Six Feet Under : Complete HBO Season 1 [DVD]
![Six Feet Under : Complete HBO Season 1 [DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41FW83YW78L._SL160_.jpg) RRP £51.99 Lowest New Price £13.70 
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Suitable for 15 years and over Warner Home Video Release date: Monday 7th of July 2003 Director(s): Format: Box set, Full Screen, PAL, Number of discs: 4 Region code: 2 Running time: 700 minutes Language: English (Subtitled) Language: English (Original Language) |
The first series introduces the Fisher family, whose already weighty emotional baggage is bolstered by the sudden demise of their patriarch, who has willed the family funeral home to his two initially hostile sons, wayward Nate (Peter Krause) and in-the-closet David (Michael C Hall). Teenage younger sister Claire (Lauren Ambrose) and repressed mother Ruth (Frances Conroy) have their own problems, as does put-upon mortician Federico (Freddy Rodriguez). The first year's unfolding story arc includes the family's resistance to a hostile big corporation, Nate's budding romance with wild card Brenda (stunningly good Rachel Griffiths), David's attempts to reconcile his Christian faith with his homosexuality, Claire's self-destructive boyfriend trouble and Ruth's gradual realisation that, although she was a wife and is a mother, she's entitled to have a life too. On the DVD: Six Feet Under, Series 1 spreads 13 episodes across four discs. Care has been taken to reflect the show's stylish look in everything from the novel external packaging to the menu layouts. Picture is good, but only standard 4:3 ratio, though sound is vivid Dolby 5.1. The bonus features include two episode commentaries from creator Alan Ball, who happily chats about the pilot and the season finale, both of which he wrote and directed. There's a 22-minute "Behind the Scenes" featurette--standard HBO fare with cast interviews. More interesting is "Under the Main Titles", which explores Digital Kitchen's creation of the fascinating opening title sequence and talks to genius composer Thomas Newman about his theme music. The music can also be heard in an audio-only track as well as in Kid Loco's "Graveyard" remix. Text biographies, episode synopses and Web links complete the extras. One minor niggle: there's no "Play All" facility, so you can't indulge the luxury of watching uninterrupted episodes back-to-back. --Mark Walker
RRP: £51.99
Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review
Six Feet Under is not just a smartly written, sublimely acted soap that happens to be set in a funeral home; it's a profound mixture of emotional truths and whimsical black comedy that uses its setting to comment upon the way we live, with the omnipresent spectre of death throwing life's problems into sharp relief. Creator Alan Ball (American Beauty) understands modern neuroses more than most, it seems, and his rich sense of the absurd is given added potency, not to say piquancy, by the sometimes comically ridiculous juxtaposition of life and death.
You must not miss this!!!!!
Review date: 2008-10-24 Rating: 10 out of 10
I only recently watched the first series of Six Feet under after my husband told me how good it was when he say it a few years ago. I thought I would buy the first series and decide for myself.
It is completely non-stop laughter, sadness and very sexy and all done so well. Totally absorbing, I could not stop watching it! and when I did I couldn't wait for the next episode. The acting is first-class and story lines are brilliant! Needless to say I bought the rest of the series all in one go. I will not go into the plot of the series as it has been done so many times in previous reviews. All I will say is Just Watch IT!! You will NOT be disappointed!
Reviews
good show
Review date: 2008-03-03 Rating: 8 out of 10
When six feet under aired in 2001 it was so fresh and invigorating that it just swept me off my feet,it was a show that mixed dark humour with surreal comedy and a deep hurtful glance at the world,it had it all,in the following years it has lost some of its shine and appeal but not much,but i must whip out a fair review for all.
Six feet under deals with the fisher family,they are funeral directors who deal with death and emotion and expression at every turn,but they hide their own while they help strangers deal with theirs.
Each episode starts with a death and then we move on from there,we get the dead talking to members of the family and in truth this is a good tactic,it is sort of like their conscience talking to them,thats my opinion anyway,we also get surreal comedy much like that of the mind of J.D in scrubs and that makes for funny viewing,of course alot of what you view is tragic and a tear can take shape at any juncture if you are willing to suppress the fact that this is tv,and in many ways this is vital telly,it has a self belief of its own,there is a sense of pushing the envelope of pain too much in places,the use of billy makes for annoying viewing at time and the screaming and weeping can bring you too your knees at times but this is what it is ,great stuff but not as magic as i once thought.
Room for improvement, but I hope it will.
Review date: 2007-08-03 Rating: 6 out of 10
This is the first of five seasons of 'Six Feet Under.' This series is based around the Fisher family who own the Fisher independent funeral home. The first episode depicts the death of the patriarch of the family Nathaniel Fisher who dies in a hearse accident leaving the ownership of the funeral home to his two sons Nate and David. Nate who has a terrible fear of death had moved to Seattle to get away from the funeral business is not altogether pleased with the prospect of having to run the funeral home but Dave has always worked at the business and to inherit it is only a continuance of what he is already doing and the two end up running the business together.
The first season follows the family coming to terms with the death of Nathaniel, Dave coming to terms with his homosexuality, Nate coming to terms with his fear of committment by embarking on his first ever real relationship with equally emotionally fearful Brenda (who by the way has a manic-depressive brother, Billy who becomes increasingly obsessive and dangerous as the season progresses) and also the daughter Claire who is the almost obligatory angst-ridden teen with boyfriend troubles. We also have Ruth the mother who despite being repressed and desperately needing a makeover manages to be in a love triangle.
Six Feet Under is a black comedy with it's fair share of weird moments but it is extremely well-written and compelling if slightly self-important in places. I've given this three stars because it does have room for improvement and all series like this take a while to bed-in. As this first season is only 13 episodes long it doesn't really get much of an opportunity to do that so I'm hoping this is something that will be rectified when I start watching the second series. The box-set is very well presented and there are a couple of extras including featurettes and commentaries. This is not the best show I've seen, but it is certainly better than the majority of things that are churned out.
Why is this show so lauded?
Review date: 2007-02-20 Rating: 4 out of 10
I've seen three episodes of this first series and have to say that I was very underwhelmed. It may have been a case of heightened expectation after reading all the notices of acclaim on websites such as this one, but actually I think not...I think in fact that this is just weak television. The three episodes I saw were not bad, per se, but they lacked wit, originality and narrative drive. The characters speak in cliches worthy of a bad soap opera and consequently the emotional moments never hit their mark, meanwhile the much championed black humour is neither very black, nor very humorous. It's not exactly Beckett...
I am a fan of other HBO productions, such as The Sopranos & Curb Your Enthusiasm, and although both these shows have suffered from the odd weak episode, they are, on the whole, fully deserving of all their plaudits and their status as exemplars of what television can achieve. The same cannot be said of Six Feet Under. Please someone, tell me I'm not the only one who thinks this is a long way from 5-star quality!!
Wonderful Television
Review date: 2006-10-26 Rating: 10 out of 10
Six feet Under is about the Fisher family and their family business - as funeral directors.
There are so many great things to say about this series that there doesn't seem to be a logical place to start. It's intelligent, witty, funny, emotional and insightful. It gives an insight into the funeral business (fascinating in itself), a peek into a family in transition and as one off episodes about random people. Everything from the box, the menus, the titles, the extras are all exquisitely thought out and beautifully presented.
The series itself is so well observed with excellent acting throughout. The attention to detail is wonderful and one gets totally immersed in the various dramas taking place concurrently and at different paces. The production values are very, very high and one never watches a 'cheap' episode. Finally, this is one of the few DVDs that I have watched episodes again - some are that good.
Totally recommended and not to be missed. Buy.
Product Details/Specifications
Director(s):
Recording label: Warner Home Video
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
EAN: 7321900991322
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 4
Format: Box set, Full Screen, PAL,
Release date: 2003-07-07
Number of discs: 4
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 700 minutes
Theatrical release date: 2001-06-03
Language: English (Subtitled)
Language: English (Original Language)
Tech info, cast and quotes/trivia when available. Exclusions may apply with free delivery. Price and availabiltity subject to change
