SNOWPIERCER: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON – A Blu-ray/DVD and Digital HD Review by John Strange
Warner Bros. Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-raytm I reviewed in this Blog Post. The opinions I share are my own.
An additional caveat: I have never watched the 2013 feature film by the same name.
Man has screwed our beloved planet. The Snowpiercer train travels a globe-spanning track, carrying the last remnants of humanity after a failed attempt at climate engineering to stop global warming has created a new ice age on Earth.
The 1,001 cars of the Snowpiercer are separated into three classes of people. At the front of the train, first-class is populated by the ultra-rich, those uber-wealthy who purchased their exclusive digs and fine dining from the train’s developer, the billionaire Mr. Wilford.
Then comes second class, third class, and finally a fourth class who reside in the tail-end of the train surviving on dregs, the people who managed to force themselves aboard as the train as trying to leave Chicago on its maiden trip around the globe.
The action in Snowpiercer: The Complete First Season takes place in 2021, seven years after leaving that station. Mr. Wilford has gone into seclusion, leaving Head of Hospitality Melanie Cavill (Jennifer Connelly) to deal with most of the day-to-day activities.
A possible serial killer has struck three times, forcing Melanie to pull Andre Layton (Daveed Diggs), a former police detective, from amongst the denizens of the “Tail”. He doesn’t come forward voluntarily but once forward, he does his job.
But he has other plans as well. Plans to bring more equality to the train. The entire season revolves around the… not so much revolution as mutiny.
This is a visually gripping television show with excellent talent and decent scripts. The amount of CGI is stunning. The sets, enhanced by that CGI, are amazing.
I found binge-watching this show surprisingly worth my time. Still there were some aspects of the show that didn’t work for me. I won’t spoil the show for you, but these minor irritants resulted in the reduction of my rating from 5-stars down to 4.
The cliff-hanger gives the showrunners a chance to alter the results of the season 1 action as well as adding new characters into a universe where that was considered impossible. I am looking forward to seeing what happens.
There were several extras provided with the Blu-ray (most not available with the Digital HD offering). The only one I found on both offerings was the “Overview”. I found each of the offerings to be above average quality. I enjoyed them all. A lot.
My favorite was “Behind the Curtain: Art of the Frozen World” because they talk about the CGI effects and how they merged them with physical sets to give us the world of the Snowpiercer.
Developed By:
- Josh Friedman and Graeme Manson
Cast:
- Jennifer Connelly, Daveed Diggs, Mickey Sumner, Alison Wright, Iddo Goldberg, Susan Park, Katie McGuinness, Sam Otto, Sheila Vand, Mike O’Malley, Annalise Basso, Jaylin Fletcher, Lena Hall, Roberto Urbina
Episodes:
- First, the Weather Changed
- Prepare to Brace
- Access is Power
- Without Their Maker
- Justice Never Boarded
- Trouble Comes Sideways
- The Universe is Indifferent
- These Are His Revolutions
- The Train Demanded Blood
- 994 Cars Long
Extras:
Digital:
- Overview
Blu-ray/DVD:
- Overview
- Class Warfare
- Jennifer & Daveed Behind-the-Scenes Interview
- The Train
- Behind the Curtain: Art of the Frozen World
Specifications:
Runtime:
Feature:
- 440 Minutes
Enhanced Content:
- 19 Minutes
Studio:
- Warner Bros. Home Entertainment Inc.
Release Date:
- 01/26/2021
Region:
- A/1 (U.S. and Canada only)
MPAA Rating:
- TV-MA
Official Website:
Official Trailer:
Selig Rating:
Film Rating:
- 4 Stars
Bonus Features Rating:
- 5 Stars
Picture Quality Rating:
- 5 Stars
Audio Quality Rating:
- 5 Stars
Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars: Should add to your DVD collection at any cost
4 Stars: Worth owning, but try to catch it a sale
3 Stars: Plan to get it, but wait to buy it used
2 Stars: Worth taking a look at, but not owning
1 Star: Pick it up at a garage sale and use it for drinks
0 Stars: Makes a great Trap Shooting target
