Topic: Crime Story

[GSyren]

Title	Crime Story Vol 1 (7-340059-602217)
Director	(Various)
Actors	Dennis Farina, Tony Dension, William Smitrovich, Steve Ryan, Bill Campbell
Produced	1986 in United States
Runtime	1047 minutes
Audio	English Dolby Digital 5.1
Subtitles	Swedish
Overview	Following the phenomenal success of MIAMI VICE, Executive Producer Michael Mann returned to television with a new kind of gritty crime drama, one that talked tougher and hit harder than anything the small screen had ever seen before. For two explosive series, CRIME STORY told the hard-boiled saga of hair-trigger cop Lieutenant Mike Torello (Dennis Farina) and his obsessive pursuit of ruthless gangster Ray Luca (Anthony Denison) from the mean streets of early 1960 s Chicago to the neon nights of mobrun Las Vegas. Today, CRIME STORY is considered a true cult classic as well as one of the most startling series in television history. Featuring a stellar supporting cast that includes Stephen Lang, Bill Campbell, Ted Levine, Darlanne Fluegel and Joseph Wiseman, and such guest stars as David Caruso, Michael Madsen, Pam Grier, Ving Rhames, Lorraine Bracco, Gary Sinise, Deborah Harry, Vincent Gallo and Julia Roberts.
My thoughts	Crime Story is a great TV show. And it's one of those shows that have a continuous story arc, so pretty much every episode ends with "To be continued", and you get that "just one more episode" hankering. Dennis Farina (who just passed - RIP) used to be a cop, and John Santucci (who plays Pauli) used to be a crook, so nice casting... The only thing really bad about this particular edition is that Noble Entertainment decided that the whole season could be fit into three discs. That means cramming over 6 hours onto a single disc! No wonder the pricture quality looks hardly any better than VHS. I Only paid about $10 for the box, so I guess I can't complain too much. I don't think there are too many Swedes over here at DVD Collectors Online, so I guess there isn't any risk that any of you guys will go looking for this very release, but just in case - Avoid! One thing that surprised me about the show was that Del Shannon had recorded a different version of "Runaway" for the opening titles. I don't recall noticing this from when I saw it on TV back in the eighties. This version actually has different lyrics that changes the meaning completely. The story takes place in 1963, and there is a lot of great sixties music. I think it's all the original music. At least I haven't noticed anything that sounds like music replacement. And that's a plus, of course. So, despite the disappointing picture quality, I am really pleased with this show. I've ordered the UK release of Season 2. I hope the pq is a bit better on that one.
My rating	4 out of 5

[Achim]

The only thing really bad about this particular edition is that Noble Entertainment decided that the whole season could be fit into three discs. That means cramming over 6 hours onto a single disc! No wonder the pricture quality looks hardly any better than VHS. I Only paid about $10 for the box, so I guess I can't complain too much.

Pete as some pretty horrible sets, with one extreme running times per disc, but this one just might take the cake.

Dennis Farina a been enjoyable in everything I have seen him in, Get Shorty and that Steven Soderbergh film (Clooney) being on the top of my head. I should seek out more of hs films.

[GSyren]

Pete as some pretty horrible sets, with one extreme running times per disc, but this one just might take the cake.

Surprisingly enough it's far from the worst picture quality that I have seen. I'm actually surprised that they managed to get better than VHS quality with this much on the disc. Just barely better, but still.

I have a few other titles that come close to six hours, for example one "Horror Classics" that crams 4 films onto a single disc. The quality on that disc is way worse than than on Crime Story. But then again, it may have something to do with the fact that it's from Platinum Disc Corporation. Not exactly known for quality releases...

[GSyren]

Just received the UK release of Season 2 (released by Boulevard Entertainment) and I'm sad to say that my hopes for better quality than Season 1 were cruelly crashed.

If anything this is actually worse. Well, the picture quality seems to be about the same, but instead of cramming the season onto 3 single side double layer discs, Boulevard opted for 3 double side single layer discs. So we get the same compression, but on double sided discs instead...

[GSyren]

OK, it took me a while to finish season two. Not as good as season one, but still good. The episodes vary quite a lot in quality. The main problem seems to have been that the writers didn't to know where the show was going. In S1 it had a clear direction, not so in S2. You know the show is in trouble when two episodes are built almost exclusively on flashbacks. Then it picks up when the action moves to Mexico for the last few episodes, but unfortunately this last season ends with a cliffhanger.

I know many fans of the show will disagree with me, but I think it was the right decision to cancel the show. The way season 2 went, I think that another season would have been a letdown, so better end it while it was still good. I do wish that they had made that decision in time to end S2 better, though.

So, all in all a good show, but it deserves a lot better presentation than on these DVDs.