Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection UHD Review

Warner and HBO bring the complete series of Game of Thrones to UHD Blu-ray with additional extras and shelf-friendly packaging.

The Production: 4.5/5

To put it mildly, HBO’s Game of Thrones was an epic television series, often replicated by other networks, but not quite duplicated in terms of success, and it is likely we won’t see anything quite like it again. Based on the series of novels by George R. R. Martin, A Song of Fire and Ice, Game of Thrones was a devious play of power and politics between four families and their kingdoms, all battling for control of the Iron Throne of Westeros. For much of its eight season on HBO, the series strong points were its strong writing, interesting characters, and excellent performances from its veteran and then-unknown actors. The show made stars out of Peter Dinklage (Tyrion Lannister), Emilia Clarke (Daenerys Targaryen), Kit Harington (Jon Snow), Sophie Turner (Sansa Stark), Maisie Williams (Arya Stark), Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Jaime Lannister), John Bradley (Samwell Tarly), Natalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell), Alfie Allen (Theon Greyjoy), Pedro Pascal (Oberyn Martell) and Gwendoline Christie (Brienne of Tarth) to name just a few. Rounding out the veteran cast members are Lena Headey (Cersei Lannister), Iain Glen (Jorah Mormont), Liam Cunningham (Davos Seaworth), Aidan Gillen (Petyr “Littlefinger” Baelish), Rory McCann (The Hound), Charles Dance (Tywin Lannister), Sean Bean (Eddard “Ned” Stark), Diana Rigg (Olenna Tyrell), and Jason Momoa (Khal Drogo).

Video: 4.5/5

3D Rating: NA

Game of Thrones was broadcast on HBO in 1080i and streamed in up to 1080p On-Demand through the various HBO streaming apps (HBO-Go, HBO-Now, HBO Max) as well as through a subscriber’s cable or satellite service provider. The series has also been wildly available on Blu-ray in stunning AVC-encoded 1080p transfers that were mostly free of compression artifacts. In June of 2018, Warner released the first season in an upscaled 4K UHD Blu-ray set that provided a modest upgrade in color depth, contrast, and fine detail. Nearly a year ago, the final eighth season arrived on 4K UHD Blu-ray that was a much more dramatic upgrade, most notably in the contrast and black levels for the episode The Long Night, which was almost unwatchable in its original broadcast version with severe banding issues and murky images while the 4K UHD Blu-ray version removed all of those deficiencies. This Complete Series set contains those same discs, and the second thru seventh seasons fall somewhere in-between the two previously released seasons in terms of overall video quality, increasing with each season, mostly due to the upgrades in cameras used during production and changes in post-production workflows. All eight seasons are presented in the 1.78:1 broadcast aspect ratio in 2160p HEVC-encoded transfers with both HDR10 and Dolby Vision HDR.

Audio: 5/5

Game of Thrones was broadcast in Dolby Digital 5.1, despite being mixed in Dolby Atmos for its Blu-ray and UHD Blu-ray physical media release. As expected, the Atmos mix for each episode is spectacular, with more pronounced LFE and more precise placement of audio cues. Arrows and dragons fly overhead, wind bellows all around you, crowd noise abounds placing you right smack in the middle of it all. As was the case with the Blu-ray Dolby Atmos re-issues, for some unknown reason these discs default to lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 instead of Dolby Atmos, so you will need to visit the Audio sub-menu before playing each disc.

Special Features: 4.5/5

Warner/HBO has always included some terrific special features in their season sets of Game of Thrones, and this set is no exception. Notably missing are the In-Episode Guides and Previews and Recaps. This set is 4K UHD Blu-ray only – there are no Blu-ray discs included (although Digital HD codes are supplied), so you may want to consider keeping your existing Blu-ray editions. Each season comes in its own multi-disc keepcase, as do the exclusive three-disc set of extras, housed together in one box with an outer sleeve.

Audio Commentaries: All commentary tracks from previous editions have been included for all episodes that had a commentary track. The good news is that HBO finally corrected the mistakes made on previous Blu-ray releases by not authoring them as Bonus Audio. This means you do not have to change any settings on your player to listen to the commentaries.

Season One, Disc 4
Character Profiles (1080p; 30:38)

Anatomy of an Episode (1080p; 60:31)

Making Game of Thrones (1080p; 30:00)

From the Book to the Screen (1080p; 5:14)

Creating the Show Open (1080p; 5:07)

Creating the Dothraki Language (1080p; 5:27)

The Night’s Watch (1080p; 8:06)

Histories & Lore (1080p; 69:04)

Cast Auditions (10:37)

Season Two, Disc 4
Histories & Lore (1080p; 64:44)

Deleted Scenes (1080p; 6:09)

Creating the Battle of Blackwater Bay (1080p; 31:16)

Game of Thrones: Inner Circle (1080p; 24:03)

The Religions of Westeros (1080p; 7:34)

Character Profiles (1080p; 15:42)

Season Three, Disc 4
A Gathering Storm (1080p; 14:00)

New Characters (1080p; 9:41)

Histories & Lore (1080p; 62:45)

Inside the Wildlings (1080p; 6:21)

The Politics of Marriage (1080p; 8:38)

Deleted/Extended Scenes (1080p; 14:28)

Season Four, Disc 4
The Politics of Power: A Look Back at Season 3 (1080p; 25:02)

Bastards of Westeros (1080p; 7:16)

New Characters & Locations (1080p; 7:39)

Behind the Battle for the Wall (1080p; 37:11)

The Fallen: A Roundtable (1080p; 29:37)

Histories & Lore (1080p; 52:43)

Deleted Scenes (1080p; 3:05)

Season 4 Blooper Reel (1080p; 2:02)

Season Five, Disc 4
A Day in the Life (1080p; 26:01)

New Characters/New Locations (1080p; 7:41)

Anatomy of an Episode: Mother’s Mercy (1080p; 29:33)

The Real History Behind Game of Thrones (1080p; 40:14)

Histories & Lore (1080p; 51:28)

The Dance of Dragons (1080p; 20:27)

Deleted Scenes (1080p; 7:59)

Season Six, Disc 4
Recreating the Dothraki World (1080p; 20:15)

The Battle of the Bastards (1080p; 30:01)

18 Hours at the Paint Wall (1080p; 28:17)

Histories & Lore (1080p; 80:47)

Deleted Scenes (1080p; 11:08)

Season Seven, Disc 3
Histories & Lore (1080p; 29:35)

From Imagination to Reality: Inside the Art Department (1080p; 46:25)

Fire & Steel: Creating the Invasion of Westeros (1080p; 30:02)

Season Eight, Disc 3
When Winter Falls (1080p; 29:13)

Duty is the Death of Love (1080p; 30:36)

Histories & Lore (1080p; 26:51)

Game of Thrones: The Last Watch (1080p; 103:00)

Deleted Scenes (1080p; 8:28)

Bonus Features, Disc 1
Game of Thrones Reunion Special (1080p): Conan O’Brien hosts this HBO special featuring interviews with the cast, taped before a live audience in Belfast, Ireland consisting of members of the cast and crew. Presented in two parts (57:01 and 42:21).

Anatomy of a Scene – Season 4: Planning a Royal Wedding (1080p; 22:50)

Anatomy of a Scene – Season 5: The Massacre at Hardhome (1080p; 28:03)

Anatomy of a Scene – Season 6: Inside the Fight for Meereen (1080p; 23:59)

Anatomy of a Scene – Season 7: Ice, Fire and Dragons: Creating the Frozen Lake (1080p; 27:23)

Bonus Features, Disc 2
Behind the Scenes – Season 1: House of the Seven Kingdoms (1080i; 15:27)

Behind the Scenes – Season 2: Westeros at War with George R. R. Martin (1080i; 18:44)

Behind the Scenes – Season 4: Silk, Leather & Chain Mail: The Costumes of Season 4 (1080p; 19:14)

Behind the Scenes – Season 5: The Final Step (1080p; 25:54)

Inside the Visual Effects: Season 1 (1080i; 17:49)

Inside the Visual Effects: Season 2 (1080p; 20:53)

Inside the Visual Effects: Season 3 (1080p; 25:03)

Inside the Visual Effects: Season 4 (1080p; 24:36)

Inside the Visual Effects: Season 5 (1080p; 25:37)

Inside the Visual Effects: Season 6 (1080p; 21:43)

Inside the Visual Effects: Season 7 (1080p; 29:37)

Season 7 Deleted Scenes (1080p): Three scenes are included – Extended Sam & Gilly (2:21), Daenerys & Tyrion Corridor Talk (1:43) and Varys & Trella in King’s Landing (1:04).

Bonus Features, Disc 3
Game of Thrones: Conquest & Rebellion (1080p; 44:47)

Game of Thrones: The Complete Collection Episode Guide: A 20-page full-color booklet listing the contents of each disc.

Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem the complete series in Digital HD on Vudu.

Overall: 4.5/5

For fans who never got around to collecting the series on Blu-ray and are now 4K-capable, Game of Thrones looks and sounds better than ever in this set. Recommended.

Todd Erwin

Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.