Sons of Anarchy: Season One – Blu-Ray Review
The Show:
At one point in every man’s life, a thought probably has slipped into his head about what it would feel like to live a lifestyle that did not adhere to society’s norm and rules. A lifestyle that was born and bred through one common bond of brotherhood, living your life with your rules and on your terms, and never having to wake up in the morning with constraints that society burdens us with- a job, laws, wife, and kids. Sons of Anarchy tells the story of an Outlaw Motorcycle Club and their families, their laws, taking a glimpse into what encompasses that lifestyle and the dynamics within.
The story focuses on Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, Redwood Original Charter (SAMCRO/Sam Crow or SOA for short), an outlaw motorcycle club that is based out of Charming, California and the motorcycle club’s drive to keep the sheltered community of Charming just that way, sheltered from the club’s criminal activities and quaint in the town’s role of expanding to include corporations, expansion, and monetary endeavors. Sam Crow’s livelihood thrives on their gun running, as they supply guns to different gangs in California, earning for their club. Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller is the Vice President of the Sons of Anarchy, one of their younger members, and is dealing with the added burden of having an ex-wife addicted to crank, a new-born son, his over-powering mother, the loss of his father, and a new step-father who also happens to be the President of Sam Crow.
I have read quite a few books on different outlaw motorcycle gangs, including the Hell’s Angels, The Mongols, and The Outlaws but never has a television show tried to really tackle the OMG concept and to go in-depth as the Sons of Anarchy does. The series’ present plot twists weave in and out of the club’s sordid past and Jax’s family secrets that have not yet been fully discovered by him. The characters that comprise the Sons of Anarchy are very unique, eclectic, and evolve through-out the series, pulling the viewer in further and further with each episode.
Creator Kurt Sutter went to great lengths to ensure that there was a nice balance between gritty, motorcycle gang-warfare, humorous and witty dialogue drizzled over with biting dark humor, and characters that are not emotionally shallow and void of intrigue. By the end of the first season, I was already craving for more and that is a good sign from a television show that wishes to succeed on any level. The Sons of Anarchy is outfitted with an incredible cast including Ron Perlman (Hellboy) as Clarence ‘Clay’ Morrow, President of the chapter; Charlie Hunnam (Green Street Hooligans, Children of Men) as Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller, and Katey Sagal (Futurama, Married with Children) as Gemma Teller Morrow.
If one is a fan of watching the Gangland series on outlaw motorcycle gangs and street gangs, then Sons of Anarchy is a television show that will win you over more and more with each and every episode. It balances action, violence, drama, humor and romance all into one nice little package that I instantly became addicted to, as some of you may find out yourselves.
The DVD:
Audio/Video: Never have gunshots and motorcycle engine roars sounded so guttural and bass-heavy, resonating soundly throughout the room in the blu-ray disc’s 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio. Everything is clear and crisp and Fox took great care in producing a flawless disc that is pleasurable to one’s ears. The 1:78:1 Widescreen presentation looks immaculate and had a very nice balance of colors, as well as a pristine quality picture that was very sharp and without any graininess whatsoever.
Audio Commentary on select episodes: The audio commentaries, conducted by Kurt Sutter (creator of Sons of Anarchy), Charlie Hunnam (Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller), Katey Sagal (Gemma Teller Morrow), and Ron Perlman (Clarence ‘Clay’ Morrow), Director Guy Ferland (The Shield) who directed 2 episodes, and Maggie Siff (Tara Knowles), Kim Coates (Alex ‘Tigg’ Trager), Tommy Flannagan (Filip ‘Chibbs’ Telford), Johnny Lewis (Kip ‘Half Sack’ Epps), Ryan Hurst (Harry ‘Opie’ Winston), William Lucking (Piermont ‘Piney’ Winston), Mark Boone Junior (Robert ‘Bobby’ Munson), and Theo Rossi (Jean Carlso ‘Juice’ Ortiz) . The commentaries were very informative and in-depth, talking about the research that was found to make Sons of Anarchy as realistic to its subject matter as it can be, Outlaw Motorcycle Gangs. The commentary only appears on the pilot episode, episode 8, and the season finale, episode 12, which had a majority of the cast for the commentary. Episode 12′s commentary had me rolling in laughter and I am not sure I have ever heard a commentary with 11 men on it was the smartest decision, but it sure made for some funny listening. Best line on the commentary for Episode 12 is where Piney (William Lucking) comments that his character, when geared up for riding his bike, looks like a gay stormtrooper, due to a helmet and glasses that did not fit him. Classic!
The Making of Sons of Anarchy, Season 1: This making-of segment was interesting enough, including comments made by cast members Kim Coates, Ron Perlman, Charlie Hunnam, Katey Sagal, costume designer, production designer and creator Kurt Sutter. Edited with scenes of the show, it makes for a fairly average making of, one that is not in-depth and sort of shallow in nature. Nothing special here, folks. It runs about 9 minutes long.
The Ink: Having a few tattoos myself, I found this portion of the special features to be very interesting. It talks about the meaning and origin of the tattoos, along with the creators of them tattoo artists Freddy Corbin and Derrick Snodgrass. It was interesting to hear that during the creator’s research into the patches and club labels, none of the motorcycle clubs divulged any information as to what each patch or design meant. Mark Boone,Jr. designed all the tattoos his character wears on the show. It runs just under 5 minutes long.
The Bikes: This segment talks about the motorcycles and what Harley-Davidson models were used, which happened to be HD Dynaglides. Each model is unique and designed for each particular characters’ personality. If one is a motorcycle enthusiast, this segment was meant for you. It runs about 7 minutes long. This segment could also double as an advertisement for Harley-Davidson.
Casting Sons of Anarchy: Executive Producer and creator Kurt Sutter, Casting Director Wendy O’Brien talk about each character in the show, as well as showing clips from audition tapes with Mitch Pileggi, Taylor Sheridan, Johnny Lewis, Tommy Flannagan, Theo Rossi, Kim Coates, William Lucking, Ryan Hurst, Sprague Grayden, Mark Boone, Jr., Maggie Siff, Katey Sagal, Ron Perlman, and Charlie Hunnam. It is the longest segment and is 14 ½ minutes in duration
Conclusion: The Sons of Anarchy is filled with enough depth of characters, plot, and action that whether you are fascinated or reviled by the outlaw motorcycle gangs and that unique part of the motorcycle culture, one will still enjoy a very gritty and well-executed television series that pushes the boundaries of television with its content. I highly recommend this series out on Fox television and will be awaiting season 2 to start back up later this month.
The Film: Rating: 
The DVD: Rating:
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