Boardwalk Empire: The Complete Series [DVD] [2010] [2015]

I'm not going to review the show as there's already plenty of people who have seen it in its entirety and can better describe it. Suffice to say it's HBO so there's blood, F-bombs, and a fair amount of nudity to be had. There's also gorgeous sets and costumes and a wonderful sense of time and place as well as a great central performance by Steve Buscemi (Is it 'boo-see-me' or 'bu-chem-ee'? I'm never sure.) as city-treasurer-come-gangster "Nucky" Thompson (a fictionalized version of real-life figure, Enoch "Nucky" Johnson).This complete collection of Boardwalk Empire features all five seasons over 23 discs along with a bonus disc containing a 6 documentary features on the creation of the show and its settings.There seem to be at least two versions of the packaging, one featuring standard blue plastic cases for the seasons, and one just using cardboard booklets, which save a bit of space (and presumably manufacturing cost) at the expense of keeping your discs a little less safe. I received the cardboard version, which does still feature some nice artwork of the various characters (see included photo) as well as the season numbers on the back. Since the discs are only secured in by gravity, you should be careful opening the booklets for the first time if you receive this version as they can easily fall out during transit (thankfully a Blu Ray disc's hard coat makes it harder to scratch than DVDs are, so your only worry is having to reorganise them).The picture quality of the show is top notch thanks to HBO's production values, with minimal noise and plenty of fine detail on faces and costumes (though the show is 8 years old and was shot on 35mm film, so don't expect the ultra sharp cleanness of some modern digitally shot productions). Audio also sounds great, though I cannot comment on the 5.1 Dolby DTS mix. Some of the broadcast versions here in the UK (looking at you NowTV) do seem to have something odd going on that can make character's voices sound somewhat off as though they'd been pitched up very slightly, this might have to do with the conversion from America's 60hz to Europe's 50hz, but whatever the case that thankfully isn't present on the Blu Ray release.In addition to the bonus disc, each season features a number of episodes with audio commentaries with the cast and few, and every episode features an 'enhanced viewing' mode which introduces a timeline of events including factoids about the music, real-life setting, as well as picture-in-picture interviews with cast and crew - with the option to press a button to view more information for some of them as well as the ability to easily skip between events on the timeline. This Enhanced Viewing is a great feature that was in no way necessary with select episodes already featuring audio commentary and there already being a disc of making-of footage, but I was really glad to see it included and is definitely worth checking out if you enjoy behind the scene's content or want to know more about the real-life inspirations and references in the show.Overall I'm very happy with this collection, some of HBO's other releases got the short end of the stick in the UK (Deadwood's UK release omitted all the special features, and had some audio issues, particularly with earlier runs) but here you get a huge amount of additional content on top of five seasons of wonderful television presented in stellar quality. This easily stands alongside The Wire and The Sopranos's excellent Blu Ray box sets.

Rarely does a series come along that is flawless in every respect but with Boardwalk Empire you get as close as is humanly possible to televisual perfection but not surprising when you have the Writer / Director of The Sopranos Tim Van Patten involved along with HBOEverything about this series just screams!! QUALITY!! from the storyline to the script,costumes,acting,etc and they have captured the feel and look of America in the 1920s/30s so well in every respect that this series can only be described as an absolute MASTERPIECE!! with production values so high that they put some Hollywood blockbuster movies to shameAs for the quality of the Blu ray in terms of sound and picture once again the quality is EXCEPTIONAL!!!! and the Menu Layout is superbly crafted and a treat to navigateEven if you are not a big fan of the whole Gangster era this series is so good that it is nothing short of criminal if it does not have a place on everyones Blu ray or DVD shelfIf you truly appreciate great quality television viewing it does not come any better than Boardwalk Empire and on my shelf it takes pride of place alongside the other best TV Series' shows ever made such as Breaking Bad - 24 - The Sopranos - Game Of Thrones - The X FilesMasterpiece of a series

HBO at its best. Lavish underwold saga that transports you back to Prohibition America of the 1920's & 30's. Beautifully written, shot & acted.

My wife and about to start series 3. 5 stars for storyline, characters, acting - we both got sucked in and have been watching two episodes a night.Great entertainment. Lead character 'Nucky' is a kind of 1920s Tony Soprano - manipulative, devious, murderous yet somehow likeable! Steve Buscemi seems made for the role.One star off for the quality of the picture - distinctly 'blocky'. Didn't notice it on series one, but series two looks pretty naff - surprised considering it's a new(ish) series... Some of the CGI can look a little bit out of a video game too, but not enough to seriously detract.

Superb series ! On par with the Soprano'sTrue factual series though in comparison with the wonderful Soprano's.Every character very strong true storylines brilliantly acted out at the highest level by the fantastic cast.The likes of Al Capone & Lucky Luciano seen at the beginning as teenagers growing up through the series until becoming top mob family bosses.10/10

I loved it I was glad I bought it it was year since I saw it now my son in law what to dorrow it

Incredible series. I missed it the first time round on television and after hearing good things about it and reading many reviews, decided to go for it and buy the whole box set. I found it took a couple of episodes to get to know the characters before becoming completely engrossed and not wanting it to stop. Set in post-WWI prohibition Atlantic City, NYC and Chicago, it is addictively gripping, with characters played sublimely by superb actors - 'Nucky Thompson' played by Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs, The Big Lebowski), 'Al Capone' played by Stephen Graham (Snatch, Tinker Taylor Soldier Spy) etc. Be prepared for unpredictable, for blood to be spilled, for scores to be settled and alliances to be challenged. This is your new favourite show!

Very very good series, I like the way it's done with a fictional main character set in prohibition USA, but also intertwined with actual gangsters of that era, a great watch I highly recommend.

War voellig an mir vorbei gegangen und habe sie nur durch Zufall gesehen. Die Serie selbst wird nie langweilig, man nimmt den Schauspielern die Rollen ab. Wer "Mafia/Org. Verbrechen"-Serien wie Sopranos oder Filme wie der Pate oder Goodfellas mochte, wird hier gut bedient (meiner Meinung nach).Der Cast ist fastastisch. Jeder der Protagonisten ist -- fast -- perfekt besetzt.Bild/Tonqualitaet ist ok bis gut, aber das ist eine Fernsehserie...kein Grossformat-Kino. Fehler oder Macken gab es keine, der Ton war auch gut abgemischt (evtl. ein wenig zu leise, manchmal..).

Fast delivery ! Grate show !

変なショップで買ったことだけが悔やまれますが、作品そのものは非常に良いです。英語の字幕が消えるのが早いという不満はありますが＾＾

Sterk verhaal over het misdaadmilieu in New Jersey tussen de twee wereldoorlogen. Goed gemaakt.

A great series with excellent actors. A few historical characters, but it IS fiction. A goodly amount of sex and some serious gore, so not for those faint of heart.