The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season
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Actor: Ian Somerhalder, Nina DobrevBrand: Warner Brothers
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1; Portuguese (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 935 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2010-08-31
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Warner Home Video
Product features:
- Condition: New
- Format: DVD
- AC-3; Box set; Color; Dolby; Dubbed; DVD; Subtitled; Widescreen; NTSC
DVD Reviews of The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season
DVD Review: Far More Sophisticated Than You'd Think . . .
Summary: 5 Stars
Generally my rule for judging horror and scifi films and TV is whether the material stands or falls if the supernatural elements are removed. Using this method, I was very surprised to find that The Vampire Diaries stands tall and proud. The writing is incisive, witty and layered, the performances are uniformly great, the direction is artful yet efficient, and it's really beautifully shot. Additionally, the creators have mastered the trick of serial TV: a relatively small set of characters, locations, themes and ideas embedded in a narrative that moves very quickly, full of unpredictable twists and turns--without the sometimes tiresome sprawl, excesses and illogic of shows like Buffy and, dare I say it, True Blood. (Both great groundbreaking shows, but they don't always hold together narratively and structurally.)
While it could be accused of being "True Blood Lite," V.D. has its own set of themes, images and obsessions. For me, the show is an examination of conflicted family relationships--especially the love-hate bonds between siblings--within the context of contemporary suburban America. The most chilling moments aren't necessarily about vampires, but rather demonstrate the extreme emotional brutality that sometimes surfaces between family members: Elena's long-lost birth mother Isobel (the incomparable Mia Kirshner) suddenly appearing in Mystic Falls, treating everyone viciously, and telling her daughter, "Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me. I don't have any" (although we find out later her feelings toward her daughter are not so simple); Damon repeatedly and matter-of-factly telling his brother Stefan, "I hate you and will always hate you"; Elena's younger brother Jeremy, overwhelmed by grief and rage, sliding inexorably toward self destruction, inadvertently hastened by Elena herself, permanently damaging their close bond; venerable vampire Pearl smacking her daughter Anna, hard, for fraternizing with "the enemy," a non-vampire family, etc. It might sound like soap opera, but these moments are so well contextualized and sensitively rendered that they unfold beautifully and movingly.
(Coming from a terrible brother-brother relationship myself, I can tell you that the Stefan-Damon battle, which might appear cliched at first, gets deeper and more complex as the show goes on. The writers and actors capture perfectly the cycle of distrust and competitive aggression that pulsates between siblings. The tragedy is that they can't break free from it, as they are bonded by an unspoken familial love. It's sometimes painful to watch, sometimes hilarious, but very accurate.)
Additionally, the show's social target is the cold, manipulative snobbery of the the very well-to-do class of the South (so different from the "white trash" of T.B.); cotillions and debutante balls and all the other questionable rituals of the South are satirized, while the self-serving backdoor internecine politics are played out in the shadows. The flashbacks sequences are quite good too, and deal even more directly with the history of the poison (snobbery, racism, sexism, etc.) underneath Southern gentility.
Nina Dobrev provides a far more solid center to this whirlwind than Sarah Michelle Gellar, Anna Paquin, or the unwatchable Kristen Stewart. She's effortlessly good and has a future as a serious actress. When Paul Wesley is allowed to go beyond being the lantern-jawed brooding hero, he's great. The episodes dealing with his addiction to human blood and his attempts to quit are some of the best, and really show his range. And Ian Somerhalder. What can I say that hasn't been said? The man is brilliant, taking what could have been a repetitive and tiresome character and making it, through his gift for double-density acting, an emotional thrill ride. There's nothing trite, predictable, or cliched about THIS wisecracking (yet horrifically violent) vampire, and, as others have written, his character becomes more ambiguous, empathetic, and complex as the season progresses. His performances in the flashbacks are ASTOUNDING, as he totally transforms, actually changes the way his face and body move and behave, to explicate what Damon was like before he became a wisecracking, violent vampire. He captures the curse of an endless life perfectly. I would recommend V.D. for his performance alone.
Special mention should be made of Kayla Ewell's heartbreaking performance as Vicki Donovan, the self-aware yet out-of-control class slut/druggie/loser who spins, almost literally, into oblivion. Her strained relationship with her brother Matt is another gut-wrenching sibling story, as we witness his helpless embarrassment and pain as the whole town watches his sister go down in flames. Melinda Clarke as Kelly Donovan, Vicki and Matt's wayward and equally messed up mother, provides a similarly heartbreaking performance, but in a wonderfully outrageous way. (These two ARE the white trash so despised by the genteel Mystic Falls.) Jasmine Guy's fierce turn as "grandma witch" is pretty delicious too.
Addendum: This season is, so far, even smarter. For example: like True Blood and Twilight, werewolves have been introduced. But here, they are actually ABOUT something beyond injecting violent thrills and spectacle. In V.D., lycanthropy, like so much else in the show, is about real people--specifically, the addiction to rage that so many suffer from. And again, how it functions in a male-male familial situation (uncle-nephew, but really another variation on the brother-brother theme), and how the lack of emotional self-control does function like a familial curse. The transformations are portrayed as pathetic, not thrilling, and like vampirism, a terrible curse inseparable from dysfunctional family systems.
Kudos to all involved.
Description of The Vampire Diaries: The Complete First Season
It's Elena's first day back at Mystic Falls High School since the tragic death of her parents. Along with her Aunt Jenna, Elena tries her best to look after her troubled younger brother, Jeremy, and salvage what family they have left. The first day is already shaping up to be a struggle for Elena until she meets the mysterious new kid at school, Stefan. Elena is touched that he can relate to what she's going through. What Elena doesn't know is that Stefan is a vampire, constantly resisting the urge to taste her blood. As their undeniable connection grows deeper, Stefan's dangerous older brother, Damon, shows up to wreak havoc on the town of Mystic Falls - and claim Elena for himself. The Vampire Diaries is based on the bestselling book series from Alloy Entertainment.Bestsellers in DVD
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