CURB YOUR ENTHUSIASM:
THE COMPLETE SERIES (2000-2024)
24-Disc Blu-ray Set
Label: WBDHE
Region Code: A
Rating: TV-MA
Duration: 3600 Minutes
Audio: English DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo (Seasons 1-6), 5.1 Surround (Seasons 7-12) with Optional English Subtitles
Video: 1080p HD Widescreen (1.78:1)
Cast: Larry David,Jeff Garlin, Susie Essman, Cheryl Hines, J.B. Smoove, Richard Lewis, Ted Danson, Vince Vaughn, Tracey Ullman
For the first time ever, all 120-episodes from HBO’s award-winning original series Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Series are collected onto a 24-disc Blu-ray set. Curb Your Enthusiasm is easily one of my personal favorite shows of all-time, in it Seinfeld co-creator Larry David plays an only slightly over-the-top version of himself as he navigates through his unnecessarily difficult day-to-day life in L.A. with his manager Jeff Garlin and a cast of characters that includes Susie Essman (as Jeff’s wife Susie), Cheryl Hines (as Larry’s wife and then adversarial ex-wife Cheryl in later seasons, and the real life wife of anti-vaxxer Trump administration dipshit RFK Jr.), JB Smoove (as Larry's housemate and co-adventurer Leon), and the late-great comedian Richard Lewis, and Ted Danson as his longtime, but much put upon friends. Every season of the improvisational comedy series is a stone-cold gut-buster with Larry usually finding himself in hot water for myriad of reasons that expose his own characters flaws, often triggered the perceived slights of others, all of them making me laugh and cringe at the same time, and for that I love the show. As where Seinfeld was a show about nothing I think Curb Your Enthusiasm has always been a show about an acerbic but oddly likable asshole who doesn't quite realize what an asshole he actually is, and that's comedy gold. This set carries over all the extras DVD from the previous DVD sets. If you've never seen this show I am so jealous that you get to experience it for the first time, check it out, if you're a Seinfeld fan you will not be disappointed.
Audio/Video: The first six seasons were shot on consumer grade DV in the 1.33:1 aspect ratio, with season 7-12 presented in 1.78:1 widescreen HD. Unfortunately, the first six seasons have been cropped to 1 78:1 widescreen for this release, presumably to match the later seasons, losing information on the top and bottom, sometimes to the detriment of jokes and visual puns, something that similarly plagued Seinfeld streaming versions and the Seinfeld Blu-ray set, only to be rectified on the 4K set. It should be noted the 2024 DVD set features the first six seasons in their intended aspect ratios. These first six seasons were initially shot in SD and are basically cropped upscales, and truthfully I prefer just watching the 1.33:1 DVD set, the cropped upscales feel off and the widescreen squeeze feels forced and unnatural. Seasons 1-7 are presented in 1.78:1 widescreen and are sourced from HD, and these actually look quite wonderful, sharper and crisper than their DVD counterparts, benefitting from the 1080p resolution. All 12 seasons benefit from uncompressed DTS-HA MA audio with optional English subtitles l. Season 1-6 get 2.0 while 7-12 get 5.1.
The 24-disc set arrives in a pair of those cheap, high-volume DVD-sized Epik-Pak case with no stacked discs, each case housing 12 discs. The flipper trays inside are floating and disconnected from the box, so be cautious when you first opening these. I found releasing and attaching the discs from their hubs was a bit of a pain in the ass, and when the set arrived several discs were bouncing around inside the sealed cases. We get individual wraps for each of the high volume keepcases with unique artwork for each, these are single-sided without an episode guide, which is a bummer, because the previous DVD set did have an episode/extras guide printed on the reverse side of the wrap. The two keepcases are housed inside side-loading slipbox which features the same artwork as the previous DVD set. .
To me this set is a blunder, not having the first six seasons in their original aspect ratio is no small qualm, on top of that the cheap packaging and lack of an episode guide is just pure laziness. At the current price point ($123) this should have been given the same sort of love that Seinfeld, Friends, and Murder, She Wrote received with keepcases for each season and episode guides at the very least, let alone offering the first six seasons in their proper aspect ratio - this iconic comedy series deserves better, and shame on WB for releasing this just a year after the DVD set, this should have been release at the same time instead of double-dipping so fans can shell out more money for it.
Special Features:
- Bob Costas Interview (29:19)
- HBO Special (59:00)
- Stop & Chat with the Cast (22:02)
- The Seinfeld Reunion: It Could Only Happen on Curb Your Enthusiasm (8:13)
- Rebuilding the Seinfeld Sets (11:10)
- Larry David As George Costanza (2:45)
- A Seinfeld Moment on Curb: interview with Larry David and Seinfeld Cast (7:37)
- The 92nd Street Y Conversion (88:33)
- Leon's Guide to NYC (9:34)
- Memorable Moments with Susie (1:50)
- Memorable Moments with Larry (2:22)
- Memorable Moments with Jeff (2:09)
-What Finally Broke Them (1:01)
- The History: So Far (29:34)
- The History: Even Further (24:14)
- On the Set (11:09)
- Gag Reel (5:13)
- A Conversation (22:14)
- Leon's Bungalow Tour (1:23)
- On the Site with Susie (0:37)
- Last Day on Set: Speeches (1:20)
- Last Day on Set: Gifts (0:40)
- Last Day on Set (0:39)
- First & Last Scenes (0:44)
- Larry's Favorite Episodes (2:56)
- Larry-isms (1:54)
Buy it!
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