'Spartacus: Blood and Sand - The Complete First Season' - High-Def Digest Review

[dbacksfan]

Aaron has reviewed the first season of 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand.' He says this stylized take on the battles and liaisons of ancient Rome may borrow heavily from 'Gladiator," HBO's 'Rome,' '300,' and 'The Matrix,' but it's still a bloody good time. And he does mean BLOODY! Great video and audio, and a nice collection of special features make this a must own for fans; newbies should consider a rental first.

Full review here:
http://bluray.highdefdigest.com/3479...d_sand_s1.html

[Eric10301]

The pilot of Spartacus was crap but boy did that show get better and better after each episode. If you like blood and boobs you'll love it.

[Beerstalker]

Yeah I watched it on Starz and almost gave up on it after the second episode. But then the third episode got much better and by the end of the season I was mad that there weren't more episodes.

I'm upset to hear that Andy is still having health issues. I know he announced back in March that he had cancer but then I later heard his fight with it went very well and he was doing great. It appears that something else has now krept up. I wish him and his family the best.

[lifeat30fps]

You know, I ordered this set when I read about dude having to drop out because of cancer. I figured royalties are what he needed now.

Reading this review makes me feel better about my purchase. I hope Whitfield pulls through and can retake the role later.

[XL83]

Buying this today. Disappointed about the news of the star's health issues and it's too bad if it affects the show, but it won't stop me from picking it up. Firefly and Freaks and Geeks were two of my favorite shows that were canceled, and I wouldn't take back having watched them because they ended prematurely. Rome was also cut down in it's prime and this seems to fill a bit of a void that it left.

[Lioncourt]

The pilot was terrible but it rapidly increased in quality. It's still the hamburger to Rome's filet mignon but Spartacus is a fun ride. They can still recast Andy for Season 2 and have him come back for a hypothetical Season 3 if his cancer goes into remission, sort of like what daytime soap operas do. It's not ideal but it beats cancelling the show outright.

I can't decide if it's Andy Whitfield or the character of Spartacus himself, but I find him kind of flat. The villains of the show are far more lively and fun to watch.

Slight correction: It's "Thracian" and "Atia", not "Threcian" and "Attia".

[cash]

I love anything that deals with ancient roman war, government, etc... But, I watched Sparticus before I watched Rome. I absolutely loved everything about Sparticus, but I could only make it through the first 9 episodes of Rome, before I took the rest of the season out of my queue.

I'll be picking this set up come next pay day for sure.

[chrisagon]

Just finished watching SB&S. I was drawn in deeper and deeper as I watched. I liked the stylized approach.I like the unexpected turns the story took as the show moved through the series. I didn't think the blood or nudity was overly gratuitous -- it probably was very much like that in ancient Rome. And my favorite characters were Batiatus and Lucretia. Truly likable villains. It was an 'ordeal' to watch only because of the time commitment and my desire to keep watching, when I should have been doing other things -- 11+ hours! But worth it. I wish it had not ended. Highly recommended to anyone who enjoys this genre. The excellent PQ really adds to the experience.

[ericpizzapie]

I have never watched this show, but how can the reviewer give the show 4/5 and the aq/pq 4.5 and 5 stars and the overall grade be a for the fans? According to other reviews from HDD that would be a recommend or worth a look?

[irascian]

I ordered this as a "blind buy" based on good reviews elsewhere, and not wanting to wait until May 2011 when it gets a UK release.

Thought it was very impressive. No, it's not "Rome" but it had a fraction of the budget that series had. The only thing that marred it for a Brit (kept reminding me I was watching something fake) was the fact nearly everyone had an Ozzie or New Zealand accent. I used to find this distrating on Farscape but it seemed much worse on this series. Wondering if the accents have the same distancing effect for a US audience.

Other than that, thought the show was top notch. The cardboard slid in pouches for the discs are REALLY annoying though. Impossible to extract the discs without getting finger-marks all over them.

[paaron46]

I ordered this as a "blind buy" based on good reviews elsewhere, and not wanting to wait until May 2011 when it gets a UK release.

Thought it was very impressive. No, it's not "Rome" but it had a fraction of the budget that series had. The only thing that marred it for a Brit (kept reminding me I was watching something fake) was the fact nearly everyone had an Ozzie or New Zealand accent. I used to find this distrating on Farscape but it seemed much worse on this series. Wondering if the accents have the same distancing effect for a US audience.

Other than that, thought the show was top notch. The cardboard slid in pouches for the discs are REALLY annoying though. Impossible to extract the discs without getting finger-marks all over them.

I find accents distracting yes. Whenever there's a movie about ancient Rome they've always got to have British/Australian/New Zealand accents. Why? Even 'Valkeryie' all the Germans had British accents. I don't understand. It's just one of those weird movie things.

[duckydan]

I'm not sure if there being only one season of this show poses a problem in terms of recommending it. The season could technically stand alone as it has a resolution at the end... it's not like a show like Pushing Daises or other similar plot driven shows where the final episode leaves more questions or it doesn't wrap everything up... the final episode of this show pays off and rewards anyone that was watching it throughout the season While I would love for there to be another season (and could care less about the prequel episodes) it can technically stand on its own merit and should be as ericpizzapie said either a worth a look or recommended title based on the audio and video ratings.

[holyroman]

Hey look at me, I'm looking at gay porn!!

[XL83]

I find accents distracting yes. Whenever there's a movie about ancient Rome they've always got to have British/Australian/New Zealand accents. Why? Even 'Valkeryie' all the Germans had British accents. I don't understand. It's just one of those weird movie things.

I think it's a holdover from stage acting.

Whatever it is, though, I find that it works. Well, not Germans with British accents, that's just stupid on so many levels, but for epics like Gladiator, Rome, Troy, I find that the British-y stage accents are the only way to go.

Aside from I guess actual Latin with English subtitles, but I can't imagine Gladiator being as powerful or popular if it were filmed that way.