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By
WAYNE KLEIN
Don't let the fact that this
is a western fool you. In May 1876 former Montana
marshal Seth Bullock (Timothy Olyphant) and his
new partner Sol Starr (John Hawkes) open a
hardware business in the gold-mining town of
Deadwood, South Dakota. Deadwood becomes the
crossroads for the famous, the infamous, and the
people they kill. Bullock meets Wild Bill Hickok
(Keith Carradine) and has a run-in with Gem Saloon
owner Al Swearengen (Ian McShane). Swearengen
lives up to his name; he's a man with the foulest
mouth one can imagine, and a pretty nasty fellow
to cross.
"Deadwood" becomes the nexus for some of the most
important figures of the Old West creating a great
opportunity for storytelling from
writer/creator/producer David Milch ("NYPD Blue").
A sprawling, down and dirty revisionist western,
the pilot directed by Walter Hill ("Southern
Comfort," "Hard Times," "The Warriors") features
marvelous performances from Ian McShane, Brad
Dourif, Timothy Olyphant, Molly McShane, Keith
Carradine and Powers Boothe. Authentic right down
to the pig crap, "Deadwood" features the great
dialogue, action and storytelling skills we've
come to expect from Milch, Hill and the other
collaborators on this cable TV series.
Twelve episodes spread over six discs, presented
in a high quality anamorphic widescreen
presentation, ensure that the image quality of the
show is kept sharp, clear and with nice, robust
rustic colors. The 5.1 sound mix actively
surrounds you in the environment of the old west.
Since much of this drama is dialogue based, the
5.1 atmosphere comes across most effectively when
there are action sequences.
Although this isn't an extra per se, the designing
and packaging of this series makes "Deadwood"
special right away. One of the best packaged boxed
sets I've seen, the box resembles the "Star Trek:
The Next Generation" sets with a sturdy outer box
and an accordion foldout holder for the DVDs.
While there isn't any booklet to tell you about
the show, each episode has a brief preface giving
a synopsis of each one. There is also a preview
and recap for each and every episode included.
There's a featurette on the making of the show
with a generous helping of interviews,
behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with
Milch and the cast. Featuring vintage photographs
of the actual Deadwood, Milch, the cast and crew
appear in the featurette as well discussing the
intersection of fiction and reality in this
25-minute glimpse into the inspiration for the
show. Milch and his collaborators discuss both the
attraction of the town and the mythos that it
represents. Essentially a promo piece for the
series, it also provides a nice introduction to
the series with a generous helping of clips from
the show. Interviews with local historians
highlight the featurette on the real Deadwood.
Keith Carradine and Milch interview each other for
"The Language of the Old West."
Flush with the success of a popular series, the
golden throats of most of the main cast and
writer/creator/producer Milch sing out the praises
and hardships of working on this unique series.
Each track has two commentators (the exception is
the pilot with just Milch), which keeps the tracks
entertaining and involving.
A terrific series, well packaged (but you end up
paying for the packaging) with excellent extras,
"Deadwood" will keep you involved in the petty
dealings of saloon owner Swearengen and his
conflicts with the residents and prospectors of
the town. |
