Spartacus: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]

While I missed the opportunity to watch Spartacus in its entirety while I was a Starz subscriber, I watched the first number of episodes after having it recommended to me as a fan of Netflix's "Barbarians" and HBO's "Game of Thrones." The first number of episodes were enough to pique my curiosity. It was good enough that I decided to splurge for the complete series on Blu Ray here on Amazon and soon found myself marathoning the rest of the show.Know this - Spartacus is AWESOME. The supporting cast is incredible, consisting of 300/ Lord of the Rings / Hobbit alum along with the always-entertaining John Hannah and Lucy Lawless. The visuals and set design borrow from the stylized CGI backgrounds and slow-motion fight scenes of Zack Snyder's "300," combined with a taste of (co-producer) Sam Raimi camp that was evident in productions like "Hercules" and "Xena," and though this does create a very particular flavor for the show that makes it difficult to take totally seriously, there is no denying that the end product is some of the best eye candy and addictive viewing I've experienced on the small screen. The stylized, intentional CGI-heavy look may not be to everyone's taste, but it undoubtedly gives "Spartacus" much of its character and helps set it apart from shows like "Barbarians" and "Game of Thrones." Beautiful people in full frontal nudity and softcore porn are the rules rather than the exceptions in Spartacus, and you will find no lack of six-pack abs, bulging biceps, voluptuous breasts, and other visual showcasing of flesh. Fight choreography is often breathtaking and brutally violent, and while the show's plot somehow manages to blend a "Cliff notes" version of historical accuracy with the requisite twists and turns of a juicy soap opera and serves it up with epic prose that sounds like a poor man's version of Shakespeare, the entire experience is utterly compelling from beginning to end. This is not a plot-heavy show, but you will find plenty of character development to go along with all of the sex and violence. While said sex and violence is what "Spartacus" is ultimately known for, such blunt distillation unfairly undermines the show's artistic merits, including its set design and dialogue, which makes watching even simple conversation between characters more interesting and engaging than it has any right to be.The show truly finds its footing after the conclusion of the first season, for while main star Andy Whitfield would be unable to return due to his battle with cancer, the second and subsequent seasons solidify the show's fight choreography and move the plot forward in ways that the first show could not do due to its central setting. Season 1.5 (Gods of the Arena) provides an opportunity to set up additional characters and motivational arcs that become relevant in future seasons, as well as add depth to relationships that were developed in the first. It is here that we also see the show start to truly master the look and feel of the visceral combat sequences, which become noticeably more technical and nail-biting than what the first season was able to produce. It cannot be overemphasized how artistically stunning many of the fights and battles in Spartacus appear to be choreographed and performed, especially considering that these can be seen throughout the show and were achieved on a budget that was probably a fraction of what Hollywood blockbusters have to work with.Liam McIntyre steps into the role of Spartacus for the final two seasons, and while things initially feel a bit off with his portrayal, he soon makes the role his own and helps these final episodes be even better than what came before. Set pieces and battles are bigger and more impressive and the show manages to continue to keep viewers enthralled and in suspense even as the show marches towards the inevitable conclusion carved (loosely) into history books. Despite the departure of John Hannah after "Gods of the Arena," these final seasons also deliver the goods when it comes to devious villains. Gaius Claudius Glaber, Ilithyia, Ashur, Marcus Crassus, and Gaius Julius Caesar all offer worthy opponents for Spartacus and his allies, and half of the show's fun is witnessing the mental tactics waged between the protagonists and antagonists. While the final season's conclusion was not the show's high point for me, it was satisfying enough to recommend the purchase of this set and viewing of the show in its entirety.In conclusion, "Spartacus" is Steven DeKnight's magnum opus and one of the best premium cable shows ever produced. It, along with "Ash vs Evil Dead," stands as the best of what Starz has ever offered in original programming. This Blu Ray set, authored and released by Anchor Bay, offers razor sharp picture clarity, reference-level sound quality, and plenty of audio commentaries, behind-the-scenes footage, and interviews with cast and crew. Highly recommended for fans of Zack Snyder's cinematic "300," pseudo-historical epics (like Ridley Scott's "Gladiator"), Shakespearean tragedy topped with Sam Raimi cheese, combat sports (like MMA), and gratuitous sex and violence who don't mind a side helping of artistic flair and character development.

Nicely packaged with all 4 seasons of Spartacus. I would suggest looking at "Gods of the Arena" first, if you like an orderly timeline. The series is superior to others made for tv series. The series is R rated so it's not for young kids. There is much violence, blood, nudity and sex in this series. The quality is that of a large scale movie. The scarce information of the time period of Spartacus is filled in with great acting and fictional story. What I have read of those times, this series is fairly accurate to the big real vague historic events. I've watched the entire series maybe five times. I see something new each time, highly recommended.

I bought the series as that it’s one of my favorite TV series.

I was getting frustrated when I couldn't find any streaming platform that had Spartacus besides Hulu (they're charging extra), so I figured I'd get the hard copy. Glad I did! I love this show and the price was too good to be true. Disc's are packaged well with no damage. The set contains all 4 collections- Blood and Sand, Gods of the Arena, Vengeance, and War of the Damned.The whole series is action packed and shows lots of blood (special effects look cheesy now but it's was glorious in 2010). Not only is the story violent but it's emotional and heartbreaking which really drives the series forward all the way to the end. This show is more than nudity, backstabbing and murder, it's about the fight to freedom and the lengths to which characters will go to get it. Entwined in history, this is a fantastic story and I highly recommend it for all mature viewers

I will divide my critical view of this film into four parts: (1) history; (2) pros; (3).cons and (4) conclusion. Hopefully, the Reader will find this breakdown helpful.HISTORY: There is overall solid evidence that what we know of Spartacus historically is minimal, leaving modern screenwriters free to be creative - and perhaps justifiably so. In the view of this writer the film does NOT unduly slaughter history. The explicit sexual scenes (both heterosexual and otherwise) are well reflective of known historical sources on the open, freewheeling passions of the Greco/Roman world. It seems (for the most part) the film captured this quite well.PROS: The storyline is both captivating and well fleshed out, with astonishingly good actors doing the “fleshy out.” The quasi-Shakespearean dialogue is a most creative and brilliant compromise - after all, no one in Ancient Rome spoke English! The film receives high marks as well for interesting, complex battle scenes, calling for the very best in both actors and directors. Furthermore, the fact that the series survived the tragic loss of its lead actor, following upon the end of the first season, is little short of astonishing - a profound tribute to the creative skills of all involved.CONS: My primary criticism has to do with the way the Roman army is portrayed. During this period in Roman history her army was exceedingly well-trained and highly competent. The real Spartacus may well have enjoyed conquests, but NOT because the Roman army was anywhere near this level of incompetence! And, in my view, it is precisely here where the film momentarily stumbled...and suffered harm.“Hollywood” has a long history of telling us that “entertainment value” justifies taking liberties, even with known, historical facts. That’s most unfortunate, I believe...and I continue to hope that we are not being told the industry is “not up to task.” True film genius finds “organic” entertainment WITHIN history - with no need to bend history beyond all measure. Thus, one continues to long for just such film productions into the future, and beyond. A good deal of human history is, in and of itself alone, more than sufficiently “entertaining.”CONCLUSIONS: Despite my criticisms, I continue to regard this particular version of Spartacus to be quite admirable, and a significant improvement over earlier attempts - even though it has 35 hours to its advantage. I would strongly recommend the series to anyone who enjoys historical epics, first-class story development, and top-notch acting.By way of conclusion, readers familiar with the writings of Shakespeare may well find his play Titus Andronicus (written 400 years ago!!!) to be germane to our discussion. His play is filled with shocking sex and violence, and yet we know he was not trying to compete with 21st century video- games! Perhaps, however, such “competition” is now the new world order of entertainment in which we must now live.Cheers...

Just as advertised great value