Customer Reviews

Miami Vice Season 1

5 star:		(153)
4 star:		(33)
3 star:		(12)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

One happy camper here!! After seeing the trouble Wise Guy and Lovejoy had with "Nights in White Satin", I gnawed bullets when they announced Vice would come out on DVD. I loved this show, saw a lot more to the creativity and inspiration than critics did. But Vice is not just the story, the style -- it's the MUSIC! I know these episodes and ever tune that was perfectly picked to set the stage of each scene. What if they messed with the soundtrack??? Heaven forbid!

Well I am here to say - It's VICE Heaven!! The pristine episodes, in full movie stereo sound (stereo sound only can in the middle of the series) shown at their full running speed, not compressed for time so they can get more commercials in. This is VICE perfection. The transfer is beautiful, you could not ask for more, loaded with extras, but the main thing it's Season one as it was MEANT to be. The MUSIC!! Exactly, not changes!

Applause to Mann and Universal by doing right by Vice fans. All I can say is bring on Seasons 2-5 ASAP!!!

Episodes include

1) Vice Pilot (with a very young Jimmy Smitts!

2) Heart of Darkness

3) Cool Running

4) 5) Calderone's Return Parts 1 & 2

6) One Eyed Jack

7) No Exit

8) The Great McCarthy

9) Glades

10)Give a Little, Take a Little

11) Little Prince

12) Milk Run

13) 14) Golden Triangle Part 1 & 2

15) Smuggler's Blues

16) Rites of Passage

17) The Maze

18) Made for Each Other

19) The Home Invaders

20) Nobody Live Forever

21) Evan (just doesn't get better than this!)

22) Lombard

It's captioned in English. Language options: French and Spanish

Music is remixed in 5.1 Surround Sound.

I grew up with Miami Vice on it's initial run here on the BBC in England. It's combination of music, photography and locations made such a strong impact on me, even to this day. I have all the episodes on VHS but am desperate to get them on dvd, if only the first 2 seasons which were the best.
I have recently contacted UNIVERSAL PLAYBACK in the UK, and they told me that they are trying to put together a season one release, but that it was proving difficult to gain the rights to include all the original music from so many artists in each episode. I was told that it would be a year at the earliest, so let's keep our fingers crossed.
Miami Vice was a groundbreaking show, and I advise anyone who ever watched it to get the DVD should it be released.

I work for Universal Music and suggested 2 years ago to put out a CD with all of the songs that were on the Miami Vice series and got the same answer, that it was to hard to get all of the artist to agree and figure out how to distribute the royality fees. So trying to get the series on DVD is the same thing, it's all about money. If I had any clout they would be working very hard on getting this done. I was and still am a great fan of that show and believe it was the best of the 80's. I have 10 VHS tapes of the series and then they stopped producing them. Trust me, if they wanted to do it, they could and would. Come on Universal, put out the DVD series and combine all of the music on a CD box set. You know you can. Let's just keep the pressure on and hope for the best. Since the 80"s style is coming back in vogue, maybe they will produce it.

Universal has spent $2.5 million to clear all the music rights (at least for seasons 1 and 2) and will release Season 1 at the end of 2004. Universal is already issuing trade brochures and other marketing materials confirming that Miami Vice IS indeed set for DVD release, so the official word IS out. Season 2 is slated for an early 2005 release.

All sources indicate that the entire series will be issued by season (every 6 months or so) so sit back and get ready to re-live your 80's Friday nights all over again with one of the most ground-breaking shows of the era.

Miami Vice is quite simply the best TV show ever created. Despite that, it's almost impossible to find copies of any episodes on VHS, and it is impossible to find any episodes at all on region 1 dvd. What are you guys waiting for, an invitation? Well, if so, here it is. I cordially invite you guys at Universal to get off your butts and get the ball rolling. As incentive, think about this. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, is going to be released for Playstation 2 at the end of this month. Stores have already been flooded with preorders. This game is loosely based on Miami Vice, and since the show is no longer playing on TNN, there will be an increased demand for episodes. Universal would be wise to acknowledge this demand.

As a long-time Miami Vice fan who experienced the original shows in the 80's, then in syndication, the two Pilots on laser disc, and the overpriced Columbia House VHS set, it's great to finally experience it on a digital format like DVD in all it's authentic glory.

It was worth the wait for Universal to track down the rights to the original music. Russ Ballard's 'Voices' on 'Return of Calderon Part II' is a pivotal song that was replaced on the Columbia House tapes that makes all the difference in the world having it reinstated on these DVDs.

There have been reports comparing these DVD's to tapes of the original NBC broadcasts that there might be some slight discrepencies in missing incidental dialogue in 'Heart of Darkness', 'Calderon's Return' and 'Smuggler's Blues' which only die hard fans familiar with the original broadcasts would notice. I can appreciate such concerns, especially if a favorite bit of dialogue isn't present as you've experienced it in the past. But that's a can of worms that can be opened and explored on Miami Vice forums more appropriately and in better detail.

At $1.3 million per episode in the 80's, the show was shot on film, so the popular episodes and most of the opening titles are worse for the wear in terms of dust and scratches, but along with the increased resolution and crystal clear remixed surround track, it gives the First Season a grittier, authentic, cinematic feel that was lacking in previous releases. The color is filmlike while the pastel hues still come across as vibrant but not overly saturated, which produces a appropriately realistic feel. The overall effect complements Don Johnson's portrayal of Sonny Crockett as a world-weary troubled character continually struggling with upholding the law while living an undercover lifestyle associating with criminals as a means to a moral end. It seems like rediscovering Vice all over again, or at the very least seeing it in a new light, and appreciating it more as an historical artifact for attempting to bring cinematic sensibilities and creativity to the medium of TV. It's more apparent now what creative chances it took and how it succeeded. Each episode feels more like a movie than a TV show which is striking, and occasionally makes one wish it could have been 35mm widescreen despite the fact the compositions still work extremely well in a 4:3 frame.

True, it might be nice if they had cleaned-up the film (the looped clips used in the main menus are perfectly clean while a bit overly saturated) but in my home theater experience if they get the sound and music correct, then the picture can suffer a bit, as long as the inherent deficiencies are a result of film and not a digital video transfer, as would be the case in edge enhancement or pumped-up color saturation, so that's why it feels appropriate and doesn't bother me.

'Smuggler's Blues' looks almost like a misguided attempt at the bleach bypass technique they use with films today. Not sure if blown-out highlights and deep dark loss of shadow detail was intentional, but it's the only episode that looks that way, and it's hard to watch. My guess is they tried the technique in the early days and just didn't quite work. But those are the chances Vice took and it's all the better for it. 'Evan' was always a dark-looking episode and the DVD is also.

With so much time, effort and cost Universal probably put into securing the music rights, completely remastering the picture for an 18 hour 25 minute runtime would be understandably time consuming and expensive. Vice is 20 years old and has been run in syndication quite a bit, and other shows of that era may not have been shot on film or had as many prints struck for syndication, so in comparison other shows may look better on DVD. It probably would take quite a while to complete a restoration of the original film.

The only downside to increased resolution in the picture are the cheesy extra actors in the background they have to use for practical reasons in TV shows, which detracts from an otherwise cinematic attempt at taking TV up a notch.

But the setting of the city of Miami as a study in contrast of beauty and grit has never come across better than this DVD set.

The new 5.1 surround mix is crystal clear. Even though they remixed the surround to 5.1, technically they have to work with what they've got in the original source recordings. Dialogue stems are expectedly lower in volume than the music, since I believe the first season used a mono dialogue track whereas other seasons used stereo, but it works. It might turn you into a volume jockey but it's a nice mix. You get some discreet gunfire, panning car and helicopter sound effects from the rear channels in some scenes. It's an immersive mix.

The Foreigner song 'I Want to Know What Love Is' sounds a bit strange in an episode rarely played in syndication, 'Rites of Passage'. The vocals are perfect, but the accompanying music track sounds as though the tape wasn't running smoothly, like when you listen to a cassette tape that wants to run slower and then back to normal speed and slow again. Really odd. Perhaps that's why I never saw it on TNN in syndication. I suspect it's a defect in the source tapes, so this DVD transfer uses what was available after all these years.

The packaging and menu graphics are well-done. The episode list and descriptions are welcome. Universal's double-sided discs aren't the best. It does save space, but they can scratch more easily and attract more dust and hence are harder to clean. Disc art for a visual show like Vice would be welcome, however I did get a kick out of the appropriately hot pink silkscreen ink used on the inner text on each disc. An insert with a little bit of behind-the-scenes or critical commentary text would have been welcome.

The bonus features are short but informative. New interviews from the creator, and Jan Hammer, casting director and costumer are brief but informative. Those are complemented with concise archival interviews with Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas and Michael Mann. It's interesting to hear the costume designer talk about Don Johnson initially not wanting to wear pastels in favor of blue jeans and cowboy boots, until he appreciated how hot an humid it can get in Miami. Jan Hammer's score was created each week in a loft studio in upstate New York as shown. A little promo for Miami Tourism is expected. No new interviews with the cast, but Universal was probably working on a budget, not the least of which likely went into securing music rights. What bonus features they have presented is welcome.

Might not hurt to email Universal and let them know the inclusion of original music is appreciated by fans, and hopefully they will continue the effort for subsequent seasons.

Bottom line for this viewer and fan is that the overall enjoyment and experience is very satisfying. I can accept the inherent deficiencies for what they are, and appreciate Vice on DVD at long last. Overall it was worth the wait. This DVD set is effective to the point that I was wanting to pop in a disc and watch Season Two. I hope Universal takes their time and secures the music rights for at least the Second Season. If it's anything like this Season One set, it will also be worth the wait.

I've only seen a few episodes of Miami Vice, but I know that I want to see more! It's a fun show and interestingly reflective of the 80's. I was too young to experience the show when it was first out, and I missed it on TNN since I only get broadcast channels. I'd love to see it come out on DVD in a box set and would buy it ASAP. Don Johnson was great in Nash Bridges, and I'd like to see more of his earlier career. Fight for all five seasons of Miami Vice to be released on DVD!

I was a bit nervous about getting this. Sometimes shows we remember from our youth turn out to be awful when we watch them as an adult. Not so with this show. It's still great, beyond just the memories of youth.

Consider Michael Mann's recent films - Collateral and Heat - and you'll trace the same thing back to Miami Vice. Everything is meticulously choreographed and filmed. It still has a hip feel to it, even though it is very much 80s (wait 'til you see the dancing at the parties!).

It's great in retrospect to watch the development of the characters and the actors in those roles. You can literally watch Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas become Crockett and Tubbs. The minor characters also develop into their irrespective roles, especially Edward James Olmos as Castillo. Olmos is the one who added the dark edge to what was potentially riding the cusp of taking the comic edge just a bit too far.

And the music! Come on, let's face it, the music made the show. Along with Phil Collins' 'In the Air Tonight' in the Pilot there is Russ Ballard's 'Voices' as Crockett and Tubbs head to the Bahamas to take on Calderone and Glenn Frey's 'Smuggler's Blues'. The big deal in school on Monday was to talk about what song was on Miami Vice and how it was used.

Riding on the tails of MTV and the video generation, Miami Vice defined a generation of television in the course of its too brief life. Hard to believe it's been twenty years. It still looks and sounds as hip as it was then.

It's a reasonably priced boxed set. There are a few extras but nothing overly special there. Buy the boxed set for the shows alone. It's one worth owning.

From what I have heard to date, Universal is prominently featuring Miami Vice in their promotional materials for TV-series releases to DVD. They have good reason to do so. There are plenty of fans out there who are ready to experience this amazing show again. Thank you Universal, this news is a great relief...let the excitement begin!

I am referring to the video transfer. Clearly, Universal was quick to release this thing after clearing the music rights, and it shows. #1, most of the bonus material is simply clips of old interviews. The last 'bonus' is just an advertisement for Miami tourism. COME ON GUYS!!! Give us a break -- the Moonlighting DVD is coming out soon and it's going to have TONS of new features, including audio commentary from Bruce Willis!

#2, they barely cleaned up the negative before the digital conversion. I have an extremely large television, therefore every flaw is that much more prominent. You can clearly see a lot of dirt, scratches and degradation in the film. Luckily, the sound (given equal billing as the action) has been beefed up to Dolby 5.1 and the music has never sounded better.

The cars, the clothes, the action, even the occasionally cheesy dialogue, are all present! It's great to see those guys back in action. The leads work off one another so perfectly, that you never doubt their commitment to their job, or each other. This show is just so much fun to watch, that it's almost addictive. Imagine the best 45-minute music video you've ever seen and you have some vague understanding of this show's appeal. I recently had a friend over who'd never seen the show. We were talking and weren't paying particular attention to the television, but I had one of the DVDs playing. She kept stopping every 5 minutes to say - "this music is awesome." And she was just talking about Jan Hammer's score! To say nothing of all the great popular songs that got used to their fullest effect.

The show really hits its stride in the second season. By then, the producers were extremely confident that Don and Philip's charisma could carry the show. So the episodes got more self confident and somber. Let's PRAY that the great sales of Season 1 encourages Universal to spend some real $ on Season 2 before releasing it.

But I can't really complain too much - I am happy just to ad this groundbreaking series to my collection.

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