Along with True Blood and Game of Thrones, Boardwalk Empire stands as HBO's current marquee serial, which means they pull out all the stops when it comes to their Blu-ray releases. With the third season fast approaching, the cute 2d season ready hits shelves to aid the uninitiated catch up. At that place's no amend style to enjoy what has become one of the best shows currently on television receiver. Hit the leap for the full review.

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The serial follows Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), based on the actual Prohibition-era treasurer of Atlantic County, New Jersey who played a key office in the rising of organized crime. Each flavour encompasses some other year of the Roaring Twenties, every bit the flow of illegal liquor creates an undeclared state of war for money, power and influence.  The second flavour covers 1921, with Nucky struggling to hold onto everything he earned in Season One. Other movers and shakers in Atlantic Urban center want him out of the picture, and utilize his surrogate son Jimmy (Michael Pitt) as a cats'paw to do it. Nucky turns to allies across the sea for help: notably Irish revolutionaries happy to merchandise their whiskey for his guns. Only the biggest threat may actually come from Nucky'south "kept woman" Margaret (Kelly MacDonald), who sees more and more of his business organization and believes from the bottom of her Catholic center that it imperils both of their souls.

The expanded canvas of a Telly series ways that the producers tin develop things slowly… which sometimes acts every bit a double-edged sword. On the plus side, we can soak in the carefully crafted atmosphere and experience the unique cadence of life in the era, too every bit watching the various characters' schemes come slowly to fruition. On the other hand, it sometimes feels like a scrap of a tease, equally when Nucky finally introduces us to the vaunted Thompson submachine gun and the evidence resolutely refuses to follow up on it.

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The downsides pale, notwithstanding, when compared to the compact drama the bear witness delivers with every episode. Every detail feels authentic, from the rise Ku Klux Klan to the machinations of real-life gangsters like Arnold Rothstein (Michael Stuhlbarg) and Al Capone (Stephen Graham). The large ensemble tears into their appointed duties with the savor of fine diners at a banquet, breathing life into the gorgeous production design that might otherwise swallow them whole.  Newcomers to the cast do best, particularly Gretchen Mol as Jimmy's femme fatale female parent and William Forsythe every bit Jewish gangster/meatcutter Manny Horvitz. (One of the flavour's funniest moments occurs when Horvitz refuses to kill a man he beat senseless and left hanging on a meat hook… considering doing and then wouldn't exist kosher.)

At the end of the day, however, the prove belongs to Buscemi, who may never have a more perfect showcase for his unique persona. We run into Nucky'due south kinder side on full brandish this season, equally he attempts to protect Margaret'southward perceived innocence from the seamy details of his work. But realpolitik brings out the nastier side to him equally well, specially during the serial finale which kept fans talking all summer.  Buscemi has publicly called the role a gift from the acting gods, and watching him ain the beating middle of this serial, it'due south not hard to meet why.

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As usual, HBO has poured on the extras for this new Blu-ray gear up, including copious features covering the history of the era, updates to the boardwalk set, interviews with the bandage and crew, and sound commentary for vi of the season'due south twelve episodes. The technical aspects are impeccable of class, and HBO deserves special props for including a separate folder in the set for the DVD and digital copies… assuasive those so inclined to use them without fumbling through the unabridged gear up.  Newcomers should patently kickoff with the first flavour to catch upwards, only when they finish, this new drove won't allow them downwards. Regular fans need no prompting of course; with Season Three only a few weeks away, these new Blu-rays tin give us our fix while we wait… as well as reminding u.s. why we tune in.

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