![Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection [4K UHD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81SM5Lc53dL._AC_UL116_SR116,116_.jpg)
![True Detective: The Complete Seasons 1-3 [Blu-ray]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81WJq0pqFqL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![The Sopranos: The Complete Series [Blu-ray] [2007] [1999] [Region Free]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81SvPzYHhdL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
![Saving Private Ryan [Blu-ray] [4K UHD]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81MZKHVDiDL._AC_UL160_SR160,160_.jpg)
HBO is no stranger to dark, compelling and beautifully performed television. THE WIRE, DEADWOOD, ROME, THE SOPRANOS, and GAME OF THRONES are the most obvious examples of this. THE WIRE, which I still contend is the best show HBO's ever done, took the procedural cop drama that had permeated network prime-time television and turned it on its head. And that's pretty much the formula for all these great television shows. They all bend their genres from Westerns to Sword-and-Sandal Historical Epics to Mob Stories to Sword-and-Sorcery Fantasy. The latest "genre" that has swept television is something I refer to as The Nihilistic Morality Play; basically a show that is so entrenched in thematic and character-based darkness and just barely giving hope to its characters and, by proxy, the viewers only to snatch it away from them and us. Shows like BREAKING BAD, HANNIBAL, THE KILLING, RAY DONOVAN, THE BRIDGE, THE WALKING DEAD, and THE AMERICANS are shows that are excellent examples of this new genre. Don't get me wrong; I love most of these programs, but they are VERY dark. But HBO decided to jump in to the deepest end of this darkness with creator Nic Pizzolato's TRUE DETECTIVE, a rural drama/thriller/philosophical treatise that doesn't just exist in darkness but in most cases, is consumed by it.
The plot and the mystery of TRUE DETECTIVE's narrative are almost inconsequential when it comes to the characters the show focuses around, which are Louisiana State Police Detectives Rust Cohle (Matthew McConaughey) and Martin Hart (Woody Harrleson). We meet them at two different stages of their lives; first in 1995 when the two detectives are paired up to investigate a murder with seeming occultist ties and then in 2012, long after they've parted ways and "solved" the murder. While the murder investigation does generate enough suspense and drama to power two longer and more acceptable network procedurals, again, when you look at the characters of Cohle and Hart, you see the generators that power the show. You might think that The Yellow King's identity is incredibly important, but it isn't. You might think the fate of Billy Lee Tuttle is incredibly important, but again, it isn't. The mystery, like the masterful first season of David Lynch's TWIN PEAKS, isn't so much the driving force but rather a catalyzing agent that bonds the characters together.
Rust and Marty are incredibly damamged people (and in some ways, incredibly unlikable), and there is an instant and somewhat intense dislike of one another that never goes away in the early parts of their partnership. Rust lost his young daughter which caused his wife to leave as well, which has so deadened his mind to ideas of love and relationships and life in general that he purely focuses on the analytical, no matter the dark places his logic takes him. Marty is damaged also, but in a different way. He believes that his world revolves solely around him so that he can do anything he wants with little to no thought of the consequences, and this not only ruins his own life but that of his wife Maggie (Michelle Monaghan) as well. But the idea that the show does really explore is that no matter the animosity Rust and Marty share for one another, there is a brotherhood between them that their beliefs, their actions, and their dissonant personalities cannot break. It goes beyond trust, respect and love. It's as if they are two halves of the same person that when together can possibly be made whole, which is punctuated very specifically in the finale.
Another thing that breaks clean from the genre it inhabits is its glimpses at these men in two different times. Most programs that deal with time differentials tend to cheat their audience by intercutting the present with the past in order to get to the present more quickly, but Pizzolato is smart enough to know that the audience for a show like this refuses to be cheated. It allows the past and the present to build logically and organically without haste, which is something that very few shows of this type, if any, allow for.
If I had a complaint about the show, it's the treatment of the female characters; they don't necessarily seem fully fleshed-out and three dimensional, but instead seem to be more reflective of the id, ego and superego (respectively) of the two leads. They're not there just to give motivation or to be plot points either, but rather exist in the ether between the relationship of these two men. It's not so much a criticism, because the show isn't trying to examine gender roles, but rather to explore the character of who Marty and Rust are.
From a technical standpoint, the show is a dreamland of simplistic visual wizardry. Cary Joji Fukunaga, who directed all eight episodes, is a master visual storyteller. There isn't a shot or angle that seems decorative or meaningless. Of course, the one scene that still has viewers reeling and examining that displays his know-how and his pacing genius is the single-take scene at the end of Episode 4, which rivals that of the single-shot takes that made Alfonso Cuaron an Oscar winner. From a storytelling standpoint, Pizzolato, who wrote all the episodes, really knows how to pace a scene and his dialogue has a rich flow that also never really seems false. The show also has the added benefit of the legendary T-Bone Burnett being the music supervisor of this show. It adds a necessary rural flavor to the show that makes it that much more excellent.
Then, there are the performances. It's extremely likely that both Harrleson and McConaughey will be vying for Best Actor when the Emmys and Golden Globes come around in 2014. Respectively, this is each actor's best work to date. McConaughey has been slowly lifting himself out of the dregs of the rom-com hell he seemed to be consigned to, to becoming one of the great actors of our time, with his work in films like KILLER JOE, MUD, THE LINCOLN LAWYER and DALLAS BUYERS CLUB. But his work as Rust Cohle is a punctuation mark on that statement. Harrleson has been defying his initial career definition as the brainless good-ol'-boy from CHEERS since his work in films like NATURAL BORN KILLERS, WHITE MEN CAN'T JUMP, and more recently in smaller indies like RAMPART and HBO's GAME CHANGE, and while he gave excellent performances in those films, he has never given a performance that's so well-rounded and utterly immersive as his interpretation of Marty. Monaghan is also excellent, even if I personally felt that she was a little underused.
One of the things that will keep bringing people back to TRUE DETECTIVE is not necessarily the mystery, although it is a mighty one, or the plots, but the way that this show is so expertly constructed and so compelling. This is a no-brainer as far as the best new show on television, and it deserves every praise that people can heap onto it.
Enjoy fast, free delivery, exclusive deals, and award-winning movies & TV shows with Prime
Try Prime
and start saving today with fast, free delivery
| Additional Blu-ray options | Edition | Discs | Price | New from | Used from |
Watch Instantly with 
| Per Episode | Buy Season |
Frequently bought together
$39.99
Get it as soon as Thursday, Dec 7
Only 1 left in stock - order soon.
Total price:
To see our price, add these items to your cart.
Choose items to buy together.
Similar items that may ship from close to you
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Reviews with images
Submit a report
A few common reasons customers report reviews:
- Harassment, profanity
- Spam, advertisement, promotions
- Given in exchange for cash, discounts
When we get your report, we'll check if the review meets our Community guidelines. If it doesn't, we'll remove it.
Sorry, there was an error
Please try again later.
Top reviews from other countries
Taube
Plus qu' un simple polar , une fresque émouvante .
Reviewed in France on June 13, 2014
V4d0r
Exceptionnelle !
Reviewed in France on August 31, 2017
V4d0r
Reviewed in France on August 31, 2017
Visuellement c'est propre même si j'ai constaté de rares saccades très courtes qui n'a absolument pas gêner le visionnage (peut-être est-ce du à mon équipement même si je n'ai jamais constaté ce phénomène sur d'autres Blu-Ray). Les décors de la Louisiane sont sublimés g^race à la HD, et la photographie de l'oeuvre est très bien mise en valeur.
L'audio dispose de 3 pistes: DTS HD Master pour l'anglais, DTS 5.1 pour le français et DTS 2.0 pour l'espagnol. Pour ma part j'ai opté pour le DTS HD Master en anglais. N'ayant pas écouté les épisodes avec un fort volume je ne peux faire une critique constructive J'ai cependant pu apprécier les dialogues (parfois rauques avec le caisson, top !) qui étaient bien distincts de la musique et autres bruits d'ambiance
Le menu sobre colle totalement à l'ambiance de la série (voir photo), la navigation est intuitive, on a 3 sections: Episodes (on peut choisir de lancer directement le premier du disque et le(s) suivant(s) suivront automatiquement ou bien de passer par "l'index" qui permet de voir le résumé du précédent épisode, de voir l'aperçu de l'épisode à venir, de le lancer avec les commentaires audios si disponibles et enfin d'accéder à ses bonus propres: scènes coupées ou coulisses); Langues et enfin Bonus (pour les deux premiers disques ils sont identiques à ceux que l'on retrouve dans la section Episodes).
Au niveau des bonus, c'est plutôt léger: des commentaires audio en cours de lecture des épisodes (pas de tous qui plus est), les coulisses de chaque épisode (entre 4 et 5 minutes pour chaque), 2 scènes coupées, un making of de 15 minutes, l'interview de Matthew McConaughey et de Woody Harrelson d'une durée de 8 minutes et enfin une discussion de 15 minutes sur la musique entre Nic Pizzolatto (créateur de la série) et T Bone Burnett (compositeur).
C'est presque un sans faute (hormis la pauvreté des bonus), 5 étoiles méritées !
Images in this review
Ottavio
Cupo, asciutto, crudo. Un grandissima realizzazione televisiva, per una parte selezionata di pubblico.
Reviewed in Italy on November 22, 2014Antoine C.
Un chef d'oeuvre en puissance totalement saboté sur la fin
Reviewed in France on August 4, 2014
