The Leftovers: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]

Cast: Justin Theroux, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler

Release Date: Now Available On Blu-ray & DVD

A Review By: Kevin Lovell

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

 

Synopsis:

Based on the 2011 bestselling novel by Perrotta, The Leftovers is seen primarily through the eyes of police chief Kevin Garvey, played by Justin Theroux, as he experiences life post “the Departure.” After what can only be explained as an instance similar to the biblical rapture, the people of Mapleton, New York, are suddenly shaken to their core as many of their loved ones disappear into thin air. With roughly 140 million people actively missing — 2% of the world’s population — the world starts to question everyone and everything. Will people turn to cynicism, paranoia, and cult-like fanaticism, in order to survive? The eerie and thought-provoking series leaves viewers riveted, second-guessing theories from episode to episode.

The series follows the folks of one small town and their attempt at resuming their lives following a tragic and unexplainable event in which two percent of the world’s population mysteriously vanished, the reason why or what was responsible for the occurrence remaining unknown. Focusing (somewhat) primarily on local lawman Kevin Garvey (Theroux) as he tries to deal with the consequences of the past in addition to the present troubles occurring within the town such as a cult of chain-smoking individuals always clad in white, a group called the Guilty Remnant which his wife abandoned him and their children to join; not to mention the recent hallucinations which continue plaguing him and also appear eerily similar to the occurrences which landed his father booted from the force and thrown into a hospital.

Created by Damon Lindelof (likely best known to many for his creative involvement in ‘Lost’) and Tom Perrotta and based upon Perrotta’s novel of the same name, ‘The Leftovers’ is an intense, mind-warping series that is emotionally riveting, downright strange (in the best way possible) and at times incredibly brutal. It keeps the viewer on their toes and guessing, and then subsequently reforming those guesses shortly after. ‘The Leftovers’ will almost certainly pull you into its unique, complex and highly intriguing story for one truly wild ride. The series is also greatly complemented by the solid performances from nearly every cast member, including notable performances from Justin Theroux, Amy Brenneman, Christopher Eccleston, Liv Tyler and a number more.

Fans of this complex, intriguing and surprisingly addictive series will almost surely want to make certain to pick up a copy of ‘The Leftovers: The Complete First Season’ on Blu-ray to add to their collections. The release delivers impressive high definition video and audio presentations for each of the 10 episodes in the debut season. The release also includes a number of informative and entertaining extras including Audio Commentary tracks for both the Pilot and the Finale and more (more detailed information regarding the bonus content can be found in the special features section of the technical specification coverage below) easily making it a must own for many folks.

VIDEO:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Leftovers: The Complete First Season’ features a full 1080p High Definition presentation utilizing the show’s original 1.78:1 Aspect Ratio on all of the first seasons episodes. The video presentations look wonderful, delivering sharp, detailed presentations on every episode of the debut season, holding up impressively even during the darkly lit and fast moving sequences, never resulting in anything occurring on screen to become negatively affected or rendered indiscernible. Overall, these are solid high definition video presentations that should satisfy fans of this intriguing series.

AUDIO:

The Blu-ray release features a lossless 5.1 channel DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack on all 10 Season One episodes. These lossless multichannel soundtracks sound great, providing clean, discrete and often surprisingly aggressive audio presentations on every episode, utilizing all five available channels with the series’ score in addition to some sudden and hard hitting flashback moments that really provide the soundtrack a workout, along with a number of other suitably fitting auditory effects; never causing any dialogue which may be occurring simultaneously to become distorted or rendered inaudible. Overall, these are more than adequate 5.1 channel DTS-HD MA soundtracks that easily deliver in every way required of them.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

The Blu-ray release of ‘The Leftovers: The Complete First Season’ includes some solid bonus goodies. Included on the release are Audio Commentary tracks on two key episodes in the season, both the ‘Pilot’ and the ‘Finale’. The release also includes a few Featurettes that take a Behind the Scenes look at the series and what was required in bringing different aspects of it to life, as well as expanding beyond the novel and more. The Featurettes include: ‘Making The Leftovers’ (running approximately 29 minutes in length), ‘I Remember: A Season One Conversation with Damon Lindelof and Tom Perrotta’ (approximately 15 minutes), ‘Living Reminders: The Guilty Remnant’ (9 minutes), and ‘Beyond the Book: Season 2’ (4 minutes).

*Please note that the above images are taken from the Blu-Ray and resized. They additionally will suffer quality loss as a result of .jpg compression. Larger versions of each image can be viewed by clicking on the image. All images and content included on this Blu-Ray release are the property of their respective owners.

Disc Rating: 8.5/10

Own ‘The Leftovers: The Complete First Season’ today on Blu-ray & DVD from Warner Bros Home Entertainment.

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