Crime Story is one of the finest crime dramas ever aired on network television bar none. This is the L.A. Confidential of television and then some! The cinematography, casting, acting, writing, painstaking attention to detail in rendering period authenticity, music, style...there's never been anything like it before or since. It holds up very well to repeat viewings even for those who don't like watching anything a second time. Until now, the only examples produced, have been various videotape releases, the domestic LD releases of both pilot and first 2 episodes, and the Japanese release of the entire first season (complete with subtitles). They all consist of dated, soft, low contrast, hazy transfers. None of them compare to this new Season One DVD Box Set in picture quality. The Pilot episode in this new set is sharper and smoother looking than previous releases (even the DVD), has excellent contrast with nice inky blacks, deep rich colors and a warmer look to it. The rest of the episodes have the same high contrast, deep blacks and saturated colors with adequate shadow detail. The dark and gritty look is by design, fitting to the film noir subject and not distracting in any way; and being DVD, clean clear freeze frames are rendered. This transfer is current and up to the minute.
As for audio, some have had their panties in a wad over replacement music. Expecting the worst, I did A/B comparisons between this set and older tapes of the series. Episodes compared were The Kingdom of Money (one of my favorites) and The War. Sequence for sequence from opening scene to closing credits both versions of The Kingdom of Money were virtually identical-not a single note of music was different (I suspect this is indicative of most of the episodes as well). When comparing both versions of The War, I found 2 or 3 sequences (non critical chase/action sequences) to have different dubs of incidental music, the original music having been indeed edgier and jazzier than the replacement music. But to be perfectly honest, if I weren't looking for the changes, I probably wouldn't have noticed them. All the rest of the major music was, like The Kingdom of Money, virtually unchanged. As with all productions which utilize large amounts of music, legal rights to all of it can be a problem. However, the negligable changes here have done nothing to dampen my enjoyment of this series. Certainly nothing to have a hissy fit about.
Season 2 while not as tightly knit as Season 1 is nevertheless very entertaining and it was nice to see the series expand in other directions. The Russian fighter pilot, for example, flying his MIG 21 to the United States to defect (Welcome to America!) was brilliant! There are some terrific stories here, some of which have further explored the depth of the characters. Yes I am very much looking forward to Season 2.
Rather than knocking Ancor Bay for this release as some have, I commend them for it. None of the previous releases of Crime Story had registered so much as a blip on the sales charts. Indeed, some may remember ambitious plans for an LD release of the entire series 2 episode volumes at a time starting with the pilot. This was abandoned after the pilot and first volume due to lack of interest. I think this was due to the release of individual episodes rather than complete season box sets but, nevertheless, for any studio to invest large amounts of cash in a high priced "definitive" version of a niche title without a track record would have been foolhardy. Ancor Bay (not a deep pockets studio) had a lot of guts to stick its neck out and bring us 2 complete seasons of a series it probably thought would have been a financial write off. They are either fans themselves or have shown an inordinate amount of consideration for those of us who are true Crime Story fans with this gift. I'm one of those who would rather have 85% of something than 100% of nothing. To be perfectly honest, I'm very disappointed in those "fans" out there who not only refuse to buy these sets, but recommend that others don't either. They will make very certain that a future "definitive" release of this show with completely restored original music (perhaps a Dolby Digital remix), a slick High Definition transfer, better packaging, lots of extras, commentary and perhaps even some chapter stops and an episode guide, will NEVER happen. My recommendation is, support this treasured work by buying this package for yourselves and as gifts for friends and family and support the studio that brought it to you as imperfect as you may think it is. I bought 2. Perhaps enough interest will be generated to warrent a future Revised Special Edition. In the meantime you will have a pristine archival representation of this classic show, which will never wear out or fall prey to laser rot, to hold on to and enjoy over and over until a better one is released. If not, when this title goes out of print, your chance to own it on DVD may be gone forever.
