20th Century Fox | 2008 | 578 mins. | Not Rated


Loosely based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet (with a pinch of Macbeth tossed in for good measure), Sons of Anarchy represents another boundary pushing entry on the FX schedule. For those who haven’t seen the show, Anarchy doesn’t really have the feel of Hamlet. While it could be said that creator Kurt Sutter (The Shield), drew on Shakespeare for his themes of sin and betrayal; thus far, Anarchy is more reminiscent of The Wild One, 2008 style.  The Wild One made Marlon Brando a star back in 1953, this is that story fifty-five years later.

Sons of AnarchyLike other FX offerings past and present, Sons of Anarchy uses harsh language, situations and violence to help us understand the characters and the world they inhabit. The story revolves around a violent, outlaw motorcycle gang in the small town of Charming, California. The Sons of Anarchy has many charters in the United States but the Charming local has the distinction of being the founding chapter—original  member and current president, Clay Morrow (Ron Perlman), Morrow’s stepson and second-in-command, Jax Teller (Charlie Hunnam), explosives expert, Elvis (Mark Boone Junior), hot tempered muscle, Tig (Kim Coates), original chapter co-founder, Piney Winston (William Lucking), perspective member “Half-Sack” Epps (Johnny Lewis) and Jax’s close friend, Opie (Ryan Hurst). Gemma Morrow (Katey Sagal) Clay’s wife and Jax’s mother, acts as the den mother for the gang and is the one person nobody would want to run afoul of.

Since this gang deals in gun running and weapons procurement, they have all sorts of people looking to take them down. Among them is a by-the-book- Deputy Police Chief (Tayler Sheridan), a sharp ATF agent (Ally Walker), and a second, more aggressive ATF agent (The Shield‘s Jay Karnes) with an agenda of his own. On top of all that, Sons of Anarchy have to deal with several rival gangs that see Charming as their turf.

As the series opens, the Sons find their weapon storage warehouse being burnt down. It is quickly learned that the guns were stolen by a rival gang, The Mayans. However, it is what Jax finds when he returns home from the fire and begins looking through storage that creates the real source of conflict during the first season. He finds old photos and of his late father and a journal titled The Life and Death of Sam Crow: How the Sons of Anarchy Lost Their Way. For the first time in his life, Jax begins to have doubts about Clay’s methods and goals for the Sons. He even questions the reasons behind Clay’s relationship with his mother. At the same time, Jax estranged wife Wendie (Dre de Matteo) overdoses and prematurely gives birth to their son Abel, who is born with a host of birth defects. As his son fights for his life, Jax begins reevaluating his life and confronts Wendie. By the time the first season of Sons of Anarchy is over death has come close to home and there are signs of a major conflict on the horizon.

While The Sons of Anarchy boasts a great cast and a solid premise, the first thirteen episodes indicate it’s still a show trying to decide just what it wants to be. Does the show want to concentrate on the day-to-day machinations of the gang and its inner workings or the more personal stories of its members? Granted, that’s a hard thing to establish in just thirteen episodes, especially with so many characters. The season finale left me wanting more, so it will be interesting to see how things develop.

Sons of Anarchy: Season One features a solid 1080p/AVC-encoded transfer that renders the sun-bleached streets and dank, darkened bars of Charming very well. Colors are full and rich, blacks are deep and well resolved and contrast is bright and bold. Detail is sharp and refined, offering an assortment of crisp textures, clean edges and delineated backgrounds. There are no significant instances of artifacting, aliasing, noise reduction, or distracting edge enhancement. Minor halos pop up from time to time, but crush is one of the only lingering issues that detract from the overall presentation. Skintones, while mostly natural, are occasionally flushed looking but this only occurred a few rimes throughout. On the whole, Fox has provided a solid transfer here.

With a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 surround track that really pops, Sons of Anarchy delivers a powerful experience–crystal clear dialogue, and an immersive soundfield. LFE output is awesome.  The rear speakers are lively and aggressive, yet still take every opportunity to enhance the acoustics of a tiny office or the wet splatter of blood against a nearby wall. Directionality is accurate, and pans — whether transporting a speeding bullet across the soundfield, or allowing the Sons’ bikes to roar by the listener — are smooth and believable. All in all, fans, newcomers, and audiophiles alike will sit up and take notice when Sons of Anarchy‘s convincing sonics graces their ears.

The Blu-ray edition of Sons of Anarchy: Season One offers the same special features as  its DVD counterpart.

  • Audio Commentaries: Three crowded commentary tracks are available (on the pilot episode, “The Pull,” and “The Revelator”). Creator Kurt Sutter leads each outing, with a variety of cast and crew members joining in. They discuss time they spent together on set, cast, and writing that made the first season worthy of a second. (At the End of the special features list is a list pf episodes with commentaries marked and by whom.)
    • The Making of Sons of Anarchy (HD, 9 minutes): Lots of spoilers here. So you might not want to watch this until you’ve seen the show! Once that’s done, this is a nice addition.
    • The Ink (HD, 5 minutes): A discussion of the many tattoos on the characters involved in the show.
    • The Bikes (HD, 7 minutes): Following “The Ink” is, naturally, “The Bikes,” a look at the motorcycles, riding techniques, unique logos, and attributes of the series’ Harley Davidson Dynas.
    • Casting Sons of Anarchy (HD, 15 minutes): Sutter explains his casting decisions.
    • Deleted Scenes (SD, 35 minutes): Nearly thirty cuts, extensions, and alterations contribute to Season One‘s meaty collection of deleted scenes.
    • Anarchy on the Set (SD, 7 minutes): Aside from gory splashes of ultra-violence and a slew of F-bombs, this gag reel is typical.

      • Below is the list of episodes, with commentaries and their participants noted.

      1 – Pilot (Kurt Sutter, Katey Sagal, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman)
      2 – Seeds
      3 – Fun Town
      4 – Patch Over
      5 – Giving Back
      6 – AK-51
      7 – Old Bones
      8 – The Pull (Kurt Sutter, Maggie Siff, Charlie Hunnam, director Guy Ferland )
      9 – Hell Followed
      10 – Better Half
      11 – Copybara
      12 – The Sleep of Babies
      13 – The Revelator (Kurt Sutter, Charlie Hunnam, Ron Perlman, Kim Coates, Mark Boone Jr., Theo Rossi, Ryan Hurst, William Lucking, Johnny Lewis, Tommy Flanagan)

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