprano tries to be a good family man on two fronts - to his wife, kids and
widowed
mother - and as a capo in the New Jersey Mob. The pressure of work and family life
give him
anxiety attacks, so Tony starts seeing a psychiatrist, which is not the kind of thing a
guy
advertises in the circles Tony moves in - it could get him killed.
Even if you have experienced HBO's Sopranos broadcasts in high-definition, the Season 6, Part I
Blu-ray set
is a
revelation. With lifelike detail, Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini), his family and mafia crew all but
climb out of the screen. The VC-1 codec and PCM content deliver hard-hitting scenes and
power-packed sound like you've never experienced in the show before. Watching these familiar
characters on Blu-ray is rapture. Even the packaging is no cannoli. Where the DVD case sports a
cheap, hinged front cover, the Blu-ray box is enclosed on the side with sturdy, metallic blue
casing. Pull open the magnetic door, tilt the box and bada-boom, the gatefold BD package slides
smoothly from the slipcase.
Tony Soprano (James Gandolfini) faces new challenges in Season 6 Part 1.
The sixth season gets off to a rocky start. In the very first episode, Uncle Junior pulls a gun on
Tony and shoots him in the gut. The mob boss crumples to the floor. With his last remaining
strength, Tony manages to find a phone and dial 911. For the next three episodes, Tony lies
comatose in his hospital bed as doctors fight an infection and raise the possibility that Tony may
suffer permanent brain damage. Putting the skipper out of commission infuriated many
Sopranos fans who religiously tuned in to see Gandolfini hold the spoke-like storylines to the
center so that the series could role forward. But the absence of a consciously functioning Tony
was a unique opportunity for the show's creator, David Chase.
During Tony's state of unconsciousness, Chase explores the leadership qualities (or lack thereof)
of other characters in the Sopranos' immediate and "extended" family. These episodes also
explore Tony's subconscious mind in a way that his psychiatrist, Jennifer Melfi (Lorraine Bracco),
never could. The series takes an intriguing twist, giving Tony a brand new identity unique to his
subconscious world.
As Tony straddles the line between life and death, his metaphysical persona is stuck in an
unfamiliar town with someone else's briefcase. He can't find his ID or business papers. He butts
heads with Buddhist monks. And ultimately he must choose between life and death. Turns out
that death is presented as a large house high in the hills. Tony's cousin Tony Blundetto (Steve
Buscemi), who died in a previous season, stands at the entrance of the house and demands to
take the briefcase of the metaphysical Tony--a briefcase that belongs to someone else. What the
heck is that all about? I have my theories but it's more fun to just watch the show. At one point,
the metaphysical twists and turns cause the mob boss to briefly regain some level of
consciousness, bolt up in his hospital bed and stammer, "who am I? Where am I going?" before
lapsing back into unconsciousness.
But addressing who Tony is, where he is going and plumbing the depths of his psyche was
always the "pasta and gravy" of the series. The comatose Tony occupies only one disc of the
four-disc set. Season 6 serves up a strong dose of the fully recovered Tony addressing problems
that face his personal life and business enterprises. And as usual, the cast of characters Chase
brings to the show deliver strong performances and yield hours of entertainment.
The video is handled superbly. HBO serves up 1080p resolution with a 1.78:1 aspect ratio on each
BD-50. Each frame is drenched with gobs of detail. In the well-lit hospital scenes, watch the IV
drips, EKG monitor and other instrumentation, the bedding and characters. Every pixel resolves
beautifully. The picture shows convincing depth and staging, excellent contrast and black level. In a
show where the slightest raise of an eyebrow or subtle scowl or drumming of fingers can
communicate more than an entire conversion, the improved resolution dramatically heightens the
impact.
Even the darker club scenes are striking, with good definition and detail. I think the combination of
darkness and motion may cause some pixellation momentarily, but it's a minor issue. Subtle grain
noise was also visible. Overall, the picture quality of the Blu-ray set greatly enhances the
enjoyment of these episodes and brings home the action to the screen in a way viewers have not
experienced in all the years the Sopranos has aired.
Another area where the Blu-ray delivers significant improvements is in the music and dialog. The
Sopranos has always been aggressive and innovative in its soundtrack, including the signature
theme song "Woke Up this Morning" by A3. With 5.1 multichannel lossless PCM, the music,
dialogue and other sounds of the series bloom from the speakers with new realism and relevance.
Squealing tires, explosions, gunshots and breaking glass have all the earmarks of reference-quality
Blu-ray. Like seeing the characters' faces in 1080P for the first time, hearing their voices in LPCM
brings the show home.
The incorporation of surround channels is engineered superbly. Off-camera voices are assigned to
the appropriate speaker and gunshots reverberate in convincing manner. The close-mic'ing
techniques of the audio engineer lend the actors extraordinary presence and power. Listening to
the Emmy award-winning Edie Falco as a lamenting Carmella Soprano in the hospital brought chills
to my spine. High-resolution audio, perhaps even more than video, delivers an emotional impact to
the show.
I'm not big on "bonus features", but if the visible and audible improvements aren't enough and you
need additional supplements to make the upgrade from DVD worthwhile, don't bother looking at
this Blu-ray set. It contains nothing new. And what it does contain offers no real insight and few
useful facts about the series or the episodes. As with the box sets of previous seasons on
DVD, the most insight is provided by alternate-track commentary on four of the episodes. Chase
himself talks during disc four's Kaisha episode, but I found myself wishing I was hearing the
characters instead of Chase.
Season 6 is not all "Sopranos as usual". It takes risks. Whether those risks pay off is another
question. I felt that too much of the season focuses on one of Tony's captains, Vito (Joseph
Gannascoli). I won't go into the details, but let's just say the proceedings during some episodes
have more in common with Brokeback Mountain than The Sopranos. I do not blink when
watching the show's eruptions in violence that are choreographed to perfection, but I found
myself averting my eyes whenever an episode indulged in Vito's gay love scenes. Coming out of
the closet in the mafia is a career-limiting move to put it lightly.
The subplot about Vito does not hold my interest or warrant the character development and
detailed storyline that went into it. Arguably, the Vito plot has consequences and implications
that extend up until the last moment of the series. But Chase could have kept those implications
and the subplot without indulging as heavily in Vito's exploits.
Another unexpected subplot that seems unnecessary is Anthony Junior's relationship with a
latina single mother he meets on the construction site. It is an unlikely, awkward pairing that
does not resolve Anthony's downward spiral as a college dropout. Again, this relationship in the
context of AJ's character development is necessary for Season 6 Part 2, due October 23 on Blu-
ray. Other subplots involving the jailed Johnny Sac and his renegade crew are more interesting.
The increasing visibility of Frank Vincent who plays Phil Leotardo, acting boss in the absence of
Johnny, is an interesting development. Vincent has appeared in films by Martin Scorcese,
including Raging Bull and Casino. He always provides a solid supporting role. Tony's crew--
including Christopher, Paulie, Bobby and Sil--also deliver solid performances and embroil
themselves in several tangents.
With the series now over, looking back on previous episodes proves rewarding. And if you are
going back to view The Sopranos, Blu-ray
provides a medium far superior to DVD and even HBO's HD broadcasts.
We have learned through inside sources that HBO is planning to release
'Rome' on Blu-ray this winter as part of a gift set that will include both
seasons of the critically acclaimed series. Additionally, we have learned that
they are also preparing to release ...
Following up on yesterday's post revealing a huge batch of Chinese Blu-ray Disc players, we have one more brochure and one more player to add to the list. You may recall that a little over a year ago, a Blu-ray Disc Player spotted on the Gowell's website, which ...
The Sopranos: Season Six, Part I Blu-ray, Forum Discussions
All countries
