Product Details

• Actors: Michael C. Hall
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Dubbed: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Showtime / Paramount
• DVD Release Date: August 17, 2010
• Run Time: 632 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (438 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002N5N5M0
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #795 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Dexter: The Fourth Season" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Unfolding with tragic inevitability, Dexter's fourth season is a taut game of cat and mouse between Dexter (Emmy nominee Michael C. Hall) and Arthur Mitchell, "a very special kind of monster," unnervingly portrayed by John Lithgow in his Emmy and Golden Globe-winning performance. Whoever guest stars in seasons to come has a very hard act to follow. (Never mind all the blood, Mitchell's greeting, "Hello, Dexter Morgan," from the episode of the same name, will disturb your sleep.) But let's not forget Hall's consistently cutting-edge work. The Dexter saga has a rich back-story and mythology, but for those new to the series and lured to this season by Lithgow's justly celebrated performance, season 4 is a good place to start, because it represents something of a new beginning for Dexter himself. Married at the end of season 3, he is now dreaming of "having it all" as a husband and father, trying to juggle the demands of his job as a Miami Metro Police Department blood-spatter analyst, his new family, and his other calling as a serial killer. But he is more conflicted than ever. His new baby keeps him up nights, and the normally precise and methodical Dexter finds himself exhausted to the point of making mistakes in court. "Who knew life could get so unsimple?" he asks early on. Dexter and Mitchell are not the only characters harboring secrets. Some we can mention (Lieutenant Maria LaGuerta and Detective Angel Batista are in a relationship), but others we dare not even hint at (the episode "Hungry Man" has a doozy of a cliffhanger revelation). As the season unfolds, an incognito Dexter insinuates himself into Arthur's life and discovers disturbing parallels in their lives. Meanwhile, now-retired serial killer hunter Frank Lundy (Keith Carradine), who nearly uncovered Dexter's identity back in season 2, returns to ask for his help in catching the Trinity Killer. His reappearance upends the life of Dexter's sister Debra (Jennifer Carpenter), a homicide detective and Lundy's former lover. Debra has also been digging into the past of her late policeman father Harry (James Remar) and learns more about her twisted family tree. Disappointingly, interviews with Hall, Lithgow, and other cast members can be accessed only on a PC, but the DVD does contain episodes of Californication, Lock 'N Load, and The Tudors. --Donald Liebenson

Product Description

The Showtime Original Series DEXTER™ is back with an all-new season, and this time America's favorite serial killer has gone from freewheeling bachelor to responsible husband and doting dad. Maintaining an average-guy facade while satisfying his need to kill has never been easy. But now, with wife and kids in tow, Dexter's got more to lose then ever, as he gets drawn into a deadly game with a killer every bit as dangerous — and conflicted — as he is.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

104 of 113 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Best Season Yet! December 15, 2009

By TessClare

Format:DVD

Dexter fans are reeling from the shocker of a season finale that aired last Sunday Dec. 13th, and rightly so. Yet for people curious about the show, Season 4 is a great place to start. Season 4 begins with Dexter adjusting to life as a new dad and a married man. As a viewer, I didn't want the show to turn into 'Dexter changes a diaper' or 'Dexter Buys Formula' and the writers exposed Dexter to those things and Dexter reacts to them as best and as humorously as he can. Dexter is still in there, with his Dark Passenger, leading a double life and trying to cope in his own way with new challenges. It seems like Dexter doesn't do a lot of killing in Season 4, it's more of a tense cat and mouse game leading up to the season finale. Season 4 stars John Lithgow as father/deacon/volunteer/serial killer Arthur. A great casting decision as Lithgow can act the gamut of emotions. His portrayal of the character will perhaps go down as one of the most complex and notorious bad guys in TV or movie history, right along side with Hannibal Lecter (Hannibal had many sides, too).
Season 4 has a movie length plot cut into a serial format. It's a great place to start for new fans because in a way, the events of the season are clearing the way for Dexter to decide if he wants to be a family man, a normal guy next door or embrace his Dark Passenger once again and without looking back.
Strong performances (as always) from Jennifer Carpenter as Dexter's sister Deb.
The only negative I can comment on is the subplot of the relationship between La Guerta and Batista. I love Angel but the fling with La Guerta seemed distracting. Liked him better with the vice detective ;)

For fans who didn't like Season 3, Season 4 will bring them back into the Dexter fold certainly. Excellent fiction all around. As Jennifer Carpenter said in an interview w/E Online "I hope you have a good time talking to your therapists about it because it's beyond whatever you may think." Fans of the show are a mix: those who like blood and violence period, those who like the characters and storylines, those who analyze the themes, those who revel in their ability to compartmentalize their reactions and emotions. However, Dexter is a show that makes you think and in the season finale, it's a show that makes you feel things in your gut, things that you forgot a tv show could make you feel, things that you will be forced to feel whether you like it or not...

Keep up the good work writers!

65 of 69 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow as Antagonists--Heavenly Hell! December 15, 2009

By carol irvin TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Update: both Michael C. Hall and John Lithgow won the Golden Globe for their performances this season. Michael C. Hall also won the Screen Actor's Guild Award.

The success of this type of show, serial killer crime, is usually dependent on how good the villain is. Dexter is, of course, semi villainous since he is a serial killer himself but he kills bad guys. So the series needs a "real" bad guy as well. John Lithgow is that bad guy this season and quite simply, you couldn't ask for a better one. It is a very complex role of a supposedly ideal father, husband and dedicated volunteer for the homeless who also is the serial killer Trinity. He is a very nuanced and layered character. These two characters are not the whole show but they firmly anchor it and everyone else revolves around them. There are surprising twists this season and none more so than the ending. But this is how Dexter always works as a tv show. All the other characters are quite good again too, especially Dexter's sister, who has a significant role in unmasking Trinity too.

A note of warning: if you are also a reader and want to read the four Dexter novels, it is a somewhat bizarre experience to do it side by side with watching the tv show. This is because the books and tv shows kill off and emphasize different characters. Both are excellent but they are different. Imagine Sherlock Holmes where Moriarty lives in the tv version but dies in the books and then change around Watson, Le Strade and the "The Woman", et al, and you begin to see the difficulty. Dexter is also more villainous yet also more comic in the novels than in the tv show.

Another added note: if you are an audiobook fan, the Dexter audiobooks are some of the very best audiobooks around. The narrator is superb.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant, just brilliant February 24, 2010

By Nick Campbell

Format:DVD

I have watched every episode of this series and I have to admit, season four has been the best. How often do you watch a show in which every, single episode, hell, every single scene has you on the edge of your couch holding your breather? None--with the exception of Dexter.

This season Dexter is juggling a lot--family, a home, work, finding time for his passion, and a new rival. He's got pressure from all sides. Watching him masterfully keep it all together was one of the best acting endeavors only someone as gifted as Michael C. Hall could pull off.

You know, so many people complain about how much crap is on TV. But, by far, Dexter is better than any movie I have seen in years.