Author Topic: Samurai Jack: Season 3  (Read 2540 times)

RossRoy

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Samurai Jack: Season 3
« on: June 21, 2007, 03:39:23 AM »
Like Pete, please note that this is my first attempt... be kind!  :P
Also, I've shamelessly (and without permission) copied Pete's format. I hope you don't mind! Don't forget "Imitation is the nicest form of flattery" :P


MOVIE / DVD INFO


Title: Samurai Jack: Season 3
Year: 2003
Creator: Genndy Tartakovsky (Dexter's Laboratory, Powerpuff Girls, Star Wars Clone Wars)
Rating: DVD Not Rated (TV-Y7)
Length: 303 Min.
Video:  Full Frame 1.33:1
Audio:  English, French and Spanish DD Surround
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish and closed captioned (english)

Stars:
Phil LaMarr (Jack)
Mako (Aku)

Plot:
A samurai flung into the future by an evil entity, travels and fights to return home and free the world of evil.

Extras:
   1. The Martial Art of Samurai Jack featurette
   2. Birth of Evil Part 1 & 2 commentary
   3. Lost Artwork Gallery (with commentary by the creator)

WHAT I THINK OF IT
Audio:
"Who else wants some?"

Samurai Jack lives through sound (and picture, but on more on that later). The sound is spot on, from the lightness of birds and crickets in quiet scenes, to the loudness of dragons roaring, swords clashing, rave music, etc. The sound on this is really immersive, and really fits the scenes. Dialog, when there is any, is nice and clear, never overpowered by the ambiant sounds. A really nice soundtrack.

I must also mention the music. All the music is composed (except the main theme and end theme) by a single person, James L. Venable. It is, in one word, awesome. Samurai Jack is series that goes from espionage type, to rave, to a scottish theme, to a western type episode, etc. And Mr Venable does a really good job at tackling all these different styles of music. The rave episode stands out. I've never been one to like electronic music, but he manages to keep the music interesting enough throughout the episode. A great achievement indeed!

Unfortunately, there is 1 problem with the audio which prevents me from giving it more than a 4, and it is the DD surround. I understand it was produced for TV, but a 5.1 mix would have been that much better! The sound field is utilised nicely for a stereo surround track, but still, a full blown 5.1 track would've been a nice addition.

Score: 4/5

Video:
"Oh, that's some tough talk from someone who wears a basket on his head.

The images. The beautiful images. Samurai Jack is really a work of art. The simplistic designs of the characters, are complemented well by the great backgrounds and textures for them. And it's a good thing, because the story of Samurai Jack rarely moves with dialog, but mostly through images. It is not rare to have a full episode where not a single word is spoken. Of course, if you want to keep interest high, you need great imagery, and Samurai Jack delivers. Also, being a recent production, the transfer looks great on DVD. I've noticed a few instances of interlacing errors, but they are far and few and really don't distract all that much.

Score: 4/5

Extras:
"The beast was struck, and was transformed, into... BEEEEEEF JERRRRRRRKY.

Right off the bat, I'll admit to not listening to the commentary track. I'm not a fan of those so I rarely, if ever, listen to them.

The Martial Art of Samurai Jack is a short featurette (~12 minutes) that compares the fighting style of Jack to real world martial art (Wing Chun for example) and some masters explain the origins and demonstrate some moves. It's an interesting little featurette.

Lost Artwork Gallery is a really short (~3 minutes) slideshow of some dropped character designs with Genndy Tartakovsky talking about the ideas and why they were ultimately dropped. It's a bit short, but it's interesting to see.

The included extras are nice, but I would've preferred more about the process of creating a Jack episode, but it's better than nothing!

Score: 2.5/5


Movie:
"Long ago in a distant land, I, Aku, the shape shifting master of darkness, unleashed an unspeakable evil. But a foolish samurai warrior wielding a magic sword stepped forth to oppose me. Before the final blow was struck, I tore open a portal in time, and flung him into the future where my evil is law. Now the fool seeks to return to the past and undo the future that is Aku.

I love Samurai Jack. Ever since I saw the first episode of Season 1, I was hooked. The animation style, the high sound quality, and the overall production value really all work together to create a really unique experience. Some episodes can be tedious, with Jack simply walking around, going "somewhere", but once the action starts, it is awesome. The whole show revolves around the fighting sequences. A typical Jack episode involves Jack arriving someplace, witnessing a situation, engaging in a fight, coming out victorious and walking away towards a new adventure. Jack is full of humor and nods to other series, hommages to many different cinematic style.

Samurai Jack may not be for everyone, but it is well worth a watch.. or two... or three!

My favorite episodes this season: The Rave episode (XXVIII), The overly-friendly creature episode (XXXIII), and of course, the emmy-winning Birth of Evil two-part episode (XXXVII & XXXVIII).

Offline addicted2dvd

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Re: Samurai Jack: Season 3
« Reply #1 on: June 21, 2007, 11:34:25 AM »
Great review Ross!
lol... don't mind at all about the format... I just threw it together quickly anyway!  :P

I never seen this show... though my daughter likes it... will have to look into it. :)

Great Job btw! :)
Pete