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on the title to order - huge discounts Gunsmoke
50th Anniversary Edition I Netflixed this one - so I don't have all the discs or the packaging. I wasn't even sure why I rented it, Gunsmoke is one of those shows that ran hot and cold. Some episodes are inspiring, beautifully directed television but could too often become pedestrian. What struck me about the first disc were the two episode commentaries by Ed Asner and Bruce Dern. Dern was a guest on the episode starring Bette Davis and his comments about working in TV in the 1960s (and with Miss Davis) is incredibly insightful, one of the best commentary tracks I've heard. There are loads of other extras as well - now I discover the DVD collection was produced by Paul Brownstein, which I suspected when I saw this rich mix of extras (the commentaries are just the tip of the iceberg). They don't call him the 'Raider of the Lost Archives' for nothing. Now I'm looking forward to experiencing the rest of this DVD package and the second volume after that. Don't miss this one. GUNSMOKE - VOLUME 1 DVD Features: Available Audio Tracks: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono) -17 black-and-white episodes from the first nine seasons (1955-64) on three discs: Matt Gets It, Hack Prine, The Killer, The Preacher, The Guitar, Legal Revenge, Sins of the Father, Romeo, Doc's Reward, Lost Rifle, The Bobsy Twins, The Blacksmith, Little Girl, Chesterland, Quint Apser Comes Home, Ash, Prairie Wolfer Commentary by James Arness on Matt Gets It Commentary by Dennnis Weaver on Hack Prine Commentary by Angie Dickinson on Sins of the Father Commentary by Barbara Eden on Romeo Commentary by George Kennedy on The Blacksmith Commentary by Dennnis Weaver on Chesterland Commentary by Adam West on Ash -12 black-and-white and color episodes from seasons 10-19 (1964-1974) on three discs: Hung High, One Killer on Ice, Treasure of John Walking Fox, The Jailer, The Wrong Man, Quaker Girl, The Pillagers, The Prisoner, Chato, P.S. Murry Christmas, A Quiet Day in Dodge, Trail of Bloodshed I'm
just going to go on record as saying to all of you out there producing extras
for TV shows on DVD. You need to check out the two Gunsmoke 'Best
Of' volumes - they contain the best episode commentaries I've ever heard.
The reason they're so good? The interviewees stick to stories about the
production of the shows with behind-the-scenes tales from principal players
that are a great deal more revealing than most. You come away with a great
deal of knowledge about how things were done on the other side of the camera.
All too often audio commentaries are of the 'let's watch the show together'
stripe.
The producer of the Gunsmoke DVDs - Paul Brownstein - is the gold standard of the industry because, in addition to knowing the right people to interview and what to ask, he finds the lost gems hidden in the vaults - in this case syndication promos and rare talk show appearances. And he leaves in the interstitials where possible ("Gunsmoke will continue after station identification."). Look
at this list of extras for volume 2 alone: Another key component in Brownstein's productions - he gets the stars of the shows (in this case James Arness who played Marshall Dillon) to do introductions to the episodes. At first I thought this was an unnecessary bit - now I find it kind of interesting. For my money, these kinds of extras are a great deal more valuable than the mini-documentaries that are so popular. TV on DVD Reviews: |
TVparty! for TV on DVD!
Gunsmoke
- 50th Anniversary Collection, Volumes 1 & 2 Plot Outline Marshall Matt Dillon keeps the peace in the rough and tumble Dodge City. Plot Synopsis: Marshal Matt Dillon deals on a daily basis with the problems associated with frontier life: cattle rustling, gunfights, brawls, standover tactics, and land fraud. Such situations call for sound judgement and brave actions: of which Marshal Dillon has plenty. Product Description Gunsmoke
Season One on DVD
Number of discs: 6 Product Description: Number of discs: 3
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