A Few Words About A few words about...™ The Killing - First Season -- in Blu-ray (1 Viewer)

Let me be perfectly honest.


Before viewing it, I was totally unaware of The Killing.


My son suggested that I had to take a look, and I'm pleased that I did.


It's that good!


Beautifully written, acted and shot, it places the viewer inside what in different hands might have been a standard issue police procedural.


And this is definitely not.


A teenage girl, Rosie Larsen has been murdered. We enter the search for the killer, meet those involved and affected, and bit by bit recognize the world around us spinning out of control.


Viewing The Killing is rather like peeling an onion, layer by layer, but with The Killing, one gets down a couple of layers, and finds they're holding a small orange, then an egg. It continually evolves. One may believe momentarily that they stand on terra firma, but quickly discover that they're wrong.


I prefer viewing cable fare on Blu-ray, and to my mind, The Killing is one of the best series to come along in ages. I consider it in the league of Lost and Mad Men. It's that good.


Likewise, the acting is phenomenal. Every player is letter perfect. Viewing this, I began to recognize that one of the actors, with whose work I'm not previously familiar, might be perfect for a project I've been working on, and this enabled me to study her. The strengths and subtleties on display across the board are amazing from the entire cast.


Shot on film -- the stuff with the holes along the edge -- 35/3, and taken through a 2k DI to HD format -- the production generally looks terrific. Occasionally, in extremely underlit scenes, the high speed film and grain caused havoc with one of my LCD/LED sets, but in projection, everything was beautiful.


I can't make the point any better than to reveal that I viewed the first season, all 587 minutes in two nights of screening. I hardly ever do that.


The Killing is a fantastic series that will grip you from frame one, and not release you. Not even at the final frame. The series is based upon that of the same name that was broadcast in Denmark in 2007. Love to view it, but as of this time the original is only available on non-US region standard def.


Very Highly Recommended.


RAH

I have to say that the Danish original is *fantastic* and well worth seeking out.

Robert Harris said:

Likewise, the acting is phenomenal.  Every player is letter perfect.  Viewing this, I began to recognize that one of the actors, with whose work I'm not previously familiar, might be perfect for a project I've been working on, and this enabled me to study her.

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There was a whole lot to like about this show but the cast (I love Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton is good but I wasn't familiar with Mireille Enos or Joel Kinnaman and they are both excellent in their roles) is probably the highlight.

Originally Posted by TravisR


There was a whole lot to like about this show but the cast (I love Michelle Forbes and Brent Sexton is good but I wasn't familiar with Mireille Enos or Joel Kinnaman and they are both excellent in their roles) is probably the highlight.

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Wonderful to discover, and how nice for their careers.


BTW, for those who live in the Pacific northwest... does it ever not rain there?


RAH

Robert Harris said:

BTW, for those who live in the Pacific northwest...  does it ever not rain there? RAH

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Well, it's raining like hell as I type this. I think I may have seen the sun for about ten minutes a few days ago....

Originally Posted by Craig Beam


Well, it's raining like hell as I type this. I think I may have seen the sun for about ten minutes a few days ago....

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Have you considered a move to the City of Brotherly Love. Apparently, it's always sunny.


RAH

Originally Posted by Robert Harris


BTW, for those who live in the Pacific northwest... does it ever not rain there?

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As anyone who has ever seen "Here Come the Brides" knows, "The bluest skies you ever saw are in Seattle." What they don't explain is that they lay just beyond the cloud cover.

Of course, even in the dead of winter, Seattle has its sunny days. That's why this show had to go north to Vancouver to shoot: even more darkness.

I just read about this show last night - after reading various reviews and finding out about the original Danish version, I ordered that first, because it sounds even better. I'll give The Killing a chance after that to see how they compare.

I'm one of those who watched it each week when it aired last year and liked it alot ... until what I considered a bogus twist at the end. I'm not going to give away any specific ending, but at the time it upset many people besides myself because all season they promised a conclusion to the murder then decided on a kind of cliffhanger twist to encourage viewers to return for a new season.

As much as I enjoyed the journey (each episode takes place in one day) I decided to pass on watching the new season. Maybe I'll pick it up on Blu-ray next year because it has very good writing and acting.

moovtune said:

I'm one of those who watched it each week when it aired last year and liked it alot ... until what I considered a bogus twist at the end. I'm not going to give away any specific ending, but at the time it upset many people besides myself because all season they promised a conclusion to the murder then decided on a kind of cliffhanger twist to encourage viewers to return for a new season.

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I never saw a 'promise' to solve anything. The very fact that the show had a second season should have told everyone that resolution wasn't coming. It's like when people were (somehow) surprised and angry that Lost didn't show what is in the hatch at the end of the first season- the show is built on cliffhangers so what did everyone expect?

The Danish original also had a second season, which is not quite as good as the first season but still quality TV. Both can be watched on their own, there are no end-of-season cliffhangers. A third season will debut on Danish TV in the fall of 2012. Very much looking forward to this one.

While I liked the show quite a bit, I couldn't help but be over whelmed by the fact that the writers were clearly obsessed with Twin Peaks. The attempt to turn Twin Peaks on its ear was far to obvious. Doug