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Review Movie Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]

Synopsis: Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]

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From Terence Winter (Emmy®-winning writer on HBO's The Sopranos) and Oscar®-winning director Martin Scorsese, Boardwalk Empire is set in Atlantic City in 1920 at the dawn of Prohibition. The series chronicles the life and times of Enoch Nucky Thompson (Steve Buscemi), the city treasurer whose double role as politician and bootlegger makes him the city's undisputed czar at a time when illegal alcohol has opened up highly lucrative opportunities for rumrunners and distributors. In a city defined by notorious backroom politics and vicious power struggles, Nucky must contend with ambitious underlings, relentless Feds, rival gangsters -- including Arnold Rothstein, Lucky Luciano and Al Capone -- and his own appetite for women, profits, and power.

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In fine (and bloody) style, HBO's Boardwalk Empire returns to 1920 when the ban on booze led to a syndicate of bootleggers and smugglers. Created by Sopranos scribe Terence Winter and coproduced by director Martin Scorsese, the story centers on Atlantic City treasurer Enoch "Nucky" Thompson (Steve Buscemi), who schemes in private while preaching temperance in public (Mark Wahlberg and Tim Van Patten also serve as producers). Jimmy (Michael Pitt, Buscemi's Delirious costar), a war veteran, acts as his right-hand man, while zealous Agent Van Alden (Michael Shannon) and refined mobster Arnold Rothstein (A Serious Man's Michael Stuhlbarg) represent significant threats to his enterprise.

Nucky's other associates include his sheriff brother Eli (Shea Whigham), sexpot girlfriend Lucy (Paz de la Huerta), and distributor Chalky (The Wire's Michael K. Williams). If Nucky has little regard for law and order, his soft side emerges in his dealings with Irish immigrant Margaret (Kelly Macdonald, excellent), who segues from abused wife to kept woman. As Nucky puts it, "I try to be good. I really do." After he sends Jimmy away a spell, his sidekick joins forces with Al Capone (Stephen Graham, Public Enemies) and disfigured vet Richard Harrow (Jack Huston), abandoning his son, common-law wife Angela (Aleksa Palladino), and mother Gillian (Gretchen Mol), who has a fling with Lucky Luciano (Vincent Piazza).

Inspired by Nelson Johnson's book, Boardwalk Empire takes a Deadwood-like approach to history by combining characters both factual and fictional with blue language and ladies without brassieres. Winter, who won an Emmy for The Sopranos episode Pine Barrens, takes liberties with the historical record, but the series never claims to represent the truth and nothing but--which is only fitting when everyone's hiding secrets. If the entire ensemble deserves praise, Buscemi rules the show as thoroughly as Nucky rules the city. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Buy Movie Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray]

Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] Reviews

216 of 238 people found the following review helpful

A must have for your Mobster Video Collection, September 20, 2010

T. Quijas "Tam" (Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season (DVD)

When HBO first announced the showing of Boardwalk Empire, my calendar became marked with bright red highlighter. Every time I saw an image of actor Steve Buscemi in his dapper 1920's attire (my favorite decade in American history), my anticipation grew. I began to research, realizing that Martin Scorsese and producer Terry Winter (The Sopranos), and I was nearly breathless with anticipation.

What drew me to Boardwalk Empire? It was a combination of items. I love the 1920s. There was a romance to that particular era, evident in the films, the clothing, and the music. America was blossoming from a gawky teenage girl and into the full flower of beauty during that magical era. Much of the growing process involved film, music, gangsters, and Prohibition.

When HBO's BOARDWALK EMPIRE premiered, I was as giddy as a kid on Christmas morning.

Scoresese and Winter didn't let me down. Boardwalk Empire chronicles the life of Enoch (Nucky) Thompson (Steve... Read more

72 of 85 people found the following review helpful

Based on the book "Boardwalk Empire" and well worth watching even though some facts have been changed, September 28, 2010

K. Corn "reviewer" (Here) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season (DVD)

The writer of the HBO series, Terence Winter (who also wrote the foreword for this edition of the book), was recently interviewed on public radio and explained how and why the HBO show deviates from many of the facts in the book "Boardwalk Empire." Last names were sometimes changed and certain information had to be imagined or created in order to allow the plot to veer away from the events in the book. Hence, Nucky "Thompson" in the series is actually based on the real life Nucky (Enoch) Johnson

None of this takes away from the entertainment value of the series but potential buyers of the book will get an added perspective and accurate historical detail."Boardwalk Empire" is an excellent way to round out the very entertaining cable television series. If you simply want to watch the show, it recreates Atlantic City in its heyday. Steve Buscemi is riveting in his role as "Nucky" and comes across as a complex person, although when it comes to business he can be harsh and no... Read more

48 of 60 people found the following review helpful

Best Show on TV This Year, December 8, 2010

Pavel - See all my reviews

This review is from: Boardwalk Empire: The Complete First Season (DVD)

Boardwalk Empire is a great show, the 21st century version of a 19th century novel. It's Dickens, Dostoevsky, Tolstoi. The relationship between Nucky and Margaret is like nothing else on TV. Buscemi was absolutely terrific in the finale. The exploration of criminal culture, and its relationship to political culture, is pretty fascinating. I cannot wait for next season!