1923 Season 1 Blu-ray review
“1923” needs to find its footing.
“1923” is the latest series in the Dutton saga that takes place between “1883” and “Yellowstone.” The 8 episode debut season (which is written and created by Taylor Sheridan) essentially focuses on 3 storylines. The first concerns Jacob Dutton who finds himself in a dispute with sheep herder Banner Creighton. A range war breaks out between the two which only worsens when Banner allies himself with a powerful mining businessman (Donald Whitfield) who wants Jacob’s land. Within this storyline are subplots involving Jacob and his wife Cara and Jacob’s great nephew Jack Dutton and his marriage to Elizabeth. Storyline number 2 involves Spencer Dutton who is a war veteran turned big game hunter in Africa. He meets and marries Alexandra, but decides to head back to Montana to help out his family. Unfortunately, the newlywed’s trip turns out to be nothing short of perilous. The third key storyline involves a young American Indian woman (Teonna Rainwater) who was taken against her will and forced into a torturous Catholic Indian Boarding School. Teonna seeks a way out of the nightmarish situation she is in.
After the excellent “1883,” expectations were high for “1923.” And why wouldn’t they be? Not only is Sheridan continuing his “Yellowstone” franchise, but it’s his most star-studded project yet as it features Harrison Ford, Helen Mirren, Robert Patrick, and one of my personal favorite actors, Timothy Dalton as the villainous Donald Whitfield. Despite the presence of these actors (who are all the best part of the series), “1923” lacks forward movement.
After 8 episodes, it feels like “1923” has yet to really get going. It’s all set-up and soap opera romance thus far to a frustrating degree. The romance between Spencer and Alexandra may have a healthy amount of characterization, but it eats up a lot of screentime and detracts from the more engaging story arcs within the series. Likewise, sidelining Harrison Ford’s Jacob Dutton to a severe injury also feels like a big waste. Yes, it does allow Helen Mirren’s Cara to shine (and she does), but limiting your biggest star isn’t the way to go. It’s unclear if Taylor Sheridan is merely stalling the plots or merely letting viewers into the lives of these characters, but regardless, the show’s upcoming second season really needs to kick things into gear.
The series is at its best when it focuses on the range war and explores the themes of progress and how modern society is clashing with the old west ideals. On top of that, “1923” has a really nice global scope here that is well established by directors Ben Richardson and Guy Ferland. Now, we just need to see the story take off into bigger and better places.
Video/Audio:
Presentation: Widescreen 1080p. How does it look? A little fuzzy but an improvement over the streaming release.
Audio Track: Dolby TrueHD 5.1. How does it sound? Expect a nice clean audio track.
Extras:
* “Behind The Story” featurettes on all 8 episodes which includes episode clips, story and character discussions, cast and crew interviews, set footage, and production stories.
* Paramount ads
* “Unstoppable Change: The Adventure Of 1923”- An extensive 43 minute extra that covers the writing, themes, cast, characters, and the production. Set footage and interviews are included.
* “I Am The Land: Teonna Rainwater”- An interview with Aminah Nieves about her character and her experience filming the series.
* “Reflecting Humanity: The Art And Craft Of Editing 1923” featurette.
* “Inside The Series”- A 17 ½ minute behind-the-scenes extra that essentially sells the series “1923.”
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