Hi my name is Del and my friends think I look like Buddy Holly hence the login name. I love music an...
Hi my name is Del and my friends think I look like Buddy Holly hence the login name. I love music and films.
Top 5 Bands: Ben Folds 5, Badly Drawn Boy, Fiona Apple, Kings of Convenience & Fun Lovin' Criminals.
Top 5 Films: Shawshank Redemption, S...
Member since:03.04.2001
Reviews:20
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This review covers the DVD itself rather than the actual programme. If you want to find out more about the actual series then I recommend you read the other dooyou opinions. The opinion by MykReeve in particular is good.
I used Blackstar to purchased my copy of series 1 on DVD from Blackstar. Unfortunately I picked the time to buy it when their local post office was on strike so I didn’t receive it until a few days after the release date. Blackstar packaged it well and it got to me in perfect condition. The DVD packaging itself is very impressieve that opens out into a cross.
What makes this release extra special is the fact that it’s available in the UK (and other R2 zones) before it’s released in America. Actually it’s well before the release date in America. Apparently some issues have arisen regarding TV syndication rights and they may not get it until late in 2001. I probably shouldn’t gloat but I will.
The
picture is not up to the usual standard of DVD’s but that’s probably more to do with the source material than the transfer. That said, the quality as expected is a lot better than the Season 1 VHS tapes. The sound is good. The dialog track is clear and the DD 2.0 sound mix is lively with plenty of atmospheric surround action. Colour is also excellent and there are no real signs of problems. My only gripe with this DVD is that when you first load it up it defaults to playing the French language. Being new to DVD I’m not sure if it’s the disk or if it’s my player.
Each disk has slightly different menus. Both start with the usual copyright warnings before going into a Buffy montage mimicking the opening sequences of the show and snippet of "Nerf Herder" music plays in the background. The main menus are static but look fantastic. When you choose an episode you get a little Buffy sound bite. The menu structure is a different from the norm. Each episode is listed on the main menu while the extras, chapter and language selection are listed underneath. Each episode is split into around 12 chapters while the langue selection is two soundtracks (French and English) and 3 subtitles, French, Dutch and English for the hearing impaired.
The Extras menu on each episode is slightly different. On disk 1 "Welcome to Hellmouth" and "The Harvest" take you to a menu which include the Joss Whedon commentary along with "Interview with Joss Whedon and David Boreanaz, Buffy Trailer and "Original Pilot Script". The special features menu for "Witch" and "Teacher's pet" removes the Joss Whedon commentary option. The best extra is easily the commentary by Joss Whedon, which covers the first two episodes and reveals a lot about the thinking behind the writing. We get to learn a lot about how things were done and what was originally intended and some interesting casting facts. There is also some DVD-Rom stuff on here but I have a stand-alone player so I’m unable to look at this.
The special features for the second disk has the "I Quit" music video by Hepburn and a photo gallery. The photo gallery has some good photos, which are displayed on full screen. The music video and song is O.K but nothing special. The third disc contains a selection of cast and crew biographies. In general the biographies themselves cover both the characters and the actors. You will probably only look at these once but they do contain very interesting information. Like did you know that Nicholas Brendon has an identical twin brother?
Last but not least, we have a 28-page episode guide, which actually goes into quite a lot of detail on the first season episodes. There are loads of little bits and pieces that you probably didn't know and some interesting facts have been extracted and presented in a way, which means you, should be able to just pick up the booklet and locate the bit you want to read. It's a great addition to the overall package.
If you’re a fan of the Buffy series then you’re going to love this. If you have never seen Buffy before then now is a good time to get into it. If your not sure about buying it then no doubt Blockbuster will have a few copies available to rent out. The cheapest place I've seen to buy it is Tesco and they sell it for just under £40.00
The second series will be out on 25th May 2001. I hope it’s as good as this one.
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Production Year: 1980 - Horror - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Pierce Brosnan, Peter Cushing, Diana Dors, Denholm Elliott, Brian Cox, Sian Phillips
Production Year: 1978 - Horror - Director: John Carpenter - Original Language: English - Classification: 18 years and over - Starring: Donald Pleasence, P. J. Soles, Jamie Lee Curtis, Nancy Loomis
Advantages: The most innovative, entertaining, thought-provoking show on television, all in the same box. Like having a novel playing before you... Disadvantages: Not as good as Buffy gets, but a vital introduction...
![Complete Buffy Collector's Edition Box Set (Series 1-7) [DVD]](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/83399588.jpg "Complete Buffy Collector's Edition Box Set (Series 1-7) [DVD]")
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