Narcissism reigns supreme in a few top picks of Blu-ray releases this week.
The Knick: The Complete First Season (HBO Home Entertainment, rated: TV-MA, $39.98) — The first season of director Steven Soderbergh’s acclaimed Cinemax medical drama gets compiled in four Blu-ray disks to give viewers a sobering look at New York City in the year 1900.
Within 10 episodes, the show explores the complex personalities within the Knickerbocker Hospital and focuses on the ego-driven and drug-addicted Dr. John “Thack” Thackery (brilliantly played by Clive Owen) and his pioneering work as the chief surgeon.
As one could imagine, saving humans from maladies was still often a guessing game during that time. Attempts at surgical innovation often ended up being a bloody mess. The series often focuses on those attempts while filling home theater screens in a too-detailed 1:78:1 presentation.
A word of caution: Viewers will find it sometimes difficult to watch some scenes due to the graphic portrayal of the harsh conditions of the city and its hospitals during this sometimes skewered look at America’s medical trade.
Suffice to report, I am very glad I did not live in the U.S. during that time period. Ironically, I bet humans 100 years from now will probably say the same thing when reflecting on 21st century medical procedures.
Extras are a bit thin to fully recommend the Blu-ray set’s purchase and include nine, very short (under 3 minutes each) featurettes tied to most episodes that are just not very informative considering the amount of historical and cultural ground explored in the shows.
However, three optional commentary tracks might sweeten a deal for some offering words by many of the secondary actors of the series such as Eric Johnson (Dr. Everett Gallinger), Cara Seymour (Sister Harriet, a Catholic nun), Eve Hewson (Lucy Elkins, a nurse at the Knick) and Jeremy Bobb (Herman Barrow, manager of the Knick) as well as co-creators and writers Jack Amiel and Michael Begler, who do provide some great educational information.
Now, it would have been great if HBO had offered a historical documentary hosted by the show’s adviser, Dr. Stanley Burns (curator of the Burns Archive, a library for historical medical photography).
It’s also worth noting that hardcore fans of the series can download a free interactive book (not tied to the Blu-ray) on their iPads and get all of the first season’s scripts as well as loads of production notes.
True Story (20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, rated: R, $27.99) — A fact-based crime drama earlier this year gave actors James Franco and Jonah Hill a chance to work together again and seriously flex their craft.
First-time director Rupert Goold’s movie was not a hit at the box office, but the adaptation of journalist Mike Finkel’s 2006 memoir “True Story” arrives to home theaters to tempt viewers in a screen-filling, 1:85:1 presentation.
The 99-minute effort explores Mr. Finkel’s (played by Mr. Hill) fall from grace from The New York Times and his subsequent interactions with Christian Longo (played by Mr. Franco), a man accused of killing his own family who briefly stole the writer’s identity.
The real-life saga of the narcissistic Mr. Finkel and Mr. Longo works best on-screen during the sterile, prison visitation scenes where Mr. Hill attempts to extract information from this human riddle while Mr. Franco has a way of creeping out an audience with a simple look.
Most important to the extras is an optional commentary track by an enthusiastic and informative Mr. Goold who obviously loves his new job. He discusses shooting locations, questions some of his directorial choices, explores his cast choices and cinematography, and even explains the verbal chess game between two strong-willed individuals.
The disk also includes 16 minutes of deleted scenes including an alternate, more sobering ending — with Mr. Goold commenting throughout — and a collection of four promotional featurettes looking at the real individuals, including words from Mr. Finkel.
• Joseph Szadkowski can be reached at jszadkowski@washingtontimes.com.
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