The fifth season of Game of Thrones ups the excitement with a nice amount of treachery and war. By far the best production in this incredible saga that has attracted a wide audience and garnered a remarkable number of awards. The acting has retained the brilliance that began five years ago and in this season over shadows anything they have done in the past. Brilliant sets, costumes and make-up keeps the series fresh with locations fit for a kingdom in peril. If you haven’t yet seen season five or just want to relive it, put this season of treachery and sinister surprise on yes list.
From past seasons we have witnessed a growing need for domination by the seven factions. Set on the continents of Westeros and Essos the goal is to sit on the Iron throne as dominant ruler. Entering the 5th season we find the Starks have dwindled to a few family members. Arya Stark is still without her homeland leading to an interesting dynamic for her character’s progression. Maise Williams (Arya Stark) really sinks her teeth into her role as she expands her character with revenge on her mind. Without giving too much away, it is great to see her mature as an actress and should leave fans wanting more from her in the future whether it be TV or the big screen.
The performance that truly shines in this fifth season through is that of Lena Heady (Cersei Lannister). Some people may say that she hogs the screen time in this fifth season, but the performance she gives validates the trust the five directors have in her acting ability, including David Nutter (director of episodes 9 and 10). She’s the sweetheart you love to hate.
Now that Hollywood has caught onto their acting abilities with roles in several films, it’s fun to see both Peter Dinklage and Emilia Clarke return to the roles that have truly catapulted them into American consciousness. Not only does the New Jersey born Dinklage finally shine as one of the better character actors under HBO’s employ, but his ability to further the plot in an interesting way makes Game of Thrones a better show.
Clarke’s return to our TV sets as the “beloved” Daenerys Targaryen showcases the range she has developed under the directing talent at HBO and it continues to escalate in season five. Even if some of her silver screen outings were weak, looking at Terminator Genisys for example, she can still exhibit a glowing performance in Game of Thrones. I’m sure she will continue upward as she shows the power of her character in this tumultuous season.
If you have already seen season five on HBO, the true reason you are buying this fantastic fifth season of Game of Thrones on DVD or Blu-Ray is for the special features. Starting from the top, there are twelve different full audio commentary tracks within the box set including some great insights from directors like David Nuttter, costume designers, writers, production design, directors of photography, stunt coordinators, visual effects producer, the performers themselves and more.
I would suggest checking out the commentary on the final episode, “Mother’s Mercy”, which features description and comments from the writers David Benioff and D.B Weiss as well as principal actor of the episode Lena Heady with director David Nutter. If you are a purist in fantasy visual genre however, comments may blindside you on her special scene of visual effects, so for you it may be a bit of a disappointment. I’m not a huge fan of audio commentary, but the added substance from their description of what’s happening on screen is truly worth the price of home video entertainment.
The additional featurettes in the DVD boxset range from behind the scene glimpses of how the show is created to an expansive history of the creation of Game of Thrones. It is really cool listening to noted historians and novelist George R.R. Martin (who wrote “A Song of Fire and Ice” from which Game of Thrones originates) explain the historical allegories within the “Game of Thrones” universe.
There is also a fantastic “behind the scenes” featurette that shows the amount of production that happens during the shootings both in front of the camera and behind. In a single day the BTS cinematographers take you across three locations in Northern Ireland, Croatia and Spain. There’s comments from a myriad of actors and production crew for a surprising 26 minutes of mind bending footage showing how they brought the drama and action to HBO Television.
Please watch the entire series before diving into the fantastic thirty minute long “chronicling of the creation of the final episode Mother’s Mercy”. The piece takes you from inside the writer’s domain all the way to set creation and the editing room, showcasing how the episode is made with spoilers abound!
Overall I was impressed with the fifth season of Game of Thrones. The special features and commentary really enhance the GOT experience and the box set itself is a loving tribute to a golden fifth season. Not only did this episode series exceed my expectations with its fine production, they packaged it so owners would be proud to display it as well. They boxed the season in a stunning gold case for the Blu-ray and DVD so it really pops on any movie lover’s shelf. And its hardy construction and ease of use will keep your favorite characters safe behind its golden covers.
For those who have not seen Game of Thrones the series contains violence, language, sex, and nudity. A word of caution: The program should not be viewed by immature children as it does have many scenes that are inappropriate for adolescents.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A very good sequel to an already amazing series. (A)
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Emilia Clarke, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Kit Harington, Charles Dance, Diana Rigg, Jonathan Pryce, Ciaran Hinds, Aidan Gillen, Natalie Dormer, Stephen Dillane, Liam Cunningham, Carice van Houten, Indira Varma, Conleth Hill, John Bradley, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams
Directed by: Michael Slovis, Mark Mylod, Jeremy Podeswa, Miguel Sapochnik and David Nutter
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains sex, nudity, violence, language, intense combat
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Action
Running Time: 550 minutes
Original Theatrical Release Date: HBO April 12 to June 14, 2015.
Video Release Date: March 15, 2015
Language: English (language changeable to French or Spanish)
Reviewed Format: DVD (also available in Blu-ray)
Audio: Blu-ray- Dolby Atmos (also backwards compatible with all sound systems), DVD- Dolby Audio 5.1
Video: Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Bazillion Portuguese, Complex Chinese, Korean, Thai
Number of Discs: Blu-ray 4 Discs, DVD 5 Discs
Distributed by: HBO Entertainment
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
