Product Details

• Actors: Various
• Directors: Various
• Format: Animated, Box set, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 8
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Mill Creek Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: February 15, 2011
• Run Time: 1320 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B004DTU2X4
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #14,376 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe makes its debut on DVD in a robust collector's set, filled with extras any fan would enjoy. Part one of season one contains a whopping 33 episodes, following the hulky, well-tanned muscleman who masquerades as the irresponsible, goofy Prince Adam by day. The secret of He-Man's dual identity is only shared by The Sorceress (who's only powerful so long as she remains near Castle Greyskull, where she lives), Man-At-Arms (the king's gadget specialist) and Orko, a floating creature whose backwards magic spells often leave everyone with egg on their face (literally). He-Man's legacy was also its focus on family values, illustrated at the end of each episode through a moral lesson given by one of the characters. They range from the useful (Don't judge people by their looks) to the somewhat trite (When you're sad, sing a song). He-Man's nemesis, the wizard Skeletor, remains a fan favorite, accompanied by his motley crew of sidekicks: Beastman, Evil-Lyn, Merman, and Tri-Clops. There's even a little room for romance, though any flirtation between Adam/He-Man and the overeager captain of the guard, Teela, is usually restricted to jealous looks when the other receives the attentions of an outsider.

Memorable episodes include "Teela's Quest," in which she discovers her real mother is The Sorceress; "A Friend in Need," a drugs allegory where an insecure (and very scantily-clad) woman becomes addicted to a potion that makes her confident; "Song of Celice," where a woman's powerful singing voice is exploited by Skeletor to conquer Greyskull; and "Prince Adam No More," in which Adam struggles with seeking approval from his father, King Randor. A new behind-the-scenes documentary reveals insight into the series's launch as the inaugural first-run syndicated cartoon; the creators's encounter with a fresh-off-Conan-the-Barbarian star Arnold Schwarzenegger at a convention ("He looked at our drawings … and was ticked off," recalls creator Lou Scheimer). There's also a featurette in which producers and animators discuss individual episodes, animated storyboards, and scripts. Best of all, the spine of the DVD box (along with seven other He-Man and She-Ra related DVDs) creates a mural of Castle Greyskull and the Crystal Castle. --Ellen A. Kim

Product Description

He-Man and the Masters of the Universe® is a landmark in children s television history, being the first nationally syndicated television program based on a successful toy line. Originally produced from 1983-1985 by world renowned Filmation studios and syndicated until 1990, He-Man and the Masters of the Universe has experienced consistent popularity over the years, demonstrated by its two subsequent animated series which aired in 1990 1991 and 2002 2004 as well as its multi-year run as an exceptionally successful toy and merchandising line for Mattel® .

Join forces with He-Man and the powerful Masters of the Universe® and go up against the evil forces of Skeletor to save the planet Eternia and to protect the secrets of Castle Grayskull. To stop Skeletor s evil plot to conquer the universe, He-Man, under the guidance of the mystical Sorceress, must use his superhuman power to wage an epic battle against the evil warlord and his army of henchman.

Now, you can experience the magic of hearing He-Man proclaim By the power of Grayskull! all over again, thanks to this collection of all 65 episodes from the first season of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. Join Prince Adam/He-Man as he mounts the fearless Battlecat and, aided by his loyal cohorts Man at Arms, Teela and Orko, clashes with Skeletor and his crew of devilish villains.

Special Features:

English & Spanish audio tracks
5 Complete Episode Scripts
50 detailed profiles of various characters, creatures and artifacts with video
Documentary - The Secret Origins of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
Documentary - The Stories of He-Manand the Masters of the Universe Season 1 Part 1
Documentary - The Stories of He-man and the Masters of the Universe Season 1 Part 2

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

39 of 42 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars He-Man, the Mill Crrek Version February 16, 2011

By Rufas2000

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

There has been some confusion about the contents and quality of this set. Let me assure you most of the BCI goodness is here.

What it has:

- The picture and sound are very good for an 80s show and I would be shocked if its anything other than the BCI masters (I used to own them but sold them, wish I hadn't).

- There are 5 scripts, 50 profiles and 2 documentaries.

- The episodes are presented in storyline order, not air date order, for better or worse.

- The moral segment ("Safety first") at the end is included (Retro TV cuts those out, at least when I watched it).

- The DVDs themselves have the art the BCI series did. They are not double sided discs.

- The set even has the episode guide slip that I believe came with the BCI boxes.

What it does not have is the packaging and physical goodies of the BCI set. Its a double size Mill Creek case with the DVDs in protective envelopes and stacked in the case "square". Just like other Mill Creek releases, only bigger. Actually I like this mode of packaging, protective and easy to get to. But your mileage may vary. I wish it had the cards or whatever it was the BCI sets came with but not that big a deal.

With a $19.99 - $29.99 price tag if you don't have the BCI releases (and the physical goodies) and want the original He - Man serires buy this set. It's got all the content. Four and a half stars.

Note: Some of this was from memory (the BCI set I owned and sold :( ) so please correct me about the BCI set if I made any mistakes. I just wanted to clear the record about what was in the set and what wasn't there in this hastily written review.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Whacked packaging, excellent quality DVD July 1, 2011

By Jazzin Knight

Format:DVD

I agree with most sentiments on here - the packaging, typical of Mill Creek, is pretty bad, considering that if you want to replace the default paper sleeves with something else, the case that houses the 8 dvd's is essentially useless. I wound up taking an empty 25 disc spindle and putting the He - Man dvd's in that just to make sure I wouldn't scratch the DVD's with the frequent removal of the dvd's from their cases.

With that said, the picture quality and sound is surprisingly pretty good (albeit there are on average about 10 episodes crammed up per dvd). I have a Denon receiver, a Sony HD TV, and some old school SONY dvd players but the episodes on the series look pretty crisp. At the time, I got this set for just under 13 dollars and to be quite frank, having 65 episodes of the first season for that price is a steal. Mind you, I've never owned the sets made available by BCI, although I did check them out from the library at one point. BCI sets are packed with more features but the Mill Creek version definitely has some interesting add ons.

As a person on a budget, I do not mind missing out on some added features that were made available by the BCI sets and what mattered to me the most is that what I originally bought this set for, the 65 episodes, did not disappoint. This one of the most cherished animated series that I've ever watched (Gargoyles, Batman the Animated Series, Justice League, Transformers, Voltron, Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes, Scooby Doo, etc. being others) and as being a father of a 3 year old, this is definitely a series I would like to have my son watch. The fact that the violence is pretty minimal and that there's an importance piece of advice from He Man at the end of every episode (i.e. stealing, being cognizant of others, etc) is what makes this series ageless.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Your Childhood comes back! He-man & The Masters of the Universe March 20, 2011

By Bskcase

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

He-Man & The Masters of the Universe: Season One

When some of us were kids, we couldn't wait to get home from school and turn on the TV. A lot of our fondest memories were the great cartoons of the 80s and one that definitely stands out is He-man & The Masters of the Universe. As a child of the 80's, I had tons of He-man toys including Castle Grayskull. If you were also a child of the 80's, then you remember He-man on TV. Now that we've grown up, we can enjoy brief moments of our childhood on DVD with this boxed set.

This DVD set is the complete season 1 which consisted of 65 episodes. Mill Creek has recently gone out and started producing old TV show DVD sets which have gotten mixed reviews. They have received praises for selling relatively low priced DVDs, but the quality of some of their past DVDs have caused some consumers to worry.

I had the same worries as I went through the entire set. It took me almost a week watching a few episodes here and there. As I finished the entire set, I was glad to report that I had no problems with the DVDs. All the episodes played in its entirety. The DVD transfers were decent enough, but you do notice some quick pixels in sudden movements. Mill Creek did not spend much times in the transfer process, chances are they simply bought up the previous DVD rights release.

The last DVD had some decent documentaries with creators and writers. It was interesting hearing the story of how they got the series on air. Some parts got tedious because you can tell some of the writers just didn't remember much.

Now, I'm not going to cover all 65 episodes. There are some good episodes and there are some not so good ones. It's fun watching then again.

Overall, if you love He-man from your childhood. You'll enjoy this DVD. The price is reasonable for a boxed set and you get the entire season 1. It's a good buy.