Blu-ray Review: ‘Sons of Anarchy: Season Five’

Article first published as Blu-ray Review: ‘Sons of Anarchy: Season Five’ on Blogcritics.

FX’s Sons of Anarchy Season Five, now available in a three-disc Blu-ray release, is an exciting one for the Northern California biker gang at its center. Much is thrown up in the hour because of new leadership and new alliances. Some major players enter into the mix in a big way, relationships fall apart, violence has never been more prevalent, and betrayals are revealed. For fans of FX’s most popular series, this batch of thirteen episodes is great.

As Season Five begins, Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam) now has command of SAMCRO, but this certainly isn’t an easy job for him, especially when trying to get the guys involved with prostitution, on top of their gun and drug sales. His son’s mother, Tara (Maggie Siff), doesn’t adjust well to being “queen” of the gang, and would prefer Jax give up his dangerous activities. Clay (Ron Perlman), Jax’s step-father and the former president of SAMCRO, is still around, and would like his old position back. New character Nero Padilla (Jimmy Smits) is bedding Gemma (Katey Sagal), who can’t quite let go of Clay, much as she might want to. A brutally vicious man named Damon Pope (Harold Perrineau, Lost), who has business-like precision, shows up looking for revenge.

As always, the acting is amazing. Sagal delivers an even more complex performance than before, and adding veterans like Smitts and Perrineau to an already excellent cast only raises the bar. Hunnam also shines in his character’s increased role, deftly playing the man trying to keep a delicate balance of semi-peace. As much as the gun fights and avenge killings may draw viewers in, so many wouldn’t stay without these truly memorable characters, wonderfully and fully created here.

Things get even worse when a gun battle with the One-Niners erupts in the premiere. This attack, brought on as an attempt to balance scales that will never be balanced, threatens deals that SAMCRO has, and also attracts the attention of law enforcement, which may be a bit more eager to catch the bikers than ensure justice.

Once again, I am struck by how sympathetic these characters, who are basically criminals, are. They have their own codes and rule structure, and at least some of their motivation is altruistic, protecting the town of Charming. Yet, even as they work in the seedy underbelly of illegal organizations, fans will still root for Jax to succeed or Gemma to triumph. They are truly well-written, well-rounded individuals.

The momentum this season is intense. Conflict builds and situations grow more complicated from week to week. The tension mounts in organic ways, always heading towards something, never floundering. Each episode gives another layer of plot, while simultaneously serving larger goals, which satisfyingly come to a head at the end of the year in the most unpredictable of ways. And, of course, a major player bites the dust.

Blu-ray is definitely the way to go on this one. Sons of Anarchy has a very dark color scheme, with a lot of blacks and browns. The contrast when viewed in high definition is great, with plenty of detail in the shadow and layers clearly visible. Similarly, the motorcycle roars and ambient noise of the many outdoor sequences are best experienced in HD, and the Blu-ray boasts an excellently mixed soundtrack.

Sons of Anarchy: Season Five is well-packed with bonus features. There are roughly fifteen minutes of deleted scenes, a couple of very cool audio commentaries, and extended episodes. The gag reel is pretty amusing, and series creator Kurt Sutter talks about how he keeps the show from growing stale. “Opie Winston” is exactly what one would expect it to be if they’ve watched these episodes, and “Fan Concert at the Club House” is a twenty-minute featurette documenting fans visiting the set and hearing great music, including the lovely voice of Katey Sagal.

Sons of Anarchy Season Five is available now.

Sons of Anarchy Season Four roars onto Blu-ray

When fans completed the third season of Sons of Anarchy, many members of SAMCRO are in prison. Season four, now on Blu-ray and DVD, picks up fourteen months later. The gang is out, but they don't quite return home to the same place they left. There's a new sheriff in town, Lieutenant Eli Roosevelt (Rockmond Dunbar, Prison Break), who won't even allow them to wear their insignia anymore. Backed up by U.S. Attorney Lincoln Potter (Ray McKinnon, Deadwood), a case is being built against the parolees. Will SAMCRO stand for this? Will they toe the line to stay out of trouble? Viewers of the show should be able to guess the answer fairly easily.

Even as everyone pulls together, there are some who call their loyalties into question. Jax (Charlie Hunnam) is ready to move on, especially after Tara (Maggie Siff) accepts his marriage proposal. Being a member of the motorcycle group hasn't been an easy or a safe way to live, and these lovebirds plan to leave it all behind them. If only quitting were that easy...

Clay (Ron Perlman) makes things worse. The guys have long run guns, but Clay thinks that they should mule cocaine, too. This added business prospect, not only risky, but also morally questionable, causes a schism in the group. Half of the guys are in favor of the extra money getting involved with drugs will bring, while the other half take a different stance. It makes it awfully hard to fight the law when you are sucked into internal bickering.

A rat within the organization, secret ancestry, letters with incriminating details, an old murder come to light, and some serious rivals are only some of the many obstacles the characters face in season four. It's a roller coaster ride which tests every characters' mettle. Loyalty and betrayal, danger and excitement, love and death rule this year, by most accounts a worthy continuation of a well-respected series.

Some complained that season three strayed too far from the beaten path, taking the characters in directions that were not universally approved of. Most agree that season four is a return to form. While that does mean it falls back into a certain formula, there are also some sweeping arcs and moving stories that raise the game. There is a re-invigoration of the strongest elements on the show, and things seem a little less meandering than in the previous year. There will never be a consensus on a show that divides people like Sons of Anarchy does, but most point to season four as a solid effort.

Despite how hard the series may seem on the outside, as it is about a bunch of criminals on motorcycles, after all, the true reason this series works is because of the characters. A fantastic cast which includes not only Perlman, Hunnam, and Siff, but also Katey Sagal, William Lucking, Mark Boone Junior, Kim Coates, Tommy Flanagan, Theo Rossi, Ryan Hurst, and Dayton Callie sell each and every installment. These characters are layered, and by the brilliance of the performers, are made sympathetic, despite the dark deeds that they do. Add to this, fantastic writing and great direction, and Sons of Anarchy remains one of cable's most compelling dramas. People who watch this show expect a high level of quality, and season four, like the previous years, delivers.

Season Four's Blu-ray release does not lack for extras. There are extended episodes and scenes, deleted scenes, and several of the episodes have an audio commentary option, including the two part finale. There is also a gag reel and featurettes on fans of the show, and a stop by the House of Blues. A touching tribute to Piney (Lucking) may just bring tears to your eyes.

Sons of Anarchy Season Four is available now wherever Blu-rays and DVDs are sold.

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Queer as Folk The Complete UK Collection on DVD in USA

     Acorn Media recently released Queer as Folk: The Complete U.K. Collection. From creator Russell T. Davies (Torchwood, Doctor Who), Queer as Folk follows Stuart (Aidan Gillen, Game of Thrones, The Wire), a promiscuous, ornery gay man in Manchester, England. His considerably quieter best friend, Vince (Craig Kelly, Coronation Street) has a crush on Stuart that isn't exactly secret. Then Stuart picks up a fifteen year old boy named Nathan (Charlie Hunnam, Sons of Anarchy, Undeclared), disrupting their lives in many ways. 

     Queer as Folk aired more than 10 years ago in Britain, and its American remake put in five seasons on Showtime. Thus, if one is interested in the material, it is likely a great deal is already known about the plot. What may have been forgotten over the years is the large amount of controversy that Queer as Folk caused upon its debut, and the special features do everything they can to remind fans of that.

     Queer as Folk is a show that people either love or hate; those against the show were quite vocal about it when it aired. The show's critics have argued that the series is a bad representation of the gay community, and promotes dangerous and destructive behavior. There is graphic sex depicted between a man and an underage boy; characters pop pills. Any reference to safe sex is subtle. Many gay individuals have claimed that Queer as Folk has nothing for them to relate to, as they live far more 'normal' lives.

     The argument that creator Davies and his cohorts make is that they never set out to provide fair representation. That would have been a less exciting documentary. Instead, they want to tell a story, a drama of three men, their friends, and a very special, specific time in their lives. Davies, as a gay man, uses his experience to tell the story, knowing that the circumstances don't apply to everyone.

     Under these arguments, most of the complaints appear to be baseless. After all, are television series featuring straight people attacked for not being representative of all straight people?

     Then again, Queer as Folk was, and is, held to a higher standard by many because of what it was: the first big, dramatic television series to focus on homosexual individuals. In that light, perhaps some viewers expect it to be something more than entertainment. Davies and his crew are not worried about the larger implications. Thus, there is a disconnect between what is being made, and what comes to screen.

     Queer as Folk The Complete Collection contains the entire run of the British version. Series 1, originally aired in eight half-hour installments, is presented as four, hour-long episodes. Series 2 includes two episodes, making the total run less than six hours in length, an unexpectedly short television series for all the impact it has had.

     The three-disc set also contains a wealth of extras. There is a 20-page booklet with reflections by Davies, many of which pertain to those things mentioned above, as well as the production process for the series. A 45-minute feature called "What the Folk...?" follows some of the behind the scenes stories, again, with a large focus on the controversy, and reuses clips from the series and the other features quite heavily. A shorter, seven minute behind the scenes feature talks of the real Canal Street, and how the gay main characters are played by straight men. Much of the interview material predates the series airing, not exactly making it new, but at least collecting it in a convenient location.

     The expected bonus features are present, too. There is almost an hour of deleted and extended scenes, a huge trove, considering the short air time. Three teasers and five trailers are included, as are almost five minutes of still slideshows. Cast filmographies for the three leads are present, updated to this year.

     There are also two bits from other shows. A short interview of two cast members on T4 is on Disc One, as well as an 11.5-minute segment from Right to Reply, a series that, among other things, lets "normal" people confront the minds behind the series they watch. In this case, a gay rights activist and a "typical" gay man are allowed to confront an executive producer and network rep. The latter don't fight back as much as they probably should against the negative accusations.

     It is welcome and appropriate, though, that such an important series gets such a nice, complete DVD treatment.

     Click here to order Queer as Folk The Complete UK Collection on DVD.

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Article first published as DVD Review: Queer as Folk - The Complete U.K. Collection on Blogcritics.