Spartacus: The Complete Series

While I missed the opportunity to watch Spartacus in its entirety while I was a Starz subscriber, I watched the first number of episodes after having it recommended to me as a fan of Netflix's "Barbarians" and HBO's "Game of Thrones." The first number of episodes were enough to pique my curiosity. It was good enough that I decided to splurge for the complete series on Blu Ray here on Amazon and soon found myself marathoning the rest of the show.Know this - Spartacus is AWESOME. The supporting cast is incredible, consisting of 300/ Lord of the Rings / Hobbit alum along with the always-entertaining John Hannah and Lucy Lawless. The visuals and set design borrow from the stylized CGI backgrounds and slow-motion fight scenes of Zack Snyder's "300," combined with a taste of (co-producer) Sam Raimi camp that was evident in productions like "Hercules" and "Xena," and though this does create a very particular flavor for the show that makes it difficult to take totally seriously, there is no denying that the end product is some of the best eye candy and addictive viewing I've experienced on the small screen. The stylized, intentional CGI-heavy look may not be to everyone's taste, but it undoubtedly gives "Spartacus" much of its character and helps set it apart from shows like "Barbarians" and "Game of Thrones." Beautiful people in full frontal nudity and softcore porn are the rules rather than the exceptions in Spartacus, and you will find no lack of six-pack abs, bulging biceps, voluptuous breasts, and other visual showcasing of flesh. Fight choreography is often breathtaking and brutally violent, and while the show's plot somehow manages to blend a "Cliff notes" version of historical accuracy with the requisite twists and turns of a juicy soap opera and serves it up with epic prose that sounds like a poor man's version of Shakespeare, the entire experience is utterly compelling from beginning to end. This is not a plot-heavy show, but you will find plenty of character development to go along with all of the sex and violence. While said sex and violence is what "Spartacus" is ultimately known for, such blunt distillation unfairly undermines the show's artistic merits, including its set design and dialogue, which makes watching even simple conversation between characters more interesting and engaging than it has any right to be.The show truly finds its footing after the conclusion of the first season, for while main star Andy Whitfield would be unable to return due to his battle with cancer, the second and subsequent seasons solidify the show's fight choreography and move the plot forward in ways that the first show could not do due to its central setting. Season 1.5 (Gods of the Arena) provides an opportunity to set up additional characters and motivational arcs that become relevant in future seasons, as well as add depth to relationships that were developed in the first. It is here that we also see the show start to truly master the look and feel of the visceral combat sequences, which become noticeably more technical and nail-biting than what the first season was able to produce. It cannot be overemphasized how artistically stunning many of the fights and battles in Spartacus appear to be choreographed and performed, especially considering that these can be seen throughout the show and were achieved on a budget that was probably a fraction of what Hollywood blockbusters have to work with.Liam McIntyre steps into the role of Spartacus for the final two seasons, and while things initially feel a bit off with his portrayal, he soon makes the role his own and helps these final episodes be even better than what came before. Set pieces and battles are bigger and more impressive and the show manages to continue to keep viewers enthralled and in suspense even as the show marches towards the inevitable conclusion carved (loosely) into history books. Despite the departure of John Hannah after "Gods of the Arena," these final seasons also deliver the goods when it comes to devious villains. Gaius Claudius Glaber, Ilithyia, Ashur, Marcus Crassus, and Gaius Julius Caesar all offer worthy opponents for Spartacus and his allies, and half of the show's fun is witnessing the mental tactics waged between the protagonists and antagonists. While the final season's conclusion was not the show's high point for me, it was satisfying enough to recommend the purchase of this set and viewing of the show in its entirety.In conclusion, "Spartacus" is Steven DeKnight's magnum opus and one of the best premium cable shows ever produced. It, along with "Ash vs Evil Dead," stands as the best of what Starz has ever offered in original programming. This Blu Ray set, authored and released by Anchor Bay, offers razor sharp picture clarity, reference-level sound quality, and plenty of audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with cast and crew. Highly recommended for fans of Zack Snyder's cinematic "300," pseudo-historical epics (like Ridley Scott's "Gladiator"), Shakespearean tragedy topped with Sam Raimi cheese, combat sports (like MMA), and gratuitous sex and violence who don't mind a side helping of artistic flair and character development.

Enjoyed the series & wanted to view @ my Leasure.

I liked the whole show

Great! Will buy again soon. AAAA+++++

Watched it on Telly when it first aired. Had previously bought the DVDs but sold them on. Decided to buy and re-watch on blu-ray. Glad i did. Arrived safe and sound and all discs worked perfectly. Enjoyed the bonus content which id never seen before. The only reason for not giving five stars is the actual packaging of the discs. Rather than individual seasons they're all pegged together and a complete nuisance / risk to pry them off. Other than that, i definitely recommend. Good value for money.

On gorey side

GREAT PRICE FOR 13 BLURAY DISC'S (COMPLETE SET-1 TO 4 SEASONS) 2 DOLLARS PER DISC.

In short, one of the most glamorous looking shows you could ever see on TV. Blood, profanity, nudity, sex all in Roman times...but don't let that discourage you. This show has its own style. It thrives on how pretty everything looks, in both the special and practical effects area. And the dialogue spoken is its own niche for a show (consider shows like Deadwood for a good example. Sure, there's quite a bit of profanity worked in here and there, but the words spoken feels oddly poetic). The story overall is one that was covered before by a legendary actor 50 years prior in a great film. A Thracian man is enslaved and manages to lead a slave uprising across Roman lands, encouraging one of the greatest threats to Roman living to ever exist. Yet the movie only has time to focus on major elements of the story. The show gets more breathing room.Across four seasons, we are immersed in a particular world. Blood and Sand introduces us to Spartacus and the slaves he acquaints himself with and befriends until the eventual uprising. The actor in this season, Andy Whitfield, made his mark as Spartacus, a character that we sympathize with from the first moments in to the end where he becomes the leader against slavery. Real life tragedy afflicts Andy Whitfield with lymphona, delaying the production of the show for a second season. Instead, Gods of the Arena (set as a six episode prequel to Blood and Sand) is made and not only gives us cause and reasoning behind the motivations of many characters chronicled in Blood and Sand, but also introduces us to a character who manages to make their mark enough they return later. Spartacus's actor died during the same year of Gods of the Arena, leading to finding a worthy successor in Liam McIntyre to take up the mantle of the lead. Vengeance released, leading to War of the Damned as the show's final season. By this time, four seasons of the show had formed an entertainment niche that had become exciting to watch and saddening to see end.The packaging is a hard outer casing that folds open, showing a little book inside that has cardboard pages for individual discs. You also get the UV voucher for this as well.Overall, this show is a niche one. If you're a fan of Stephen S DeKnight's work on Buffy, Angel, Dollhouse, and Smallville (and lately, Daredevil's first season as showrunner), and you want an excuse to watch high definition special effects of blood, sex, nudity, violence, and the like, look no further than this gem.

If you like this genre you will love this series.

Se ve muy bien en Blu-Ray. Es interesante para los que les gusta el tema de gladiadores.

Goed

Impresionante la serie ,muy realista

SPARTACUS : Donc, l'intégrale de la série au format Blu-Ray (15 Blu-Ray contenant 39 épisodes) pour la somme hyper abordable de 27,73 Euros.Un premier envoi du coffret m'arriva endommager. Heureusement, et comme toujours, en cas pépin à la livraison, une demande d'échange. Et le lendemain, à peine 24h après, je recevais un nouveau coffret en bon état. Le service client Amazon toujours au top. C'est bien pour cela que je reste client.Concernant le coffret en lui-même : Un coffret au carton fin très (trop) fragile. Ce coffret subit facilement les marques. Et son ouverture n'est pas pratique. On a vite fait de détériorer le coffret.Mais ce n'est pas fini, car à l'intérieur on a droit à 4 autres coffrets cartonnés (Toujours aussi fragiles, avec des ouvertures peu pratiques), renfermant chacun 1 ou 2 boîtiers Blu-Ray avec les disques des épisodes. Que de cartons et plastiques inutiles, alors que si l’éditeur avait eu la bonne présence de faire un vrai coffret de bonne qualité, et mis simplement les boitiers blu-ray, avec les jaquettes descriptives.Les 4 coffrets contiennent respectivement :- L’intégrale de la saison 1 : Spartacus – Le Sang des Gladiateurs (2 boitiers - 4 Blu-Ray) 13 épisodes + Bonus- Spartacus – Les Dieux de l’Arène (1 boitiers – 3 Blu-Ray) 6 épisodes + Bonus- L’intégrale de la saison 2 : Spartacus – Vengeance (2 boitiers - 4 Blu-Ray) 10 épisodes + Bonus- L’intégrale de la saison 3 : Spartacus – La Guerre des Damnés (2 boitiers - 4 Blu-Ray) 10 épisodes + BonusConcernant la série elle-même, je suis en train de regarder le 2e épisode de la saison 1 à l’heure où je saisi ces lignes.Le genre de la série me fait penser au film « 300 », voir même au film « Les Immortels », dans le traitement visuel assez stylisé (pas mal de scènes tournées avec du fond vert en studio, donnant des séquences au look parfois artificiel), avec des ralentis parfois spectaculaires, des projections de sangs souvent excessives, des images crues, que ce soit au niveau de la violence ou des relations intimes des personnages. Poitrines généreuses et bicoulis à l’air libre sont monnaies courantes dans la série.Côté scénario, c’est clairement plus abouti que « 300 » ou « Les Immortels ». Forcément, le format « série télévisée » permet d’un peu plus développer les personnages, leurs histoires, leurs caractères, les aspects historiques, politiques, les intrigues, les complots…Je vais voir ce que donnent les prochains épisodes. Si j’ai des éléments particuliers à ajouter, je compléterai ce commentaire.