Product Details

• Actors: Steve Zahn, Wendell Pierce, John Goodman, Kim Dickens
• Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: English, French, Spanish
• Dubbed: French, Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: HBO Home Video
• DVD Release Date: March 29, 2011
• Run Time: 632 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (98 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B002AMUDK8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #6,565 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Treme: The Complete First Season" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

As Treme opens, a group of New Orleans residents are celebrating their first "second-line parade" since Hurricane Katrina blew through the city and across the Gulf Coast just three months earlier. Folks are strutting and dancing, a brass band is blowing a joyful noise--it's a celebration of "NOLA's" resilience and proud spirit ("Won't bow--don't know how," as they say). But there's darkness just below this shiny surface, and anyone familiar with The Wire, cocreator-writer David Simon's last show, won't be a bit surprised to find that he and fellow Treme writer-producer Eric Overmyer aren't shy about going there. The New Orleans we see is a city barely starting to recover from what one character calls "a man-made catastrophe… of epic proportions and decades in the making." Many people's homes are gone, and insurance payments are a rumor. Other locals haven't come back, and still others are simply missing. The people have been betrayed by their own government, and New Orleans's reputation for corruption is hardly helped by the fact that the police force is in such disarray that the line between cop and criminal is sometimes so fine as to be nonexistent. Bad, but not all bad. NOLA still has its cuisine, its communities, and best of all its music, which permeates every chapter, from the Rebirth Brass Band's "I Feel Like Funkin' It Up" in episode 1 to Allen Toussaint and "Cha Dooky-Doo" in episode 10. There's Dixieland and zydeco, natch, but also hip-hop and rock; there are NOLA stalwarts like Dr. John, Ernie K-Doe, Lee Dorsey, and the Meters (as well as appearances by Elvis Costello, Steve Earle, and others), but plenty of younger, lesser knowns, too. Whether we hear it in the street, in a club or a recording studio, at home, or anywhere, music is the lifeblood of the city and this series, and it's handled brilliantly.

Treme has a lot of characters and their stories to keep up with. There's trombonist Antoine Batiste (Wendell Pierce), a wonderful player but kind of a dog, especially to his current baby mama and his ex-wife, LaDonna (Khandi Alexander), a bar owner who's desperately searching for her missing brother. There's Creighton Bernette (John Goodman), a writer preoccupied with telling the world what's really going on in the city, and his wife Toni (Melissa Leo), a lawyer and thorn in the side of the authorities. There's Davis McAlary (Steve Zahn), a well-meaning but annoyingly clueless radio DJ, his occasional girlfriend Janette (Kim Dickens), who's struggling to keep her restaurant open, and Albert Lambreaux (Clarke Peters), who returns from Houston, finds his house in ruins, and sets about rebuilding it. You might not like all of them. Not all get through the series unscathed, or even alive. But that's part of the deal. The show feels authentic: dialogue (natural, plain, and profane), story lines, locations, camera work, the utter lack of gloss and glamour--this is no Chamber of Commerce travelogue. It's not a documentary either, but there are moments when it's just down and dirty enough to pass for one. --Sam Graham

Product Description

Amid the ruins of an American city, ordinary people--musicians, chefs, residents--find themselves clinging to a unique culture and wondering if the city that gave birth to that culture still has a future. From the creators of The Wire comes a new series about adversity and the human spirit, set in New Orleans, in the aftermath of the greatest man-made disaster in American history. Welcome to Treme.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

106 of 117 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars First Episode (Pilot) April 17, 2010

By Jazz Baby

Format:DVD

The premier episode, "Do You Know What it Means", is a work of art. It will easily bear repeated watching because of its outstanding writing and masterful use of the indigenous music.

Not to mention the great acting, many levels of meaning, clever cameos and true-to-life subplots. And most of all: a major media production has finally "got it" about New Orleans, and got it right!

The entire series is "a love letter to New Orleans".

Signed,
A New Orleanian from Treme who has actually lived the show

35 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars New Orleans Moan June 24, 2010

By Alberta

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

I never made it to New Orleans. This show made that lack so poignant. The show was beautifully written, well-acted, great visuals, and the music was incredible! I love all the new (to me) music this show introduced me to. I wish it had gone on.

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The music was one strength... July 21, 2010

By Michael D. Williams

Format:DVD

I loved the series. The New Orleans Blues and Jazz music woven throughout the series was fantastic. It was especially interesting as many real and famous musicians were used in the story. The individual characters are interesting and varied. John Goodman was a hoot! Khandi Alexander (CSI: Miami 2002-2009) was really strong, but her stomach here was not. Very different from CSI. Musicians Trombone Shorty, Elvis Costello, and John Boutte, to name but a few, were great. Also the racial mix was a strength to the series and the reality of the real New Orleans and story of Hurricane Katrina.

I especially found the graphics during the credits roll interesting. Who would of thought that mold and fungus stains on walls, floors, and ceilings could look like art. Being interested also in biology and photography, I found the house mold interesting to look at, to itself artistic, even though it is often a serious health hazard. A great idea for a photo project: someone should photograph the mold stains of New Orleans with Ultraviolet light (Black Light). Many molds are UV fluorescent!

Anyway, it is a fantastic series, can't wait for Season Two and for this DVD set to be available. The only downer for me was the latter part of the season's final episode got a bit busy and confusing -- not their best work. Seems like the producer, director, and writers did not really want to do a season finale, eliminating some characters, but just keep going with the story lines into the next season. Wish there were a bit more about the foods of New Orleans and the Creole / Cajun South. But then you can't really taste food on TV.