BREAKER! BREAKER! -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 3/11/16

 

I wouldn't have been caught dead going to a redneck trucker flick in 1977.  Or even renting it or watching it on HBO in 1988.  Especially if it had anything to do with CB radios, which I regarded with utter disdain.  Not only did I not see movies like CONVOY back in the day, but the C.W. McCall song itself made my soul hurt.

But that was then.  Now, in retrospect, I can enjoy a low-rent indy truck opera like Chuck Norris' BREAKER! BREAKER! (1977) as I bask in its retro-retro charm.  In fact, this simple little tale of good guys vs. bad guys and righteousness against injustice is such utterly unassuming and straightforward fun that its purity is practically bracing.

In only his first starring role, Chuck is hardly the fabled Superman he would later become although he can already spin-kick his share of butt.  Here, with his youth and lack of facial hair making him look a bit unformed, he's an easygoing truck driver who'd rather mind his own business than have to prove how tough he is.

 
But prove it he must when his younger brother, Billy, gets detoured through the small town of Texas City, California during his very first trucker run and finds out its one of those places where everyone is dishonest, especially the scummy police and the man who runs everything as mayor, judge, and whatever else he wants to be at any particular time--namely, the loathesome Judge Joshua Trimmings. 

The Judge is played by familiar character actor George Murdock (EARTHQUAKE, ANY WHICH WAY YOU CAN), who was born to play a smalltown tyrant in a baggy off-white suit.  (Not to mention God in STAR TREK V: THE FINAL FRONTIER.)  He convicts our hapless Billy of various cooked up crimes and sentences him to pay up or go to jail. 

Billy balks, gets beaten up, and disappears.  Cue big brother Chuck coming to town to rescue him and you've pretty much got the rest of the plot figured out.

The big rig angle actually comes into play only at the very beginning of the film and again for its finale, with most of the running time consisting of Chuck dealing with the local yokels (this is one of those Southern-like towns that seems to have been plunked right down in the middle of California) who are all either shining him on or trying to kill him.

Chuck, needless to say, handles himself capably but does so with a minimum of fancy fight choreography, making do with a well-placed spin-kick here and there in addition to some good old-fashioned fisticuffs.

Even the big fight at the end is kept fairly simple, save for lots of slow-motion a la "The Six Million Dollar Man." The mayhem tends to be on the lighter side, too, with nary a fractured limb or geyser of blood spewing from someone's mouth after a crushing blow.

Murdock, naturally, takes home the acting honors, while ERASERHEAD's Jack Nance gets to overact as a manic redneck trucker.  As for Chuck, his skills are pretty basic here--in one scene, it looks as though director Don Hulette filmed closeups of him expressing various emotions so that he could simply insert them wherever needed.  Of course, it's not like we really watch Chuck Norris movies for the acting.

As Arlene, a local woman and single mother who sides with Chuck against the town's corruption and becomes his romantic interest, Terry O'Connor is an appealing presence.  Their romance is quick and virtually without dialogue, with a brief, sappy ballad and a montage of them strolling around in the woods for a minute sufficing to encapsulate their courtship. 

The Blu-ray from Olive Films is in widescreen with Dolby 2.0 sound.  No subtitles.  The sole extra is the film's trailer.

With all of Chuck's trucker friends converging on the town for what might be called a "smashing" finale, BREAKER! BREAKER! finally breaks a sweat after pleasantly coasting along like a big rig on a downward grade for an hour-and-a-half.  It's hardly a blockbuster action thriller, but if you love the 70s, then movies like this are probably one of the reasons why.


Release date: March 22, 2016

Pictures shown are not taken from the Blu-ray

BREAKER! BREAKER! -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

BAD ASS -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 5/27/12

 

If you've followed actor Danny Trejo's career from the young prison boxer (which he actually was at the time) of RUNAWAY TRAIN to the fearsome knife-throwing assassin in DESPERADO to the even more fearsome killing machine Machete in MACHETE, then no doubt the lively trailer for BAD ASS (2012) made you think "Hey, this could really be cool."  And if you're like me, actually watching the movie made you think "Hey, this is really...ehh."

Not that seeing perennial bad ass Trejo, now in his late 60s, as a geriatric do-gooder bopping around in a baseball cap, baggy shorts, and sneakers isn't funny and somewhat endearing.  The scene in which he intervenes between two hostile skinheads and an old man on a city bus, kicking their butts and becoming a YouTube hero in the bargain, is feelgood stuff that satisfies my urge to vicariously dole out vigilante justice to those who deserve it. 

Other scenes with Trejo's "Frank Vega" character taking on various attackers and administering gut-busting stomach punches and granite-knuckled haymakers, all in a quest to find the killers of his best friend Klondike (Harrison Page) while the police do nothing, have a similar visceral appeal.  But the movie surrounding all of this is a hit-and-miss affair that resembles some cheesy 70s flick you might have paid scant attention to at the drive-in whenever there wasn't something kinetic taking place on the screen. 

Of course, this may have been director and co-writer Craig Moss' intention and, if so, he has succeeded.  The cheese factor begins early with a flashback of young Viet Nam veteran Frank (Shalim Ortiz) unsuccessfully readjusting to civilian life while wearing what looks like a Halloween wig that was cut and styled at a dog-grooming parlor.  The actress playing the elder Frank's mother (Tonita Castro) later on appears to be between 5-10 years older than him at most. 

When Frank comes to the rescue of pretty young Amber (Joyful Drake), the battered wife next door, their May-December romance is handled in about as embarrassing a fashion as you might imagine.  Amber's son Martin (John Duffy) sports a 70s-style 'fro and is one of those hip wisecracking kids we're supposed to find funny even though we actually want to place-kick him through a bay window.  The dialogue during all this is pretty wince-inducing although Danny, bless his heart, brings his best game to the whole thing, even giving us a crying scene at one point.

Forgetting the film's dumber elements and concentrating on the action is your best bet.  Ron Perlman makes a brief appearance as the city's crooked mayor, but it's his henchman Charles Dutton who gets quality screen time with Frank when he discovers that the local hero is in possession of a flash drive (given to him by Klondike) that could send the mayor to prison. 

Once Frank is captured and tortured via some painful-looking booby electrodes, Dutton does the actor equivalent of Hulking out with some big, and I mean really big-big bad-guy acting that culminates in one of those epic dirty fistfights that makes you wish the camerawork and editing were better.  And right before that, we get a crash-tastic chase between two city buses which pretty much makes the whole movie worth watching. 

The DVD from 20th-Century Fox Home Entertainment is in 1.85:1 widescreen with Dolby 5.1 sound and subtitles in English, French, and Spanish.  Extras consist of a director's commentary track and a making-of featurette.

The oddest thing about this film is that in the midst of Frank's occasionally lighthearted quest for justice (Danny Woodburn, the midget from "Seinfeld", has a funny cameo) there's a jarringly nasty scene that's so violent, with the basically decent Frank suddenly turning so heartlessly sadistic, that it's like something out of a torture porn flick.  Yet in his commentary, director Moss seems to regard this as just another cool scene topped off with a couple of funny zingers.  It's just this sort of thing that makes BAD ASS such a disjointed and not particularly cohesive movie--not really bad but not all that good, either.

BAD ASS -- DVD Review by Porfle

TAPOUT: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

Originally posted on 11/1/10

 

I was never interested in mixed martial arts, or "extreme fighting", because I always had the impression that it was simply an excuse for people to watch a couple of bozos in a cage beat each other to a bloody pulp.  Why should I be interested in that?  TAPOUT: THE COMPLETE SERIES (2007-2008) is an entertaining and informative answer to that question.

"Tapout" is what an opponent does when he's had enough and must submit by literally tapping the canvas.  It's also the name of the line of sports clothing and gear founded in 1997 by Charles Lewis, known as "Mask" because of his penchant for decorating his face with camo paint.  After a humble beginning that saw Mask selling his wares from the back of a car at local fighting events, the company grew to include his friends Dan "Punkass" Caldwell and Tim "SkySkrape" Katz and went on to make millions. 

The 20 episodes in this 5-disc set document the adventures of Mask, Punkass, and SkySkrape as they travel the country in their RV looking for up-and-coming fighters to sponsor in their first major MMA event.  Each episode follows his training and preparation as we and the Tapout crew get to know him and learn what makes him tick.  Then comes the climactic fight which rarely fails to be suspenseful and exciting.  With a mix of traditional boxing, kickboxing, wrestling, jiu-jitsu, and whatever else , the action is non-stop and the outcomes unpredictable.  And, contrary to my preconceptions, the violence hardly ever exceeds that of a regular boxing match (not by all that much, anyway).
 

 

That isn't to say that you won't find yourself getting a little squeamish on occasion.  Blood does flow, and there are times when a fighter is pummeled like a human punching bag.  You'll see guys getting elbow-bashed repeatedly in the face, and in the first episode one fighter's arm gets bent the wrong way, which had me cringing.  Aside from these instances, though, I found myself gradually appreciating the skills and strategy that each fighter brought into the ring--some specializing in the "stand up" (traditional boxing and kickboxing) and others concentrating on their "ground game" where wrestling and jiu-jitsu come into play.  Those who are equally adept at both usually come out on top.  (More often than not, surprisingly, the ground game is the deciding factor.)

The fighters are a diverse bunch of characters.  Some are troubled kids who would otherwise be headed down a path of gang violence and crime.  Others are struggling to better the lives of themselves and their families.  There's a SWAT cop, a cowboy from down on the farm, a guy who's getting back into the game after having his colon removed, and a mama's boy who wants to be a superhero. 

In one segment, the guys decide to sponsor their first female, Julie Kedzie, after being impressed by her workout in the gym.  In another, they must contend with a hostile young fighter who's at war with the world and everyone in it.  Little if any of the show seems staged, and there's none of the forced drama that infests most "reality" shows because none is needed--these characters and their stories are interesting enough as they are.

Speaking of characters, the Tapout boys are continually fun to watch as they travel the country and get into mischief at every turn.  Mask, whose hyena-like laugh is heard throughout each episode, is a loud, boisterous, and very likable bundle of energy with a childlike fascination with the world around him.  Highly outgoing, he uses his unorthodox social skills to make connections and help the fighters through any physical or emotional troubles they may have. 

At 6'7", SkySkrape is a strange sight in his big-hair wigs and novelty glasses, and serves as Tapout's main comedy relief.  In stark contrast is the diminutive Punkass, a strong, silent type who handles most of the company business and maintains a bemused deadpan during his companions' prankish antics.
 

 

It's fun watching these guys hang out at the various gyms and scout new fighters to sponsor, or simply take advantage of all the fun that can be had in each new location that they find themselves in.  This may include autograph-signing events, appearances on radio shows, or auditioning sexy bikini babes for their promotional photos.  On the flip side, we also see them staking a homeless fighter to three months' rent on an apartment (followed by three more if he keeps up his training), and generally going the extra mile for those less fortunate.  Behind all the clowning, they seem to be truly stand-up guys.

It all leads up to the big fight that usually takes up the last ten or fifteen minutes of each episode.  After each bout, Mask, SkySkrape, and Punkass offer their play-by-play analysis along with slow-motion highlights of the best moments.  The slam-bang action and the suspense of seeing if Tapout's chosen competitor is going to win each time are addictive, and I found myself watching all 20 episodes of this thoroughly entertaining series in just a few marathon sessions.  Needless to say, I now have a new appreciation for mixed martial arts and the athletes who participate in it.

The 5-disc collection from Image Entertainment is in full-screen with Dolby Digital stereo.  There are no subtitles and no extras.  The discs are stacked in a clamp-like device that I don't think I've encountered before, but after some careful thought I devised a clever method of getting the discs in and out without much trouble.

About halfway through viewing TAPOUT: THE COMPLETE SERIES, I discovered that Charles "Mask" Lewis was killed on March 11, 2009, in an auto accident involving a drunk driver.  In addition to being a major bringdown, the fact that I knew he didn't have long to live really forced me to watch the rest of the series in a whole new light.  Whether cutting up with SkySkrape in the back of their Tapout RV with the unflappable Punkass at the wheel, or mixing it up with old and new friends all along the way, Mask seemed to be having a ball living his life every minute of the day.  I guess this series is as good a way as any to remember him.

TAPOUT: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- DVD Review by Porfle

BIG MAN JAPAN -- DVD Review by Porfle

 

Originally posted on 7/19/09

 

Well, here's something for those with a really big taste for the unusual. Part mockumentary, part giant-Japanese-monsters spoof, BIG MAN JAPAN (2007) is one seriously weird movie. And watching it is like discovering a chest full of really cool toys that were designed by crazy elves on acid.

The mockumentary part follows a reserved, unassuming man named Daisato (director and co-writer Hitoshi Matsumoto) around as he makes his way through a seemingly ordinary life. He lives in a dumpy home with a stray cat and makes pointless conversation about how he likes things (folding umbrellas, dehydrated seaweed) that are small until you need for them to get big.

Sometimes he wistfully talks about his 8-year-old daughter, whom his ex-wife will only let him visit twice a year because that's as often as she can stand to be around him.

Rocks crash through the windows as he speaks. His house is adorned with strewn garbage and graffiti such as "Die!" and "We don't need you!" Why? Because Daisato is Big-Sato, or "Big Man Japan", a widely-reviled superhero who is also small until the government needs for him to get big and fight the giant monsters that constantly invade Japan, and it's no longer the glamour job that it was for his predecessors. In fact, his reality TV show is currently getting lower ratings than the weather channel.

The interview segments, while very funny, are also dry and sometimes seemingly interminable. I couldn't wait for Daisato to get the next call to action from the government, because then, things really get fun. He travels by moped (passing more graffiti such as "You're annoying" and "Fall off a cliff!") to the nearest electrical station to "power up", standing inside his gigantic purple shorts and getting zapped with millions of volts until he grows to colossal proportions.

With his long hair standing straight up and his pudgy body adorned with tattoos and advertising (his avaricious agent sells ad space to various sponsors and pockets most of the profits herself), Big Man Japan is ready to stomp into action again.

Each monster that he encounters is a wonderful and fascinating creation. The first one we see is The Strangling Monster, whose arms form a loop of elastic steel cables that he wraps around skyscrapers before hoisting them up and gleefully piledriving them into the ground. The Leaping Monster is another extremely happy creature with very expressive features--the facial CGI motion-capture on these things is really good.

This is especially true for The Stink Monster, a female monstrosity who engages our hero in a heated verbal exchange filled with withering putdowns while leaning against a building and petulantly nudging automobiles with her foot.

Most of the monsters have some kind of disturbing sexual component that adds an extra layer of strangeness to their activities. Strangling Monster extrudes a pointed metallic shaft from his posterior that deposits slimy eggs into the gaping holes left from uprooted buildings. Evil Stare Monster's telescoping eye-stalk, which he uses as a swinging mace-like weapon, originates from his groin.

Not to be outdone, Stink Monster is actually in heat, which attracts the frantic attentions of yet another grotesque monster who's beside himself with hilariously hyperkinetic lust. "What the hell!?" Daisato cries in horror as she turns around and "presents." What happens next results in tabloid press headlines decrying Big Man Japan as a "Monster Pimp."

Each of these segments is a feast of weirdness for us to gorge ourselves on--irresistible confections of stylized photo-realistic CGI, mind-bending monsters, and cartoonishly surreal situations. When Daisato's senile old grandfather, once the highly-popular Big Man Japan the Fourth, zaps himself with electricity and gets back into the act, he goes on a wonderfully irrational rampage in which he takes on Tokyo Tower and shuts down the local airport by playing with the planes, while headlines scream "Big Man Japan Destroys Japan!!" and "Big Man Japan Salutes the Sun?!"

Even the somewhat melancholy mockumentary sequences start to get more outrageous as Daisato deals with all the various controversies and public outcries while trying to keep his personal life together.

Hitoshi Matsumoto does a good job directing the film while giving a nicely subdued performance as the put-upon Daisato. His supporting players, including several non-professionals, are natural and funny. The more mundane segments look as though they might have been shot for some PBS series, while the monster scenes are so lush and colorful that they're quite visually sumptuous. Adding to the film's appeal is a score by Towa Tei that is often beautiful.

A 68-minute bonus featurette (with commentary), "Making of Big Man Japan", shows the years-long collaborative process in which the story and its characters were developed, and follows the cast and crew to Cannes for the film's successful premiere. Also included on the DVD are several deleted scenes plus trailers for this and the other films in Magnolia/Magnet's "6-Shooter Film Series" (five of which we've reviewed right here at HKCFN, counting this one). The 1.85:1 widescreen image and Dolby Digital sound are good. Soundtrack is in Japanese with English and Spanish subtitles.

With the appearance of a redskinned, seemingly invincible demon-monster that may mean the end of our hero, BIG MAN JAPAN has a final surprise in store for viewers which will either delight or confuse, or both. (At any rate, it should get you to thinking about what the heck it all means, including possible political implications, blah, blah, etc.) Like the rest of the film, it's unexpected and totally off-the-wall. And if you're like me, you may find it hard to believe that somebody actually made a movie that's this much pure, silly, unadulterated fun.

BIG MAN JAPAN -- DVD Review by Porfle

SPARTACUS: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle

 

 

  Originally posted on 9/14/2014

 

"This show is what you get when you cross a riveting, exquisitely-produced story with a meat grinder." That's how I described the first season DVD set ("Blood and Sand") of the shockingly graphic, richly dramatic, and blazingly entertaining Starz series "Spartacus", with subsequent sets ("Gods of the Arena", "Vengeance", and "War of the Damned") matching if not surpassing it with each hypnotically watchable episode.

If you're new to the series, or have missed parts of it along the way, fear not. Anchor Bay and Starz have collected the entire sweeping saga in the 13-disc box set SPARTACUS: THE COMPLETE SERIES (available in either DVD or Blu-ray+Digital HD with Ultraviolet™) containing all 39 episodes and original bonus features plus an extra all-new bonus disc. And if you're like me, this just might become your brand new stranded-on-a-desert-island pick of the week, month--maybe even year.

Those with even a passing knowledge of the historical account and/or the Stanley Kubrick film will be familiar with the story of Spartacus, a free man cast into slavery by the Romans circa 73 B.C. and forced to fight in the gladiatorial arena until at last he led a slave revolt whose growing legions, for a short while anyway, threatened to conquer Rome itself.

While hailed by the arena's bloodthirsty spectators as its greatest and most heroic gladiator of all, Spartacus' growing horror at the mistreatment and oppression of his fellow slaves, coupled with an overwhelming lust to avenge his beloved wife's death at Roman hands, finally drives him and his followers into all-out war at the mind-boggling climax of "Blood and Sand."

But first we get to see our hero's constant struggle to survive one harrowing fight for life after another against a never-ending procession of the deadliest foes ever to wield swords and shields. And the clashes continue even in the gladiators' off-time as well, as Spartacus must coexist not only with brave allies like Varro (Jai Courtney) and harsh but noble trainer Doctore (Peter Mensah, 300), but with such bitter rivals as super-warrior Crixus (Manu Bennett)--whose aid he'll desperately court when the time comes to revolt--and various others who wish his downfall either through fair competition or more devious means.

When it comes to deviousness, however, none can match that of the spoiled, entitled Roman elite who enjoy lives of leisure and idle intrigue while using their slaves as either beasts of burden or objects of sexual and sadistic gratification. Of these, most entertaining are John Hannah (THE MUMMY) as gladiator master Batiatus and his scheming wife Lucretia, played to perfection by "Xena: Warrior Princess" herself, Lucy Lawless.

Joining them in the delightfully dark and sinister goings-on of the Roman upper class is Viva Bianca (SCORNED) as vain, condescending Ilithyia, wife of super soldier Gaius Claudius Glaber (Craig Parker), who will one day be charged with defeating Spartacus in battle. Ilithyia proves a vile young seductress who feigns friendship while forever plotting against Lucretia and Batiatus to improve her social status.

At times, the lengths to which these characters will go (perhaps "stoop" would be a better word) to outwit each other are dazzlingly perverse, as are many of their diversions. "Spartacus" is rife with more steamy softcore sex than a whole month's worth of "Cinemax After Dark", and whether you fancy the male or female form in all its unfettered glory, you're sure to get more than an eyeful with each episode. Careful, though--several of these sexual couplings have not-so-happy endings.

What impresses most about this series, however, are the battle scenes--perhaps the goriest and most graphically violent ever filmed, and without a doubt some of the most exciting. No horror film ever boasted this level of carnage--heads roll, limbs are severed, blood fills the air--all done with a combination of practical and computer effects that match the semi-unreal green-screen ambience of the series as a whole (which I find appealing in its own way).

Both arena and battlefield fights are a blend of styles from such films as 300, THE MATRIX, and the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy, using lots of bullet-time shots and super-slo-mo tableaux that resemble splash pages from exquisitely-drawn comic books. All of which is of feature-film quality and keeps us entertained on a purely visceral level while also moving the plot relentlessly forward.

With star Andy Whitfield sidelined by illness (which, to every fan's great sorrow, the likable and talented actor would not survive), the producers chose the prequel path as a follow-up to season one. "Gods of the Arena" concentrates on the gladiator business with John Hannah and Lucy Lawless coming to the fore to enact some of their characters' most outlandish dealings in both the gladiatorial and social arenas.

Again, arena action dominates all else as we get to see not only the origin of Crixus, but the introduction of a new gladiator hero known as Gannicus (Dustin Clare), a devil-may-care fighter with the insouciant air of a rock star. At first superficial, Gannicus will eventually reveal a depth that makes him and his story both fascinating and moving. Getting to know Crixus better also enriches his backstory, enhancing his later relationships with Spartacus and others. The "Star Wars" saga's own "Jango Fett", Temuera Morrison, appears as Batiatus' head gladiator-trainer.

In elevating his status in Roman society, John Hannah's Batiatus proves so cunning, willful, and prone to sudden bursts of extreme violence that his plotlines often have the feel of a Mario Puzo underworld thriller from an earlier time. Lucy Lawless' Lucretia, of course, is involved in equally calculating pursuits of her own. Both will be taken aback when Batiatus' domineering father returns from exile to take over the family gladiator business from his errant son. As in season one, the storylines all come together to end in jarring fashion that will leave viewers breathless.

The third series, "Vengeance" (officially referred to as "season two", with "Gods of the Arena" being considered a separate miniseries), introduces Liam McIntyre in place of the late Andy Whitfield as Spartacus. The change is jarring at first, to be sure, but give him time--eventually McIntyre will make the role his own. We finally get to rejoin the slave revolt already in progress, with Spartacus' army increasing in number with each Roman household they lay waste to and each group of slaves that they liberate.

Cynthia Addai-Robinson replaces Lesley-Ann Brandt as Naevia, former "body slave" to Lucretia who is now the love of Crixus' life. In time, Naevia will become a fierce warrior herself and fight alongside Crixus and the others as Addai-Robinson, like McIntyre, grows into the character.
 

Ilithyia returns in a surprising new storyline, as does her husband Gaius Claudius Glaber, who leads the Roman forces against Spartacus and finds the slave army and its leader--who is fast becoming a living legend to both slave and Roman alike--more formidable than he dared imagine.

It all leads up to the final season, "War of the Damned", in which the series reaches a level of visual spectacle and dramatic intensity that serves as a fitting climax to the saga. Battlefield action rivals that of RETURN OF THE KING, with each blood-drenched clash topping the last in a fury of blunt and bladed weapons thudding and slicing their way through oceans of writhing combatants.

The title character now fully belongs to Liam McIntyre, who plays the role with a conviction and depth much improved over the previous season. Manu Bennett's Crixus and Dustin Clare's Gannicus are also far more rounded characters who add to the series' dramatic tension as well as continuing to provide some of its most thrilling battle action.
 

One ambitious plotline involves the conquering of an entire city as a home for Spartacus' forces, which will prove as hard to hold as it is to manage when a brash young Gaius Julius Caesar (Todd Lasance, who recalls Brad Pitt in TROY) infiltrates their ranks and leads a devastating attack from within.

But Spartacus has an even greater new foe, perhaps his most fearsome of all, in the brilliant military leader Crassus (an outstanding Simon Merrells, THE WOLFMAN), a vastly wealthy man who, after being implored by a beleaguered Roman senate, purchases an army of 10,000 men with his own money and leads them into battle against the rebels.

While ruthless and unyielding, Crassus proves a more interesting antagonist than the usual "boo-hiss" villain in that he respects Spartacus as both man and warrior, and displays emotional depth in his dealings with an ambitious but incompetent son, Tiberius (Christian Antidormi), and a beautiful slave woman, Kore (Jenna Lind), whom he loves over his own wife.

The usual liberal doses of softcore porn are depicted with the same matter-of-fact frankness as the battle scenes. The latter are, as always, rendered with the utmost imagination and visual creativity. Often an impeccably choreographed moment is staged and frozen in time as to resemble a Barry Smith painting or Jim Steranko gatefold brought to life.

As usual, there's more blood and gore here than in just about any horror film you can imagine. Nothing is held back in the depiction of extreme, graphic violence that shows in hyper-realistic detail just what carnage would reign during one of these vicious hand-to-hand battles with thousands of men and women ferociously flailing and hacking away at each other in close quarters.

With the slave revolt an ever-growing threat to Rome's way of life, Spartacus and Crassus continue to match strategy and armed might in a battle of wits that has heartrending repercussions for both sides. In this, the final season, beloved characters fall and the unthinkable happens time and again.

Because the characters are, by this time, so familiar and well-drawn, the dramatic passages carry an impact just as riveting if not more so than the action scenes, especially since history already tells us that this story, at least in some key aspects, won't have a happy ending. But as far as that goes, the writers still have a number of ways to keep things from being too downbeat and predictable as we near the inevitable conclusion.

The Blu-ray and DVD box sets from Anchor Bay/Starz are in 1.78:1 widescreen with English Dolby Digital 5.1 and Spanish mono sound. Subtitles are in English and Spanish. Runtime is 2173 minutes for Blu-ray and 2136 minutes for DVD. (A complete list of bonus features follows this review.)

All in all, SPARTACUS: THE COMPLETE SERIES is one of the most solidly and consistently compelling series I've ever seen. With endlessly impressive battle scenes filled to the brim with action and excitement, and dramatic storylines that are shocking, suspenseful, and scintillating, it belongs on any hardy cinephile's bucket list of must-see entertainment.

Buy it at Amazon.com:

Blu-ray
Limited Edition Blu-ray
DVD

1st season ("Blood and Sand") bonus features:

DVD and Blu-ray™ bonus features:

Featurettes:
•Gladiator Camp
•History Rewritten
•Make-up Effects
•The Hole

And more!
•Audio Commentaries

•Episodes with Enhanced Digital Effects

•Behind-The-Scenes Footage
•Bloopers
•Trailers

 Exclusive Blu-ray™ bonus feature:

•Four "Directors’ Cut Extended Episodes" personally selected by Executive Producer Rob Tapert

Prequel season ("Gods of the Arena") bonus features:

Blu-ray and DVD bonus features include:

•Starz Studios: Gods of the Arena
•Weapons Of Mass Disruption
•Battle Royale: Anatomy Of A Scene
•On Set With Lucy Lawless
•10 Easy Steps To Dismemberment
•Post Production: The Final Execution
•Enter The Arena: Production Design
•Dressed To Kill
•Convention Panel
•Arena Bloopers

Exclusive Blu-ray bonus features include:

•3D "Ring Of Fire" Battle Sequence
•Extended Episodes
•Audio Commentaries On All Episodes (including: Writer/Creator/Executive Producer Steven S. DeKnight, Executive Producer Rob Tapert and actors John Hannah, Lucy Lawless, Dustin Clare, Jaime Murray, Peter Mensah – and more

2nd season ("Vengeance") bonus features:

•Starz Studios: Spartacus: Vengeance
•The Making of Spartacus: Vengeance
•Behind the Camera: Directing the Rebellion
•On Set with Liam McIntyre
•The Legend of Spartacus
•Famous Last Words
•Bloopers

•BLU-RAY EXCLUSIVE – 9 Extended Episodes and Audio Commentaries!

3rd season ("War of the Damned") bonus features:

•SPARTACUS: The Legend Retold
•The Price Of Being A Gladiator
•A Bloody Farewell

•The Spoils Of War Revealed: Visual Effects

•Adorning The Damned
•The Mind Behind SPARTACUS
 •BLU-RAY™ EXCLUSIVES – Extended Episodes and Audio Commentaries!

 

New Bonus-Disc Features:

•SPARTACUS Fan Favorites With Liam McIntyre
•Scoring A Hit: Composer Joseph LoDuca
•An Eye Full: Roger Murray
•SPARTACUS: Paul Grinder
•The Last Word: John Hannah

 

1st season ("Blood and Sand") review

Prequel season ("Gods of the Arena") review

2nd season ("Vengeance") review

 

 

 



SPARTACUS: THE COMPLETE SERIES -- Blu-ray Review by Porfle