Whether you have been watching Game of Thrones since season one or are just becoming acquainted with the wild and wicked sagas, it’s time for the release of Season 6 on Blu-ray and DVD. The plus factor for those who have watched the show on HBO, besides living it again there’s many features and commentaries that gives you additional insight into the world of the salacious kingdoms. This is the first time that a Game of Thrones season has been released so close to one another with Season 5 being released in March of this year so you may also find a copy on a store shelf as well.
In the ten episodes of season 6 we see more treachery, scheming, death, war, debauchery and all that keeps the series interesting and eventful. Following up on the previous season that had a lot of cliffhangers and surprises, I jumped right into the throws to find out how things are being resolved. Each of the seven families are still fighting to take hold of the Iron Throne and become the one leader of the kingdoms.
Some Snippets (no spoilers):
Jamie (Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) and Cercsi Lannister (Lena Headey) are in Kings Landing and still wanting to regain control over the High Sparrow (Jonathan Pryce). Ceresi’s looking for revenge from her forced walk of shame and trying to get the small council to ally with her. She’s still at odds with her son King Tommen Baratheon (Dean-Charles Chapman) who believes in the High Sparrow and wants to keep the peace with him.
In the north at Castle Black there’s a quandary over the death of Jon Snow (Kit Harington) as Sansa Stark (Sophie Turner) arrives with Brienne of Tarth (Gwendoline Christie) where they have escaped from Winterfell and the foul Lord Ramsay Bolton (Iwan Rheon). Melisandre (Carice van Houten) the red woman gets called in by Ser Davos Seaworth (Liam Cunningham) to see what she can conjure with Snow’s body while a plot to invade the south gets hatched.
The mother of dragons Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke) has escaped death and heads for Kahl Moro (Joe Naufahu) in the land of the Dothraki a tribal society that’s domineering over their women. Death of a Kahl puts their wives under control of the Dosh Khaleen (Souad Faress) where, because of Daenerys’ return to their land and widowed by the death of Kahl Drugo, must be subservient to her and the leader Kahl Moro. Several kingdoms are about to clash with large armies being assembled and it’s anyone’s guess who will survive.
Arya Stark (Maise Williams) is still without her homeland leading to an interesting dynamic for her character’s progression. After being blinded, season six finds her a beggar on the streets. Maise Williams 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. Of course there’s still seasons 7 and 8 being filmed so her career could be carried out many more hours much like Harry Potter saga, but for adults.
The story spools out with a lot of drama, adventure and action that keeps it very interesting. Each episode resolves previous actions taken and adds new problems to solve. The Game of Thrones has no equal when it comes to cliffhangers and this season has several that hopefully will be settled in the upcoming Season 7.
BONUS FEATURES:
There are an extensive number of extras on the DVD and an additional amount on the Blu-ray.
DVD
“Battle of the Bastards: An In-Depth Look” This behind the scenes feature goes into the challenges of putting together the saga and includes the special effects and stunts involved.
“Recreating the Dothraki World” Shows how they built the huge hall where most of the interior action takes place and one of the most amazing scenes develops.
“18 Hours at the Paint Hall” getting behind the cameras as they shoot scenes from the show.
“Deleted Scenes”
“Audio Commentaries” There are commentaries for each of the 10 episodes all of which clarify and give insight on important scenes.
BLU-RAY
In addition to what is on the DVD, the Blu-ray adds the following bonuses.
“In-Episodes Guide” This feature allows an in depth look that provides background information about on-screen characters, locations and relevant histories.
“Histories and Lore” Learn about the mythology of Westeros and Essos as told from the varying perspectives of the characters themselves in 18 history pieces. It’s like having a companion piece at your fingertips.
Digital HD Download
The digital download feature provides another four features:
“Bran’s Journey” A nine-minute feature delving into the shocking and reveiling journey of Bran Stark took in Season 6.
“The Dothrake World” A behind the scene up to speed on the Dothraki culture that was not seen in season one where they are first introduced.
“Inside the Game of Thrones: Prosthetics” This Behind-the Scenes featurette shows the work that goes into creating the many things that are used to build characters.
“The Game Revealed” A 5-part series covering the creation of Season 6’s most epic set pieces and scenes.
I am very pleased with the sixth season of Game of Thrones. The special features and commentary really enhance the GOT experience and the box set itself is very upscale. Not only did this series exceed my expectations with its fine production, but they packaged it so owners would be proud to display it in their video libraries. Can’t wait for Season 7 and 8 that are in production for next year.
The Game of Thrones: Season Six has been rated TV-MA. The copious amounts of sex and nudity that were in season 5 have been lessened a great deal, but the violence has been upped in both war and revenge. Please be cautious when deciding to allow immature children see the series as it contains nudity, sex, language and extreme violence.
FINAL ANALYSIS: One of the better seasons with some very powerful action, visuals and shocking plot points.
Specifications and additional video information:
Cast: Peter Dinklage, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Lena Headey, Kit Harington, Emilia Clarke, Aidan Gillen, Liam Cunningham, Carice van Houten, Natalie Dormer, Indira Varma, Sophie Turner, Nathalie Emmanuel, Rory McCann, Maisie Williams, Conleth Hill, Alfie Allen, John Bradley, Tom Wlaschiha, Gwendoline Christie, Hannah Murray, Jonathan Pryce, Kristofer Hivju, Michiel Huisman, Michael McElhatton, Iwan Rheon, Dean-Charles Chapman, Isaac Hempstead Wright, Jerome Flynn, Iain Glen, Diana Rigg
Directed by: Mark Mylod, Jeremy Podeswa, Miguel Sapochnik Daniel Sackheim, and Jack Bender
TV-MA Rating: Contains brief nudity, extreme violence, language, intense combat
Genre: Drama, Adventure, Action
Running Time: 558 minutes
Original Theatrical Release Date: HBO April 24 to June 26, 2016.
Video Release Date: November 15, 2016
Language: English (language changeable to French, Brazilian Portuguese 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, Bazillian 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
