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The
Sopranos
Season 6, Part 1 |
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| Starring: James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Michael Imperioli, Robert
Iler, Lorraine Bracco, Steve Van Zandt, Tony Sirico, Jamie-Lyn Sigler, Dominic Chianese,
John Ventimiglia, Joseph Gannascoli, Max Casella, Aida Turturro Directed by: Various |
Original Broadcast Date: 2006
Blu-ray Release: 2006
Released by: HBODolby Digital 5.1
Widescreen |
| More Blu-ray Discs  World Trade Center: Wow!
There’s no mistaking this tension-filled movie for your typical big screen
blockbuster. Oliver Stone puts you in the middle of the disaster, almost as if you were an
invisible presence during the actual event. The excellent HD video resolution is greatly
responsible, heightening the tension by showing so much realistic detail. The somewhat
reined-in soundtrack fits the movie perfectly. This isn’t a demo or reference disc,
but it’s a movie everybody should see.
 Mission: Impossible III:
Incredible soundtrack, perhaps the clearest, most transparent sound heard on Blu-ray yet.
Video quality is also quite good, but the intentionally contrasty look of the film makes
it hard to give top marks to this disc as a demo disc. Regardless, the movie did a
surprisingly good job of grabbing my attention and keeping my pulse rate higher than
normal for the whole movie. I liked M: I III more than M: I II but it was
difficult to forget about Cruise’s public meltdowns over the last year or two.
 Monster House:
The image quality is stunning, making it the best looking Blu-ray video I’ve seen so
far. The soundtrack is clear with lots of bottom-end energy interspersed throughout. This
is really a movie for bigger kids and adults. It is a bit too intense and scary for the
early-elementary grades and younger. Witty writing keeps older audiences connected with
the story and characters. The animation places obviously animated human characters in a
nearly photo-realistic animated world.
...Doug Blackburn
db@hometheatersound.com |
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To enjoy The Sopranos, you have to be able to handle
five f-bombs per minute (or more!), mob executions, buck naked strippers, adultery, drug
abuse, male chauvinists, petty theft, graft, prostitution, hijacking, prejudice, and a
parade of dangerous but compelling characters. Those who are up for it are rewarded with
one of the greatest rarities in television -- intelligence and storytelling on a grand
scale.
Season 6, Part 1 is not my favorite Sopranos
season, but it certainly exceeds 97% of everything else available on television in 2006.
The cast is so good at playing their roles that a properly timed look tells the audience
as much as 20 lines of dialogue. I would have been happier if two plot lines had been much
shorter: Tony’s coma-dream and Vito does Johnny Cakes. But the surprises and changes
in this season upheld the high standards set in previous seasons: Lauren Bacall and Sir
Ben Kingsley f-bombing multiple times? Where else would you ever get something like
that?
The picture quality of the Blu-ray discs is a little better
than what I experienced when The Sopranos aired in 2006 on the HBO-HD
cable/satellite channel. It’s a little sharper and shows a little more detail. While
not quite up to the standards of feature films, the image quality is "good" but
it’s not reference quality. The standard definition opening theme runs at the
beginning of each episode. Once the theme sequence ends, there is a huge improvement in
image quality as full 1080p video takes over. Compared to standard definition Sopranos
DVD or cable/satellite video, the HD Blu-Ray video is better by a large margin.
The Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is a little more
transparent and detailed than the 5.1 sound delivered on the HBO-HD channel, but very
close to, perhaps identical to, the DVD sound quality. The sound quality is just average
by blockbuster movie standards. The sound quality rating is not because of defects, but
because the sound is less of a focal point in The Sopranos than it is for a
blockbuster movie. Even though this isn’t the most transparent sound and doesn’t
have much going on in the low frequencies, The Sopranos audio is arguably
"perfect" because you stop focusing on it immediately and become immersed in the
storytelling without giving the soundtrack a second thought -- except when they break into
yet another great music selection.
The only special feature included is commentary for four
episodes. Only about half of that commentary gives you any insight that’s worthwhile.
I can’t think of a better way to enjoy The Sopranos
than on HD discs. The DVDs are OK, but the HDTV image quality makes the whole experience
even more vibrantly real. The set is also available in the HD DVD format. More
seasons are promised in both HD formats for 2007. |
