Miami Vice - Season One
by Abel Ferrara, Alan J. Levi, Bobby Roth, David Anspaugh, David Soul
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Don Johnson, John Diehl, Michael Talbott, Philip Michael Thomas, Saundra SantiagoDirector: Abel Ferrara, Alan J. Levi, Bobby Roth, David Anspaugh, David Soul
Brand: Universal Studios
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: AC-3, Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 1105 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2005-02-08
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: National Broadcasting Company (NBC)
Movie Reviews of Miami Vice - Season One
Movie Review: Authentic Gritty Cinematic Vice
Summary: 5 Stars
As a long-time Miami Vice fan who experienced the original shows in the 80's, then in syndication, the two Pilots on laser disc, and the overpriced Columbia House VHS set, it's great to finally experience it on a digital format like DVD in all it's authentic glory.
It was worth the wait for Universal to track down the rights to the original music. Russ Ballard's 'Voices' on 'Return of Calderon Part II' is a pivotal song that was replaced on the Columbia House tapes that makes all the difference in the world having it reinstated on these DVDs.
There have been reports comparing these DVD's to tapes of the original NBC broadcasts that there might be some slight discrepencies in missing incidental dialogue in 'Heart of Darkness', 'Calderon's Return' and 'Smuggler's Blues' which only die hard fans familiar with the original broadcasts would notice. I can appreciate such concerns, especially if a favorite bit of dialogue isn't present as you've experienced it in the past. But that's a can of worms that can be opened and explored on Miami Vice forums more appropriately and in better detail.
At $1.3 million per episode in the 80's, the show was shot on film, so the popular episodes and most of the opening titles are worse for the wear in terms of dust and scratches, but along with the increased resolution and crystal clear remixed surround track, it gives the First Season a grittier, authentic, cinematic feel that was lacking in previous releases. The color is filmlike while the pastel hues still come across as vibrant but not overly saturated, which produces a appropriately realistic feel. The overall effect complements Don Johnson's portrayal of Sonny Crockett as a world-weary troubled character continually struggling with upholding the law while living an undercover lifestyle associating with criminals as a means to a moral end. It seems like rediscovering Vice all over again, or at the very least seeing it in a new light, and appreciating it more as an historical artifact for attempting to bring cinematic sensibilities and creativity to the medium of TV. It's more apparent now what creative chances it took and how it succeeded. Each episode feels more like a movie than a TV show which is striking, and occasionally makes one wish it could have been 35mm widescreen despite the fact the compositions still work extremely well in a 4:3 frame.
True, it might be nice if they had cleaned-up the film (the looped clips used in the main menus are perfectly clean while a bit overly saturated) but in my home theater experience if they get the sound and music correct, then the picture can suffer a bit, as long as the inherent deficiencies are a result of film and not a digital video transfer, as would be the case in edge enhancement or pumped-up color saturation, so that's why it feels appropriate and doesn't bother me.
'Smuggler's Blues' looks almost like a misguided attempt at the bleach bypass technique they use with films today. Not sure if blown-out highlights and deep dark loss of shadow detail was intentional, but it's the only episode that looks that way, and it's hard to watch. My guess is they tried the technique in the early days and just didn't quite work. But those are the chances Vice took and it's all the better for it. 'Evan' was always a dark-looking episode and the DVD is also.
With so much time, effort and cost Universal probably put into securing the music rights, completely remastering the picture for an 18 hour 25 minute runtime would be understandably time consuming and expensive. Vice is 20 years old and has been run in syndication quite a bit, and other shows of that era may not have been shot on film or had as many prints struck for syndication, so in comparison other shows may look better on DVD. It probably would take quite a while to complete a restoration of the original film.
The only downside to increased resolution in the picture are the cheesy extra actors in the background they have to use for practical reasons in TV shows, which detracts from an otherwise cinematic attempt at taking TV up a notch.
But the setting of the city of Miami as a study in contrast of beauty and grit has never come across better than this DVD set.
The new 5.1 surround mix is crystal clear. Even though they remixed the surround to 5.1, technically they have to work with what they've got in the original source recordings. Dialogue stems are expectedly lower in volume than the music, since I believe the first season used a mono dialogue track whereas other seasons used stereo, but it works. It might turn you into a volume jockey but it's a nice mix. You get some discreet gunfire, panning car and helicopter sound effects from the rear channels in some scenes. It's an immersive mix.
The Foreigner song 'I Want to Know What Love Is' sounds a bit strange in an episode rarely played in syndication, 'Rites of Passage'. The vocals are perfect, but the accompanying music track sounds as though the tape wasn't running smoothly, like when you listen to a cassette tape that wants to run slower and then back to normal speed and slow again. Really odd. Perhaps that's why I never saw it on TNN in syndication. I suspect it's a defect in the source tapes, so this DVD transfer uses what was available after all these years.
The packaging and menu graphics are well-done. The episode list and descriptions are welcome. Universal's double-sided discs aren't the best. It does save space, but they can scratch more easily and attract more dust and hence are harder to clean. Disc art for a visual show like Vice would be welcome, however I did get a kick out of the appropriately hot pink silkscreen ink used on the inner text on each disc. An insert with a little bit of behind-the-scenes or critical commentary text would have been welcome.
The bonus features are short but informative. New interviews from the creator, and Jan Hammer, casting director and costumer are brief but informative. Those are complemented with concise archival interviews with Don Johnson, Philip Michael Thomas and Michael Mann. It's interesting to hear the costume designer talk about Don Johnson initially not wanting to wear pastels in favor of blue jeans and cowboy boots, until he appreciated how hot an humid it can get in Miami. Jan Hammer's score was created each week in a loft studio in upstate New York as shown. A little promo for Miami Tourism is expected. No new interviews with the cast, but Universal was probably working on a budget, not the least of which likely went into securing music rights. What bonus features they have presented is welcome.
Might not hurt to email Universal and let them know the inclusion of original music is appreciated by fans, and hopefully they will continue the effort for subsequent seasons.
Bottom line for this viewer and fan is that the overall enjoyment and experience is very satisfying. I can accept the inherent deficiencies for what they are, and appreciate Vice on DVD at long last. Overall it was worth the wait. This DVD set is effective to the point that I was wanting to pop in a disc and watch Season Two. I hope Universal takes their time and secures the music rights for at least the Second Season. If it's anything like this Season One set, it will also be worth the wait.
Summary of Miami Vice - Season One
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