Technical Specs

• 3-disc set
• BD-50

Video Resolution/Codec

• 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC

Aspect Ratio(s)

• 1.78:1

Audio Formats

• English: Dolby TrueHD 5.1
• Spanish: Dolby Digital Mono

Subtitles/Captions

• English SDH, Spanish

Supplements

• Gods of the Arena: Featurette
• 10 Easy Steps to Dismemberment
• Post Production: The Final Execution
• Enter The Arena: Production Design
• Dressed to Kill
• Convention Panel
• Arena Bloopers
• Weapons of Mass Disruption
• Battle Royale: Anatomy of a Scene
• On Set With Lucy Lawless

Exclusive HD Content

• 3D "Ring of Fire" Battle Sequence
• Extended Episodes
• Audio Commentaries On All Episodes (including: Writer/Creator/Executive Producer Steven S. DeKnight, Executive Producer Rob Tapert and actors John Hannah, Lucy Lawless, Dustin Clare, Jaime Murray, Peter Mensah - and more)

Best Sellers and Deals

Spartacus: Gods of the Arena (Blu-ray)

Starz/Anchor Bay / 2011 / 300 Minutes / Unrated
Street Date: September 13, 2011

• Offer Details
• List Price: $49.99
• Amazon Price: $20.42 (59%)
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Reviewed by Aaron Peck
Tuesday, September 06, 2011

The Movie Itself: Our Reviewer's Take

Starz has tried its hardest to work its way into the world of premium original programming. Attempting to strike gold like HBO, Showtime, FX, and AMC before them, they seemed to have found a pretty big hit with 'Spartacus: Blood and Sand,' then tragedy struck. Andy Whitfield, the star of the series, was diagnosed with cancer, which kept him from returning to the role he perfectly embodied. This forced Starz to think of something fast. 'Spartacus: Gods of the Arena' was born, a prequel to 'Blood and Sand,' which focused on the gladiator training house of Batiatus and the nefarious exploits of its inhabitants.

Batiatus (John Hannah) is trying his hardest to get himself into the prestigious games he feels he and his gladiators deserve. The games are highly politicized though, and he can't seem to get any of the more popular nighttime matches. His wife, Lucretia (Lucy Lawless) – a poor woman's Atia of the Julii – schemes right along with her husband. Both of them trying to bring honor to the family name and the house.

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Many of the old characters are back, except now you get to see how they came to be. We see just how Oenomaus (Peter Mensah) became Doctore. We get to see the origins of Crixus (Manu Bennett) who ends up playing a very important role in 'Blood and Sand.' Gannicus (Dustin Clare, who bares an uncanny resemblance to a young Shawn Michaels) is the champion of the house. A gladiator who is supposed to be the best in the city. He even demonstrates his prowess by taking down one of his foes blindfolded.

I enjoyed the first season of 'Spartacus.' I enjoyed it’s over-the-top violence, and its story about a man leading a slave revolt. Sadly, 'Gods of the Arena' lacks any sort of moral underpinning that 'Blood and Sand' had. Yes, I know it's strange to be talking about morals when discussing a show that revels in slitting throats and orgies, but it's true. 'Gods of the Arena' tries to titillate more than anything else. Its sole purpose seems to be for them to see how far they can push the envelope when it comes to violence, sex, and crudeness. Perhaps the preposterous nature of the first season came off more as a novelty than anything else. This season seems to be clinging to it rather than having fun with it. Sometimes they just take it too far. I've seen men urinate in movies, which is no biggie. I've even seen movies where people urinated on by other people. Gross, but still, not a big deal. However, in an effort to push everything to the utmost extreme, 'Gods of the Arena' has to actually show full frontal a man peeing on someone else. Do I really need to see something like that? This is the reason why I don’t turn my head and peer over into the other urinal in public restrooms. Some things aren’t meant to titillate or even entertain. I have a hard time understanding what purpose a shot like that fulfills, if any.

Unfortunately, I never felt drawn into 'Gods of the Arena.' I found myself missing the presence of Whitfield. He brought a certain energy to the screen that's sorely lacking in this season of the show. Because I wasn't drawn into the story, or the characters, I found every instance of envelope pushing becoming more and more tedious.

I wanted to like this season of 'Spartacus,' because I thought the first season was so much fun. Sadly, with the loss of Whitfield the show had to change directions abruptly. It hurt, and it shows. Still, I think most fans of 'Blood and Sand' will enjoy 'Gods of the Arena' equally, I'm just not one of them.

The Blu-ray: Vital Disc Stats

Like 'Blood and Sand,' 'Gods of the Arena' comes in a digi-book packaging complete with a clear slipcover. I'm not a big fan of this packaging because it has slip-in folds where the discs go instead of the disc having their own protective hub. The folds where the discs slip in have episode lists on them so you know what episodes are on what disc. There are two 50-GB Blu-ray Discs included. This is a region A release.

The Video: Sizing Up the Picture

Like 'Blood and Sand,' 'Gods of the Arena' comes complete with a stellar looking 1080p transfer. This is a shining, shimmering video presentation, one that highlights the show's tremendous HD look. It features wonderfully defined details, colors, and shadows.

Facial details are top-notch, featuring each and every ragged scar upon the gladiators' faces. Detail is so fine that it's easy to see the individual pores on the skin of the show's stars. The show's steamy sex scenes benefit from this high amount of detail. You fans of Lucy Lawless will miss nothing when it comes to her nude scenes.

Colors are intentionally boosted to give the show that '300,' graphic novel feel. Like it's almost larger than life. The yellows and browns of the dirt of the arena and training yard glisten while the crimson blood spatter is bright and bold. Yes, some of the visual effects here could use some work. It helps that the show is meant to look like a blood-soaked fantasy instead of being realistic, but there are times where the clarity of the HD image pulls you out when you see a slit throat that looks particularly fake.

Dodgy effects aside, 'Gods of the Arena' boasts a very good looking transfer. One that, in many instances, can be used as demo material. If you found yourself enjoying the immaculate looking of 'Blood and Sand' on Blu-ray, then you're guaranteed to like the way this looks too.

The Audio: Rating the Sound

The Dolby TrueHD 5.1 mix provided to 'Gods of the Arena' rivals the power and tenacity of 'Blood and Sand's audio presentation. This mix boasts a heaping helping of deep LFE-laden scenes. Bass is constantly present whether it's due to the low drum beat of the soundtrack, or the crunching sounds of swords crashing against shields.

Surround sound is also a delight. Whenever the gladiators find themselves in the arena, the roar of the crowds is amply represented in the rear channels. The clarity is so fine that you can hear individual yelling and heckling from the raucous, blood-thirsty audience. Dialogue is always clear and concise in the front and center speakers.

If the mix has one tiny weakness, like 'Blood and Sand,' it may be pumped up just a wee bit too loud. Some of the fight sequences are absolutely jarring. Yes, I know that they're supposed to be that way for the most part, but there are times where your ears perk up and you realize that this moment is just a bit too loud for comfort. Other than that though, 'Gods of the Arena' boasts a sound mix that will truly test the limits of your sound system. This is one to show off indeed. May I suggest any of the arena fight scenes as demo material?

The Supplements: Digging Into the Good Stuff

• Starz Studios: 'Gods of the Arena' (HD, 14 min.) – Cast and crew sit down for EPK style interviews to talk about this season of the show and how it differs without main star Andy Whitfield being around.


• Weapons of Mass Disruption (HD, 3 min.) – Property master Rob Bavin is given a short time to introduce us to some of the weapons used in the series.


• Battle Royale: Anatomy of a Scene (HD, 6 min.) – A look into how the actors were trained to fight and the choreography that makes the fight scenes exciting and possible.


• On Set with Lucy Lawless (HD, 6 min.) – Lucy Lawless shows us around the 'Spartacus' set.


• 10 Easy Steps to Dismemberment (HD, 2 min.) – Ever wanted to know the sick science behind decapitation and other grisly injuries? Well, this is the place you'll learn quickly about all the different types of gore you see during the season.


• Post Production: The Final Execution (HD, 7 min.) – A good little featurette on the series' post production and how the showrunners make the show look and sound the way they want it to.


• Enter the Arena: Production Design (HD, 4 min.) – A look at the set design used in the show and how CGI assisted in areas where it wouldn't have been feasible to build certain structures.


• Dressed to Kill (HD, 6 min.) – Costume designer Barbara Darragh gives us a brief glimpse of what goes into dressing each of the series' characters.


• Convention Panel (HD, 6 min.) – A Comic-Con panel featuring Stephen S. DeKnight, Lucy Lawless, John Hannah, and Vivia Bianca.


• Arena Bloopers (HD, 5 min.) – A standard set of mess ups and laughing actors.

HD Bonus Content: Any Exclusive Goodies in There?

• Audio Commentaries – There are commentaries for all six of the season's episodes. Although they are a little difficult to get to. If you choose Play All, then you won't be able to select the commentaries. You must go into each individual episode from the main menu to get the commentary option. Weird, but that's the way it is. It's very nice that a lot of the series regulars are featured on these commentaries from directors Michael Hurst and Jesse Warn to actors like Lucy Lawless, Dustin Clare, Peter Mensah, and John Hannah. Much of the filming information is discussed in these commentaries. We also get to hear the actors talk about their extended and fairly graphic sex scenes, which is worth a listen right there.


• Extended Episodes (HD) – This set contains extended episodes for all but one of the six episodes. "Missio" is the only episode that doesn't get some extended time tacked onto it. The rest of them each have a few minutes added here and there: "Past Transgressions" (53 min.), "Paterfamilias" (59 min.), "Beneath the Mask" (53 min.), "Reckoning" (57 min.), "The Bitter End" (68 min.).


• 3D "Ring of Fire" Battle Sequence (HD, 5 min.) – This is a 3D rendered scene of one of the season's main fight sequences. I do not have a 3D setup so cannot attest to its quality. This is a feature for 3D system owners only.

Easter Eggs

No easter eggs reported for 'Spartacus: Gods of the Arena' yet. Found an egg? Please use our tips form to let us know, and we'll credit you with the find.

Final Thoughts

I wasn't as drawn into 'Gods of the Arena' as I was 'Blood and Sand.' It seemed like this part of the series relied too much on its jarring violence and its over-indulgent sex scenes and not enough on character development and story. 'Blood and Sand' performed a subtle balancing act of each of those parts. A balancing act that 'Gods of the Arena' just can't pull off. However, fans of the series will love the fact that the video and audio presentations are as good as ever and the special features are packed with variety. This set is best suited for fans only.

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