Breaking Bad - Season 05

For a long time now, television programs have been making great strides in terms of quality, production values and acting. Some of the shows we've been seeing in recent years really are prime examples of what can happen when you marry exceptional stories to inspired acting. The old bias against "the ghetto of television" is being eroded more with every passing year, and one show that deserves a large amount of credit for that turnaround is Breaking Bad. Bryan Cranston is so wonderful as chemistry teacher turned meth kingpin Walter White that his performance could easily obscure the other actors in this series...but the majority of them are so perfectly cast that you just can't help but marvel how wonderful they are. From Dean Norris as DEA agent (and brother-in-law to Walter) Hank Schrader to Walt's long-suffering partner in crime Jesse Pinkman, a heart-breakingly vulnerable Aaron Paul, this show rarely misses. And even the odd average bit of acting you see here and there ends up being elevated by how truly magnificent the material is. Breaking Bad gets a lot of comparisons to Scarface. Never having watched that movie in its entirety, (I have a hard time with Al Pacino's accent) I can neither confirm nor deny the validity of that statement, but what I CAN tell you is that this is a gripping tale of a seemingly mild-mannered man who, through a twist of fate, discovers the villain within and discovers too, his genius, and we see just how much he will let go of in pursuit of the gratification of his ego. Conversely, his partner Jesse, who starts the series as a petty drug dealer, finds that as Walt becomes increasingly distant from his morality, Jesse realizes just how close his always was. From the cat-and-mouse between Walt and Hank to the complex relationship that exists between Walt and his wife and children, to the string of adversaries that Walt faces in his rise to the top, there is nothing in this show that isn't handled beautifully. If it seems like I'm gushing, it's because I am. I can't say enough good things about this show. It is, by turns, suspenseful, blackly humorous, and touching, often all at the same time. Very few stories strike this balance, and even fewer do it as well as Breaking Bad. If you haven't seen this series yet, whether it's because you've felt like you just couldn't fit in one more, you haven't made the time, or you haven't any idea what all the fuss was about...do yourself a favor: watch it. Very few things in life live up to the hype. This does.

Yes, this is only an 8 episode season, and for contractual reasons season 6 was called the 2nd half of season five, even though they were shot a year apart and have very different parts of the storyline. But this is still 8 hours of amazing storytelling. I'd take 8 hours of the very best of 'Breaking Bad' over 12 hours of almost any other series in TV history. To worry too much about 4 fewer episodes is like being upset because a great 90 minute movie costs the same as a great 2 hour film. What can be said about this spectacular saga that hasn't been said before? One of the very few series that competes with the best films in history for achievement in cinematic storytelling. Like a great novel slowly unfolding, it's funny, heartbreaking, incredibly tense, deeply disturbing, full of brilliant plot twists, rich, compelling characters and a pitch-black sense of humor. A nebbishy high-school science teacher finds he has lung cancer, so becomes a meth dealer to make money for his family before his death. Often visually stunning, with a breathtaking performance by Brian Cranston in the lead, and great work from all the supporting roles, this portrait of a man's decent into hell couldn't be much better, and it just grows darker and more disturbing each year. In a way, thematically it recalls "The Godfather I and II" in how that epic charts Michael's journey from innocence to darkness, along with the moral murkiness of the endless drive for money and success - how we lose ourselves, so that succeeding and having ever more becomes an end in itself for which we will pay any price, rather than a route to happiness, trapping us in a game we can never win. This fifth season is a brilliant, and very emotional set up for the last. This is powerful, important and utterly enthralling stuff.

This review came out of frustration - so let me just get that out of my system before I go into detail about the DVD. Despite popular belief, this isn't half a season, or season 5.1 or a rip off. This is Season 5. AMC (the shows producers) have referred to this as Season 5 for some time now, and the packaging has stated its season 5 - and containing 8 episodes. There is no excuse for assuming that Breaking Bad concludes with this season, the information has been in the Amazon description for a long time. Price wise, I paid £17 for this - its now dropped to £15. It contains 8 episodes, 5 less than seasons 2-4 and 1 more than season 1. Dexter season 7, just released, contains 12 episodes and cost me £27 on the day of release. So, you actually get more bang for your buck with Breaking Bad. The conclusion to the series is another 8 episodes, and is being referred to as 'The Final 8' If this was just 1 full season, it would be 16 episodes long - personally, I find the pace much better suited to 2 shorter seasons. The impact of the cliffhanger at the end of season 5 is doubled by the year long wait to find out what happens next, and I think that single handedly justifies the split. Sorry about that, back to the DVD. Breaking Bad Season 5 is heavy. Walter White's transformation into the Heisenberg is almost complete. He is more than a drug producer, much more than a drug dealer. He is a drug lord. Season 5 deals with Walter becoming his own man, flexing his own ego. And its all about ego for Walter - its not about the money anymore, he is power hungry. He demands respect, he orchestrates murders from the comfort of his kitchen and starts to dismantle anything that can bring him down. I can't say much more without spoilers. Its a weighty 8 episodes - they are intense, draining and utterly engrossing. Lots happen, some huge chunks of the story are worked out in this season - i'd say the go over more ground in these 8 episodes in all of season 1 and 2. They have a big back story to rely on, and they know fans of the show well enough, to know they don't need reminding who is who - they jump right back into the action. No 'previously on Breaking Bad', no time wasted filling the uninitiated in. A note on the style of the show. Since the show started, the creators have given the look of the show a slight artistic flair, a real filmic quality. But with season 5 they lay it on thick - almost every shot can be savoured and enjoyed. The opening of the final episode maybe highlights this best - a meeting in the desert, that could easily look dull, is shot in wonderful orange light with bright blue skies. Or during the prison scene when its cuts to Walter, stood as a silhouette in his kitchen (very reminiscent of the Godfather) The DVD is packed full of extras - extended scenes and inside looks, but most notably the ever insightful commentary and an additional 8 minutes, that actually does add to the story. For me, I had already seen Breaking Bad before I bought the DVDs, but the extra's and specifically the commentary had me clicking the 'add to basket' button. Breaking Bad have become increasingly generous with the extras, both in how many extra hours you get, but also the content. Vince Gilligan is very insightful when it comes to describing exactly why he did what where, and to be honest its a joy to get the extra insight. Season 5 is no exception - maybe the most interesting set of commentaries yet. With season 5, you get some of the best 8 hours of TV made, until the series is concluded that is - and a cliffhanger which will knock you out.

Nos ha encantado. Enorme calidad. Volveremos a verla. Felicidades a todos los que han trabajado para lograr esta obra de arte

Worth buying!!!

Les commentaires concernant ce produit sont intéressants,mais imprécis.NE SURTOUT PAS RETOURNER CET ARTICLE,qui constitue la 1ère moitié de la saison finale.En effet,le 2ème coffret 'Remember my name'(sorti plus récemment),conclut cette saison avec les 8 derniers épisodes: AUCUN coffret ne propose (comme cela était suggéré dans quelques commentaires) la saison intégrale (16 épisodes de la série) ,il faut donc bien acheter les 2 coffrets(Longue vie au Roi + Remember my name) pour avoir Breaking Bad saison 5 dans son intégralité (ceux qui auraient renvoyé leur coffret seraient alors obligés de le commander à nouveau...).Franchement, j'vois pas où est l'arnaque,évoquée dans certains commentaires: 24.99 + 15.04 = 40.03 euros pour un tel diamant,c'est très bon marché! J'avais eu beaucoup de mal à quitter les SOPRANOS,idem à la fin de 'SIX FEET UNDER', mais je n'ai jamais connu de tel désarroi de voir une série se terminer. C'est,de loin,la série la plus brillante, la plus rock 'n roll jamais pensée: l'histoire est addictive (tellement originale!), les acteurs bouleversants, c'est la fiction culte ultime.La vie est bien triste désormais,sans Walter,Jesse,Hank,Mike et Saul...et tous les autres.Pour l'instant,la seule antidote à cette grande tristesse est de se repasser les 5 saisons en boucle... on parle d'une nouvelle série qui reprendrait le personnage de Saul Goodman,info ou intox?

Breaking bad es sinonimo de calidad, no queda mas que decir, la calidad de los blu rays es de 10 en sonido, video, extras. Una compra obligada para cualquier amante de tv.