THE PLOT THUS FAR
One of HBO’s breakthrough series, Boardwalk Empire chronicles the life and times of Enoch “Nucky” Thompson (Golden Globe winner Steve Buscemi), Atlantic City’s undisputed czar at a time when Prohibition proved to be a major catalyst in the rise of organized crime in America. Season 4 picks up eight months after the end of Season 3, in February 1924 – the year jazz “really came into being,” with fictional dancers/singers as well as the ubiquitous Charleston dance. Having barely survived an overthrow by Gyp Rossetti in Season 3, Nucky Thompson is laying low at the end of the Boardwalk as the season begins. Eventually he’ll butt heads with Mayor Bader, battle with his brother Eli about the fate of Eli’s college-aged son Willie, and set his sights on the lucrative drug and real-estate opportunities in Florida. Most of the drama in this season’s twelve episodes will take place in Atlantic City, and musical showpieces will be set in the Onyx Club (modeled after the Cotton Club), to be run by Chalky White. Action will also take place in Florida and Chicago.
WHAT WE THOUGHT
“Boardwalk Empire” is definitely worthy of watching twice, because there is a lot of foreshadowing and other stuff you will miss the first time. That being said I kept feeling like Jeffrey Wright was getting setup to be a bigger villain than he ended up being. Chalky and Nucky still run the show, but there are efforts made to derail a lot of the narcotic dealing efforts. Lucky Luciano and Meyer Lansky begin to throw down with Nucky, as Chalky feels that he’s losing his grip on the Boardwalk. All the while, J. Edgar Hoover plays his revenue agents to gain better control over the New England crime scene.
The fourth season took some interesting turns, but everything ultimately moved too slow for my tastes. Especially since this upcoming season is supposed to be the final one. Also, why did Jack Huston’s character have to die? He was the most interesting thing about the show this year and we never got a legit pay-off for him. Also, Michael Shannon and the other agents didn’t get to do anything but get played by the Man. The less said about his fighting with the wife…the better.
The DVD comes with featurettes and commentaries as the special features. The A/V Quality is on par with most recent HBO standard definition presentations. The Dolby 5.1 track kicks in where needed, as there are noticeable fewer murders this season. The standard definition transfer works, but it pales when compared to the HD broadcast or Blu-Ray releases. In the end, I’d recommend a purchase to fans.
RELEASE DATE: 08/19/2014