Banshee: Season 1 (Blu-ray + Digital Copy) (Cinemax)

If your wife or girlfriend doesn't like the above, DO NOT watch this with her.

I came into this show with fairly low expectations. But I figured, "What the heck." I will start off by saying that the show appeared on my recommended list as a result of the many Showtime subscription shows that I had watched and, not paying attention to the fact that it was a Cinemax (not Showtime) show, I assumed that I had the paid ability to watch all four seasons. Nope. Showtime (through Amazon) subscription does not cover this Cinemax series. And now I am hooked. So I will stew and complain and commit to not paying "the man" more of my hard earned cash for a TV series that I should have already had access to because I paid for Prime and I paid additional monthly fees to subscribe to Showtime on Amazon and its unfair that I should pay more and ... And then after a week I'll purchase season three and season four, because the show is just that good.So I've established that I enjoy watching the how. For many, many reasons, but let me establish one particularly pertinent reason for those people who have a certain predilection and only read the first few paragraphs of a review. There is nudity. Good nudity. Attractive young women frequently displaying their naked bodies. In the pervert vernacular, T & A, and a few instances of B. This is a Cinemax (not Showtime / Grrrr!) show and it keeps up the old Skinemax tradition. I happen to be a fan of attractive female nudity so I can't comment, in an unbiased fashion, on whether the nudity is gratuitous. I lean towards no (but it probably is). Anyway. There's that for those who want to know.Which is also to say that the writing is brilliant. The dialogue sparkling. The acting stupendous. And at that last statement, I suspect that TV critics will bristle. But hear me out. Refer to the previous paragraph. Frequent attractive young women displaying (occasionally) full frontal nudity. And yet as opposed to being bubble-headed pop tarts, these actresses have chops. Emoting, showing range, physically possessing their characters (Strasberg). In a word - acting. So rarely do "serious" actresses "do nudity", that when you encounter actresses that see the full human range of experience, including those moments when a character is unclothed, as material for inclusion in a dramatic setting, it is striking.The actresses and actors are all extremely talented. The writing is brisk. The action sequences engaging. Too many fistfights for my liking. They are too frequent, several an episode, and all so extraordinarily unrealistic. I mean. C'mon now. You get hit that many times with a lead pipe and you would be dead. You get hit that many times with a lead pipe EVERY EPISODE and your entire bloodline would be dead.The writing and the drama (and the nudity) keep you engaged. Like I said I will, eventually, purchase the next two seasons. So this is a big thumbs up. I would recommend the series for any, (adults) that appreciate good writing, solid action, engaging plotlines, superior acting ... and attractive female nudity.

Nothing boring about this series. Admitingly, there is a lot of sex, drinking and cursing, but the characters are lovable and entertaining. I have watched it twice already. Highly recommend.

Although the premise, a just released con taking over the job of a dead sheriff, was kind of unbelievable I did enjoy the show. Looking forward to watching other seasons.

One of the people at the office and I often exchange reviews of books, movies and clips that we think were worth sharing. Like many others I often find myself looking for something new and interesting on Amazon, or the www in general. I must have browsed by this show at least 100 times, only because the Amazon Prime listing depicts a cartoonish illustration. I thought it was either an animated series (which I have a hard time watching no matter what it is) or a low budget production.Thanks to the recommendation from someone in the office I found myself "binge watching" Series 1 and 2 over a few days time. The show is neither animated nor is it a low budget production. Great action, complex story line (that doesn't mean it completely believable) and plenty of interesting story lines. Violence, profanity, gore, and plenty of skin.The characters are well developed and the acting, with a few exceptions, is better than expected. As an example the actor who plays Hood at times doesn't carry the scene as he's just not capable of playing the scene with the right emotion, or at least not enough to allow me to accept the situation/emotion/.sentiment he's trying to portray.Some of the cast are better performers than others. For me the actor who plays Sugar is the best in the cast while other like the actors who play Job, Proctor, Brock and Rebecca are really very good as well.I feel that the actors who play Rabbit, Anastasia/Carrie and Gordon aren't up to par with the remainder of the cast. Those in secondary roles such as Gordon and Ana/Carries daughter aren't my favorites either while the actress who plays Nola played the role well.How and what would I compare this too? In many ways it reminds me of the early years of True Blood (camera, shooting angles, plots and sub plots) with the same format, stereotyping and character development. I hope it doesn't degenerate into a campy soap opera with little resemblance between the series origin and it's later years of production. I've already noticed some deviation from the original season's mixture of action and energy to a more dramatic show with less action in Season 2.But I digress. Overall Season 1 is enjoyable to watch. If you liked True Blood, Deadwood, Justified and the early seasons of the Soprano's you'll enjoy Season 1 of Banshee.

Die Hauptdarsteller der Serie heißen Schußwechsel, Prügelszenen, Adrenalin, Testosteron und Blut (und die Kamera beschönigt nichts). Von daher ist sie nichts für Zartbesaitete. Auch ich hätte spätestens nach 4 Folgen abgebrochen, wenn das ganze nicht von einer gut erzählten Geschichte getragen würde. Sie ist schnörkellos erzählt und auch verschiedenen Handlungsebenen kann man immer problemlos folgen. Die Geschichte spielt in der fiktiven Kleinstadt Banshee, die von einem vielfältigen Kosmos bevölkert wird: Einem zwielichtigen Geschäftsmann und Drogendealer (Klasse: Ulrch Thomsen), Amischen und Indianern vom Stamm der Kinaho, die auf dem nahegelegenen Reservat ein Kasino betreiben. In Banshee werden nun die Auge-um-Auge, Zahn-um-Zahn Mentalität und der Gewaltfetischismus, der in weiten Teilen der amerikanischen Gesellschaft herrscht verdichtet, auf den Punkt gebracht und noch darüber hinaus.Kommunikation außerhalb der eigenen Gruppe findet grundsätzlich nur mit Fäusten und Schießeisen statt. Abgesehen vom Mündungsfeuer der Gewehre und der Reibungshitze der Faustschläge ist die Serie von einer Eiseskälte durchzogen. Nur Sugar mit seiner Altersweisheit und Job mit seiner Ausstrahlung eignen sich als Sympathieträger, da sie nicht primär auf Gewalt setzen.In dieser Serie kann man schonungslos bis in letzter Konsequenz sehen wie eine Welt aussieht, in der Gier und das Recht des Stärkeren herrschen. Das ist die Hölle auf Erden, und in einer solchen möchte ich wirklich nicht leben.Leider wird bei einigen nicht auszuschließen sein, daß sie dieser Verführung durch Gewalt erliegen. Denen ist dann nicht mehr zu helfen.Es tut der Serie gut, daß sie auf 4 Staffeln beschränkt ist. Denn die Geschichte ist durcherzählt.

HBO has a great reputation for quality TV, this series helps show why. For the gangster-police genre this is very rich thematically. It weaves multiple strands together very credibly. NY Russian mafia, mid-west crime lords, drugs, diamonds, Indian reservations, 'Amish farmers, small town life, cowboy sheriff, trailer trash, raves, teen coming of age, prize fights, casinos, ex-cons, old vengeance, old love, many complex families of all sorts, mistaken identity, assumed identity, forgery, buried bodies in the woods at night, pick pockets, politics.... it even has a moment for police paperwork (the irony!) And that's just the first 3 episodes.It is hard to see any formula or idea that the writer allows to slip past unexploited. It uses each fully, satisfyingly and cleverly. There is real, understated wit everywhere. The characters, sympathetic or not, all engage you, all are real and human and fully fleshed out. The dialogue and behaviour is 18. The menace is palpable and there's plenty of graphic violence, drugs and sex , though lots is effectively left to the imagination too. But it is done with purpose, and so fits with alot less jarring than mindless or gratuitous graphic scenes trigger. And our main character does not live without his demons and PTSD. If not perfectly credible everywhere is certainly hard to beat any many much higher p[rofile series could learn a lot from this.This was a french box, all cover text in french but plays films and bonus material in English (5.1) as default but offers French (5.1), German (5.1), Polish (2.0) and subtitles in all those plus Dutch and Portuguese too. Bonus material is not subtitled, includes quite alot: NY-bus-crash behind the scenes, Banshee origins, Town of secrets, cut scenes, season 1 and 2 trailers, episode 7 and 8 trailers, audio commentary. 4x DVD in a slip case and standard size box. 10 episodes.RECOMMENDED - Oh yes!

Extraordinaria serie. Fantástica. Te atrapa de principio a fin. Todos los personajes tienen matices interesantes. Recomiendo esta serie a todo el que busque algo diferente.

Certainly not to everyone's taste, I'm sure, but it is definitely hard to overlook the outstanding acting along with the Action scenes in this Series. It wasn't until just recently I learned the main character in the Series, Sheriff Lucas Hood, is played by a New Zealander, Antony Starr. It's not until you watch "The Extra Features" on the DVD that you hear his exquisite "Kiwi" accent. Terrific story lines blended with rich, colorful characters who evoke a wide range of emotions from the viewer and just all-round good fun. Looking forward to Season on DVD and the release of Season 4 on HBO.

« Let’s talk about Banshee ».En manque d’une série susceptible de rallier ma compagne à mes visionnages nocturnes et après avoir lu et entendu divers avis ici et là, je me suis tourné presque à l’aveuglette vers cette série produite en partie par le fantastique Alan Ball (True Blood et surtout Six Feet Under, une série inoubliable) me rappelant par bien des aspects certains comics (Preacher et son arc Salvation dont on fait souvent référence discrètement par le pitch identique et le chien de Proctor appelé… Preacher). Il s’agit simplement d’une histoire bien classique et déjà vue : l’étranger débarque dans une bourgade isolée remplie de rednecks et de lois qui leur sont propres pour y faire le ménage mais revue et corrigée de façon contemporaine.Ne chercher pas une once de réalisme, l’ex-taulard devient shériff, les méchants sont TRES méchants et on pourrait résumer l’histoire telle quelle : le shériff se fait castagner, castagne et baise tout ce qui bouge.Et pourtant ça marche… l’histoire prend de l’ampleur au fur et à mesure des épisodes (excellents flashbacks qui lèvent graduellement le passif des personnages), scènes d’action hyper violentes mais stylisées et peu de temps morts, vraiment peu de temps morts. Il s’agit comme déjà dit d’un « Guilty Pleasure » ou plaisir coupable là où le cultissime Breaking Bad sacrifie parfois son rythme pour y planter son histoire, Banshee ne s’accommode d’aucun artifice et fonce pied au plancher vers l’issue de chaque épisode sans regarder derrière.Personnages comics, scènes d’action comme on en voyait plus depuis belles lurettes et humour très noir soutenu par des punchlines fracassantes, le spectacle peut déplaire mais curieusement cet étrange mélange de scènes tirées d’un film Z se marient à merveille pour nous offrir un spectacle décomplexé et qui rallie tous les suffrages. Banshee est donc vraiment aussi fun qu’il compte d’os cassés.Cette saison 1 peut presque se voir comme un stand alone complet car la fin boucle bien les enjeux développés même si on en creuse au sens large comme au figuré de nouveau pour une saison 2 que je ne vais pas manquer de regarder dès à présent.Concernant le Blu-ray, l’image est très belle, le son n’est pas en reste et le packaging est très sympa avec un surétui plutôt joli. Le menu donne envie de presser la touche play avec la tension de sa musique et la compilation de scènes fortes par contre si on est plutôt servi niveau bonus, les non anglophones déploreront l’habituel foutage de gueule de Warner (qui édite Banshee en vidéo) en supplantant les 3 quarts de sous titres français comme anglais qui auraient pu être utiles, notamment sur les courts « Banshee Origins ».Une excellente surprise envers et contre tous et une édition Blu Ray perfectible mais néanmoins il s’agit d’une série à acheter tant le revisionnage me semble possible contrairement à d’autres séries. Que du fun pour peu que vous aimiez un peu le trash, les os cassés et les nombreuses scènes de sexe « full frontal ». Un spectacle racoleur bien divertissant en somme. :)