Let’s get this out of the way, Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season
Before I get to what I like about it (a lot) and what I didn’t like about it (not much), I’m gonna break down exactly what you’ll get in your Blu-ray set. If for some reason you’d like to remain ignorant of the awesomeness that awaits you then don’t read any further.
So here are details on all the special features you will get in the Blu-ray set (the DVD set does not have the animated histories, In-Episode Guide, Anatomy of an Episode or the Dragon Eggs).
The Complete Guide to Westeros
A comprehensive, interactive guide of the houses, histories, and lands of Game of Thrones. The guide is broken down into three sections:
Houses – Contains six gorgeously animated histories of the great houses as told by characters from the series: Robb and Bran (Stark), Catelyn (Arryn), Robert (Baratheon), Tywin (Lannister), Viserys (Targaryen) and Jeor Mormont (Night’s Watch). Also includes bios of each member of the house and their various servants and vassals.
Histories & Lore – Nineteen animated histories of the Seven Kingdoms, as told by various characters from the series. Certain histories have multiple characters telling the same story from differing viewpoints. Here is the full list of histories with the character(s) that narrate each:
The Children of the Forest, The First Men, and the Andals – Bran
The Age of Heroes – Bran
The Old Gods and the New – Bran and Catelyn
The History of the Night’s Watch – Jeor, Luwin, Tywin
The Order of the Maesters – Luwin
Valyria & the Dragons – Viserys
The Field of Fire – Viserys, Robb
Mad King Aerys – Robert, Luwin, Tywin
Robert’s Rebellion – Robert, Viserys
The Sack of King’s Landing – Viserys, Robert, Luwin, Tywin
Lands – Learn more about the regions and lands of Westeros and Essos in this interactive map.
In-Episode Guide
The same content that is available in the Complete Guide, only accessible via an on-screen menu while watching the episode. The content available changes based on what is happening in the episode and certain aspects are only accessible once they are “unlocked” by the action on screen.
Anatomy of an Episode
A view into how they filmed episode six of the first season, with various behind-the-scenes features and interviews popping up throughout the episode.
Making Game of Thrones
A 30-minute look into the making of Game of Thrones. New interviews with Nina Gold and her casting associate Robert Sterne, Ramin Djawadi, Tom Martin (construction manager), Adam McInnes (vfx supervisor), Jim Warren (animal handler), and others. Of course, we also get quotes from David & Dan, GRRM, the directors and much of the cast as well. Some new cast interviews too, from Rory McCann, Alfie Allen, Kate Dickie, Iain Glen, and Finn Jones. The feature covers all aspects of the production from casting to set building, stunts and visual effects, costumes and more.
More Behind the Scenes Videos
Character Profiles – Short videos where the actors talks about the characters they play. Same as the ones released prior to Season One airing.
From the Book to the Screen – GRRM and David & Dan talk about the challenges of adapting this story to television.
Creating the Show Open – Interviews with Angus Wall and the Elastic team about how they created the title sequence.
Creating the Dothraki Language – Interviews with David J. Peterson, David & Dan and the actors about creating and speaking the Dothraki language.
The Night’s Watch – Interviews with GRRM, David & Dan and the Night’s Watch cast about the history and the ways of the Watch.
Hidden Dragon Eggs – Six hidden dragon eggs that contain cast audition footage.
Episode Previews & Recaps
Short previews and recaps of each episode. These are the same videos that HBO released as the season was airing (and can be found on our season one episode guide).
Episode Commentaries
Ep 1 – David Benioff & Dan Weiss
Ep 2 – Lena Headey, Mark Addy, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau
Ep 3 – Maisie Williams, Sophie Turner, Isaac Hempstead-Wright
Ep 4 – Bryan Cogman & Kit Harington
Ep 6 – Emilia Clarke, Harry Lloyd, Peter Dinklage, Dan Minahan
Ep 8 – George R. R. Martin
Ep 10 – David Benioff, Dan Weiss, Alan Taylor
So that’s what is included. It is a lot of great stuff. I’ve been watching the discs for hours and I still haven’t seen everything (have yet to watch Anatomy, the commentary for eps 6, 8 and 10, and the dragon eggs). I could write pages and pages about this box set, but I will spare you and just bang out a quick list of what I liked and didn’t like.
What I Liked: The animation on the house history videos. Lena Headey’s potty mouth. Finally putting a face to the name of Nina Gold. The kids singing along with the opening theme. Hearing about important events in the past from different characters’ perspectives. The ‘Making of’ video. Nikolaj referencing the Youtube video of Tyrion slapping Joffrey for 10 mins straight. The little teases for season two dropped by cast and crew in the commentaries. Learning that Bryan Cogman wrote pages and pages of actual lineages for the Lineages of the Great Houses book. Charles Dance’s readings as Tywin Lannister.
What I Didn’t Like: No deleted scenes. Having boobs appear on screen while Sophie, Maisie and Isaac are doing commentary. No commentary for episode nine. The ‘Making of’ video being only 30 mins long. Sean Bean’s absence from the commentaries. No gag reel. Anatomy of an Episode being available for only one episode. The hidden dragon eggs being too hidden.
To sum up, this is a great set for both hardcore fans of the series and casual fans as well. The amount of hard work put into this set is clearly evident. The Complete Guide, with its animated histories, is amazing. Bryan Cogman was the one responsible for much of the content here, and you can read more about his role in creating this special feature in our exclusive interview with him.
With all this great stuff on the Blu-rays, I strongly recommend getting them over the DVDs, even if you have to go out and buy a Blu-ray player. Not because of the superior sound or picture quality (I was watching this on my 32 inch SD TV with sound coming from the TV speakers, so the quality of the picture and sound did nothing for me), but because you will miss out on some amazing original content if you get the DVDs.
Either way though, this set will certainly help with the wait until season two. Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season releases on March 6th in the US, pre-order it now at Amazon
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92 Comments
First!!!! This looks so cool, i can’t wait xx
you-know-nothingQuote Reply
I did exactly that… went out and bought a BluRay player, just for this beauty :)
NergQuote Reply
We in the UK get it one day earlier.
British ByronQuote Reply
I have to admit it does look preety amazing, and very jelous that you are already watching it now, before us, rudeness. (Just kidding)
One thing that I did notice was the family Catlyn will be talking about, surely it should be Tully, rather than Arryn, as she isn’t a part of that family.
Other than that, I’ll be getting both the Blu ray and normal one for me and family, as we are stuck in the stone age.
SarahQuote Reply
Man, I want to preorder this, but the Canadian price is inexplicably much higher than the American one, to the point where it’s actually cheaper to order from Amazon.com and ship it to Canada, shipping costs and all.
Anyone know if the Canadian price is going to end up more reasonable?
YBQuote Reply
No, it is Arryn. The Tullys don’t factor into the first season all that much, so they are likely saving their history for a later season. I think they had Catelyn tell the story, as opposed to Lysa, because she is a more major character who still has some ties to the Arryns.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Thats fair enough, I was just a little confused by that, but it does make sense
SarahQuote Reply
I can’t wait it’s only a couple weeks away :)
The KingslayerQuote Reply
Are there Subtitles for the extras?
Richard AddisonQuote Reply
Being from Canada, I too noticed the high price, so I went to ebay and preordered it there – with shipping included, I believe I got it for 56 bucks total on BluRay, which is less than Amazon. It may take an extra day or so for shipping, but it’s worth it, I think.
QyleQuote Reply
Winter,
is there any chance to learn if the foreign language editions of the set will contain all of the extras? While I would be happy with English audio only (and order in the UK), my girlfriend also wants the German audio track for the main features. But the discription on amazon.de lists nothing in the way of special features… and I don’t want to have to purchase it twice.
DunkeltrollQuote Reply
We were already going to get the Blu-Ray boxset as the first thing to watch on the PS3 Hubby got for Christmas, but this gives us even more incentive. The special features sound awesome, and I can’t wait to watch them.
Thanks for the summary WiC.
wandaXmaximoffQuote Reply
The Blu-Ray set looks amazing. Can’t wait. Thank you HBO!
Varamyr FourskinsQuote Reply
Just read Empire’s review of the Blu Ray/DVD and apparently Lena Headey’s commentary is quite colorful lol swear like a sailor.
The KingslayerQuote Reply
I’m not sure. I will check when I get home.
I will try to find this out for you.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Just pre-ordered =)
Was gonna go with the DVDs but I must have the animated histories =)
Buying a blu-ray player just for this. Finally making the move I guess!
LoFQuote Reply
You convinced me Winter, I went to Amazon right away and pre-ordered the Blu-Ray
Game of Thrones: The Complete First Season [Blu-ray] – $44.99 (normally $79.98)
Two Day Shipping to arrive on March 6th – $0 (Prime Member)
Signing Up for Amazon Rewards Card by Visa – Free
Getting a $50 gift card from Amazon to use to get this awesome Blu-Ray set for FREE – PRICELESS!
Josh KQuote Reply
I’m tempted to buy a new TV just for this set. A 55 Inch would suffice.
ViolentosQuote Reply
GUUUUUURGGH. I can’t afford a Blu-Ray player, and I WANT THE DAMN ANIMATED HISTORIES. I can live without the rest, but COME ON, HBO! The DVDs are something like $60, is it really that unreasonable to ask for extra content?
Also, this is a huge nitpick, but why wouldn’t the history of the Night’s Watch be read by Maester Aemon, or Lord Commander Mormont, or Sam, or even Jon? Sam would probably be the best…
PranksterQuote Reply
i made my dad read AGOT, and he liked. This means I have to wait and buy the italian edition of the DVDs.. I almost wish i hadn’t showed him the first book. Tzk. Anyway, Winter, did you have a change to unlock dragon’s eggs :)
Elena AmiciQuote Reply
So it’s official: we will never see the deleted scene with Aerys II, Rickard, and Brandon. Or any of the extra tourney fights. We know these exist. That makes me a little sad.
And we never got a “Promise me, Ned”…..
But wow at all of the other features! Getting this for sure on bluray.
TolgerosQuote Reply
WOW I just checked in amazon and its only $45?!!?!?!? i was expecting like a $100 price tag but $45 is fucking great! I just pre-ordered it now, cant wait to see the animated histories!!
It’s going to be a thing of beauty watching this on my 47 inch HDTV(1080p/120HZ)!!!
Quorin HalfhandQuote Reply
But it is. Jeor Mormont.
sjweningsQuote Reply
It is? Why can’t they show it in a later season?
sjweningsQuote Reply
That’s a tough one. I would say do whatever you can to get a Blu-Ray player. They aren’t too expensive these days. The animated histories are really good.
And Commander Mormont is one of the characters who tells the history of the Night’s Watch. Luwin and Tywin also give their own take on the ancient order.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
sjwenings,
I believe Tolgeros was referring to this scene, which was featured in one of the trailers for S1(I think).
PepiQuote Reply
Prankster,
I would suggest getting a Playstation 3 (Built-in Blu-Ray)and get more bang for your buck. If you dont play video games, at least you’ll have one around in case you have family or kids that come over
Quorin HalfhandQuote Reply
So as per WiC twitter wildfire apparently makes an appearance in the new GOT video on HBO on demand. So can someone tha saw it tell if they went with green-ish color.
Oi!Quote Reply
The Canadian price is ridiculous…our dollar is pretty much at par with the US…it’s a bloody disgrace…I may have to look at ordering from a US site ! ….
Coltaine777Quote Reply
Pepi,
And I believe sjwenings was referring to the notion that some commenters have suggested, that the Aerys/Rickard/Brandon scene could be used as a flashback in a later season, presumably from Jaime’s POV. “It’s official: we will never see the deleted scene” assumes that that footage is being thrown away forever, and we don’t know that (although I still wouldn’t hold my breath).
mummerQuote Reply
I have ordered the DVD- would love to see all the extras, but I cannot buy a blu-ray player at the moment. So I’ll be hoping all these things make their way onto youtube at some point (officially would be best, but I suppose unlikely?).
ShinyteapotQuote Reply
mummer,
Damn! That would be epic… nostalgic, even, to get this scen in one of the later seasons. TBH it didn’t even cross my mind, that they could use this scene later. Dunno why. But I got a feeling, that they decided to skip all the flashbacks, and that they’ll introduce us the past through words only(less expensive and less time consuming). I don’t see any other reason for not including this flashback… except… if they didn’t know where to put it. :) Although… in the Lord Snow episode, during Ned-Jamie confrontation, this scene would imo work perfectly.
PepiQuote Reply
Having bought a new HD TV the other day (partly due to the digital switchover later this year but mainly due to GoT Season 1 coming soon) I just need a Blu-Ray player now.
MormegilQuote Reply
I don’t want to be Miss Contrary here, but I think they’re mature enough to handle ‘boobs’ — they’re on an HBO production, after all. They’ve probably seen the whole script for each episode and know that there’s some epic incest/sex going on. Hell, Isaac needed to know why he was going to be thrown from a tower, and you have to explain to the (probably bewildered) kid — look, you’ve come across a brother and a sister having intercourse, and in this world, that can’t happen.
Pink DragonQuote Reply
Because it’s very unlikely for a particular season’s DVD/BD to have a deleted scene that was filmed for the previous season.
TolgerosQuote Reply
No, I mean in the actual show.
sjweningsQuote Reply
Sounds like a they really went all out for this one. That’s all for the better because it’s going to have to help feed my GoT addiction until the premiere of S2.
FacelessManQuote Reply
“Having boobs appear on screen while Sophie, Maisie and Isaac are doing commentary.” Why? If it was the Littlefinger brothel scene I could understand but episode 3 just has a quick shot of some prostitutes breasts, they all live in the UK so they see more than that all the time on TV. You do realize most Countries don’t view the human body as something indecent that you have to protect children from right Winter? Nudity is common on television and public beaches in many countries all over the world. It’s a very unhealthy puritanical American culture view to think that children have to be protected from the sight of females nipples or any human body part.
JamesQuote Reply
James, it was just a little uncomfortable. And apparently the kids agreed with me because one of them blurted out, “Awkward!”
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
I disagree. I am the most liberal person in the world, but I see his point. Knowing the story and how they fit into it is part of these teen actors’ job. But when they are all in a room together, OUTSIDE of the acting experience, and one of those scenes comes up, it could be embarrassing. So my point is that the producers could have been a little more sensitive about it, but they probably didn’t even think of that as they were putting all of these great extras together.
HollyoakQuote Reply
Winter Is Coming,
Yeah I could see that being awkward, though Episode 3 is probably the episode with the least amount of nudity/violence.
Arrogant BastardQuote Reply
Pretty jazzed bluray.com is calling this baby already one of the best releases of 2012. Somehow I’m not that excited about the extra’s, all I want is perfect video and perfect audio and HBO doesn’t dissapoint as usual.
KnurkQuote Reply
I heard there’s a new video for those who have HBO demand.
A few caps of Brienne, Melisandre and Margaery have been uploaded at Tumblr.
ReinierQuote Reply
Yeah, I uploaded several. I’ve got to crosspost them to Wicnet.tumblr.com in a moment. They’re already up at tumblrofthrones. Not so great, the caps floating around, but it’s better than nothing.
Ours is the FuryQuote Reply
Crap that you need to have a Blu Ray player for this. If they were bothering to add all this stuff for the Ble Ray dvd then why couldn’t they add it into the regular dvd? May shop around to see if I can get a cheapish enough one.
BroQuote Reply
I still don’t plan on buying a Blu-ray player, so this kinda sucks. Hopefully those animated features find their way onto youtube or some pirate site. And no, I won’t feel any guilt whatsoever about pirating the bonus features, when I’ve paid full price for the DVD set.
LexQuote Reply
Dunkeltroll,
Ich würde mir lieber Sorgen darüber machen, dass der Scheiß mal wieder geschnitten wird! Walking Dead Staffel 1 war in der deutschen Version selbst auf Blu-Ray total verstümmelt.
Just saying. I ordered it from amazon.uk. Not that much more expansive but totally worth it.
I bought a 5.1 sound system today just to enjoy this in even better quality. Can’t wait!
G_LeeQuote Reply
Winter Is Coming,
Let me guess, it was Maisie who made that comment? :-)
Re: OITF ‘s tumblr screencap: Now THAT’s our Mel!
Joshua TaylorQuote Reply
G_Lee,
Same here. I don’t want support TNT for this moderate synchronization. (I’m a Fan of Elisabeth Günther, but her as Catelyn Stark…). But worst the loud ‘In the micro moaning’. But very interesting is Sibel Kekilli as herself…
Overall we don’t have to handle with the new-translation! Luck for us!
No-OneQuote Reply
Visual pleasures are forthcoming… 150 seconds of Season 2 joygasm!
darquemodeQuote Reply
darquemode,
ETA?
And your a peach! Though not of the Renly kind of course…umm wait forget I said that…*jumps out window*
Joshua TaylorQuote Reply
Wow, yeah! I got pretty exited just seeing those pics on wictumblr
sjweningsQuote Reply
In the UK: I can’t seem to get a straight answer out of HMV (who exclusively have the special covers). Do they have the special cover with Blu-ray? Seems the options are either DVD with special cover or Blu-ray without… grrr. Anyone know what they actually have planned?
FergQuote Reply
Hmm … I have the DVD pre-ordered. How long are these animated histories & would it be worth upgrading to BR for? I would need to get a BR player too but I figure I will eventually anyway.
HexonxQuote Reply
Are you seriously complaining about breasts being on the screen when the younger actors are doing their commentaries? Get over yourself, you prude. The youngest of those actors is probably 1000 times more than you apparently are. “boobs” indeed.
JSQuote Reply
Hexonx, I think it is worth it. The histories are about 4-5 minutes each, I would guess, so we’re talking almost two hours of additional content.
JS, 1000 times more what exactly? Mature? Maybe so. I just said it felt uncomfortable, I didn’t make any moral judgements on whether it is appropriate or not. And like I said, the kids apparently felt the same level of uncomfort, which is understandable given they were in mixed company.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Winter Is Coming,
Have you watched the animated history of Roberts rebellion yet Winter? If so , what did you make of it?
Is there much about Lyanna and the blue rose?
Two FeathersQuote Reply
I’ve ordered both DVD and Blu-Ray from amazon.com, one for my family (I bought them the books for Christmas) and the Blu-Ray for me. They were both such a deal!!
Now I need to look for a deal on a Blu-Ray player. Didn’t think I’d need one. However, with the extras only available on BR, a player is essential GoT hardware. I mean to have the full Game of Thrones Experience! Part of being alive in the 21st century, doncha know.
Arya DunyettQuote Reply
Arya Dunyett,
Are you a gamer? Because if you are it would be a great opportunity to either invest or trade your xbox/wii in for a PS3. That’s what I did to get my Blu-ray player.
Joshua TaylorQuote Reply
I wouldn’t call 7 commentaries loading “this sucker up with some interesting commentary.” It’s pretty disappointing really. I kinda expect to be able to watch the series with commentary and with a series like this multiple commentaries per episode would have made sense. I can’t really get excited about behind the scenes stuff.
RossQuote Reply
James,
Yeah it’s this weird hangup a lot of Americans have. For some reason some sweater puppies are unacceptable but a guy being run through doesn’t get the same degree of concern at all, kids watching or not. People’s priorities are a little weird sometimes IMO.
Where to me it’s about what’s harmful. Nudity harms no one, violence…does. Jon Stewart on the Daily Show covers that problem pretty brilliantly here: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-january-26-2012/a-love-supreme
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/thu-january-26-2012/a-love-supreme
ZackQuote Reply
Last year I was all set to buy a BR player for GoT. Then, I realized that I really didn’t have a good enough TV, and I wasn’t about to buy a new TV and a player just for one show. I kept having second thoughts about plunking down the extra money. So I made up my mind and pre-ordered the DVD.
Now, I am having second second-thoughts. I soooo want those animated histories! And it doesn’t help that we just received our tax refund. Pay down bills or GoT? 2012 vacation or GoT? Keep wife happy or GoT? Decisions, decisions! LOL
David the GreyQuote Reply
Yeah I switched from dvd to blu ray although I’m kind of pissed off about the fact that they would omit content off of the dvd.
John WQuote Reply
YB,
Why don’t you just pre-order it from Amazon Canada. The price might still be higher, but at least it will be in Canadian dollars, plus you’ll only pay the shipping and handling costs, and no import taxes, custom taxes or anything of the sort…IT really makes no sense buying either the DVD or Blue-Ray set from the US!?
If not, just wait until release day, then go to either Best Buy, Future Shop or HMV. I know that Future Shop will have a one day promotional/reduced price for both the DVD and Blue-Ray sets (in effect for March 6 only). Future Shop did that for the release of “Boardwalk Empire” First Season.
Having said all that, in-spite of all of those extra features available on the Blue-Ray set, it’s not enough to entice me to buy it, so I’ll stick to the DVD set which is plenty enough for me. While I appreciate the behind the scenes stuff and special features, it is the show I’m primarily interested in, the rest is great also but secondary stuff. As for the image/sound quality, I also have a 32″ screen 1080p high-def tv set, so in absence of something larger, I won’t really miss much in those terms (nor do I really care that much truth be told). Besides some of those exclusive features available on the Blue-Ray set will make their way on the net…then they’ll be available for free
PS Thorin Oakenshield rules!
loco73Quote Reply
Coltaine777,
Don’t, because you’ll end up paying more, as I suggested in my previous coment, try Amazon Canada, or if not go the store. Most will have a reduced promotional price for the release day only, but still worth checking out.
Buying from the States will leave you to pay in addition to the shipping and handling a customs tax as well as an import tax. I just checked the amazon.ca prices and they have been reduced, the original price for the DVD set was $74.98 Canadian, it is now (I guess if you pre-order) $49.99, while the Blue-Ray set was $99.99 Canadian, it is now $68.99 (also if you pre-order). That is not such a bad deal to my mind. If not as I said wait until release day and then browse through Future Shop, Best Buy, HMV, Wall-Mart, Zelers or independent retailers (even Indigo or Chapters).
PS Thorin Freaking Oakenshield!
loco73Quote Reply
I will be getting it from Best Buy on the release day for the $44.99
they have exclusive covers… I am going with the Stark cover myself
BR all the way!
(and since I always have trouble finding one or two of the ‘eggs’ on these things, I fully expect a helpful hand from WIC in the future ;-)
Daniel GriffinQuote Reply
No gag reel? Blasphemy! Someone better have kept the bloopers. I like bloopers. I’ve been addicted to them since I first saw William Shatner walk into a door that refused to open automatically on the Enterprise. We must have gag reels!
LangkardQuote Reply
How do you know there are no deleted scenes? Sounds like just the thing for a “Dragon’s Egg”
userjQuote Reply
userj, Ran over at Westeros already found the dragon eggs and confirmed they are cast auditions.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
!! Icing on the cake :)
Was truly hoping for those. Sounds like this set’s got pretty much everything I could have reasonably expected, except for the missing commentary on a few episodes. I’m pretty thrilled with HBO’s thoroughness. Come on, birthday!
ZackQuote Reply
so you can’t get any of that extra content on the DVDs? why the hell not?
gswelcomeQuote Reply
I only have one HBO show on bluray and that is “Band of Brothers”. That looks beautiful and phenomonal on bluray. So I have to say that HBO seems to go above and beyond. That being said I can’t wait to get this on bluray. Watching all the episodes and bonus stuff is going to be almost orgasmic. If you don’t have a bluray, seriously get one. My friend finally updated and got a HDTV and just bought a Samsung bluray at best buy for 80.00! That is seriously good! Anyways,can’t wait for March 6!
HildaQuote Reply
Pepi,
Wow. I had no idea this scene existed! It would be awesome to see this at some point!
Also, I have been holding out hope that they would include the original pilot (with different Catelyn and Dany) on the discs, but it appears not.
Justin James DixonQuote Reply
http://theoatmeal.com/comics/game_of_thrones
Amen.
SenseQuote Reply
Anyone know if the blu-rays are region free? I’m in australia and want to pre-order from Amazon, but if they got here and didn’t work on my 50-inch & blu-ray I might shed a tear or two..
JonoQuote Reply
Sense,
Ha ha, loved the ads on the torrent site.
David the GreyQuote Reply
must admit i am doing the same as a lot of people on this site, i am ordering GOT on blu-ray and buying a blu-ray player at the same time from play.com in the uk. GOT blu-ray is about £35 in the uk, not sure what the exchange rate is but how does that price compare with us/ canada editions?
garydQuote Reply
Agreed. The kids are doing commentary for an episode of a show containing strong language and violence.. yet someone is uncomfortable that they are seeing breasts? Which episode should have they done commentary for instead?
Confused ColinQuote Reply
Jono,
yes they are. Although it doesn’t specifically say they are regionfree the US-version has all kind of European subtitles and Europe has the same region as Australia.
Edit: amazon.co.uk states it’s regionfree.
Edit2: blu-raydefinition states the US-version is regionfree.
KnurkQuote Reply
Erm not to sound like a douche or anything but you can get Blu Ray players for about £100 these days, it’s really not that expensive. If you really love the show and want to witness it in the best possible way then splash out.
The KingslayerQuote Reply
Winter Is Coming,
Hmm… Ran only seems to say he’s found 4 of the 6 and that those are auditions. Is there somewhere else he says what the other two were?
http://www.westeros.org/GoT/News/Entry/Reviewing_the_Game_of_Thrones_Blu-ray/
userjQuote Reply
loco73,
You’re wrong about the cost. YB,
and Coltaine777,
should look at buying it off of Amazon U.S. – I’ve done it several times for the deals and it’s far cheaper. We still get completely gypped on the Canadian side for some reason for most blu-ray purchases.
In terms of Canadian dollars versus U.S. dollars – well, it doesn’t really matter and in fact, the Canadian dollar is currently worth more than the U.S. dollar (by a pretty negligible amount) so it would be to our benefit price-wise to buy American.
For the blu-ray set:
AMAZON.CA
Items: $64.99 + HST
Order Total: $73.48
AMAZON.COM
Items: $44.99
Shipping & Handling: $7.98
——
Total Before Tax: $52.97
Estimated Tax to be Collected: $0.00
Import Fees Deposit: $6.03
Order Total: $59.00
In my experience, the key factor here is that Amazon.com does not collect taxes – at least on relatively small Canadian purchases for whatever reason. I’ve looked it up previously and the best answer I can find is that taxes on a website generally only apply to residents who live in the same country (or province or state) that the website is based in.
EVEN if they are charged taxes going across the border, the beauty is that you will not be charged that amount because of the way their Import Fees Deposit works (this is something I looked up very carefully the first time I bought from Amazon.com).
I’ll quote the most relevant parts of the way it works:
The Amazon Global Program offers customers a unique service: duty and tax estimation during checkout and customs clearance on your behalf for certain eligible countries. When products are shipped to the eligible countries using eligible ship options included in the Amazon Global Program, an Import Fees Deposit will be estimated and collected for the shipment. With your authorization, such funds will be used by the carrier or another agent to pay the Import Fees on behalf of you (or the recipient’s behalf) to the appropriate authorities of the destination country.
If the actual Import Fees (paid by carrier on behalf of the recipient to the customs and tax authorities of the destination country) are less than the Import Fees Deposit collected by us on your behalf, you will automatically be refunded the difference to the payment method you used for the order. You will receive a notification e-mail to confirm the amount of the refund. The process takes 60 days from the shipment date.
For items sold by Amazon Export Sales, Inc., you will not be charged any additional fees if the actual Import Fees exceed the Import Fees Deposit we estimated. For items sold by Amazon Marketplace sellers, please check the seller’s policies.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html/ref=hp_nodeid_596184_customs?nodeId=596184&#customs
And I can verify that in the past, I have been surprised to find that they have in fact reimbursed me quite a few times for part of the Import Fees Deposit (though it generally happens quite a while after you receive your purchase), indicating they are charged even less than they estimate there. I’ve never had to pay tax or any other fee at the door (or been charged more than my final order amount) on any blu-ray purchases I’ve made through Amazon.com directly.
JCQuote Reply
Thank you for your review. In your listings I also noticed the absence of Sean Bean in the commentaries and no commentary on episode 9…bummer!! I’m still excited for the blu-ray. Also, on my way to work this morning I saw a giant “WAR IS COMING” billboard on Sunset Blvd. that’s got me pretty anxious for April 1st.
m3shwerksQuote Reply
That breasts complaint is so spectacularly puritanical I don’t know what to say. One of the kids blurting out “awkward” and having a giggle is one thing, but for one of the main fan websites to actually turn it into some kind of issue which is one of the key problems with the blueray is completely insane. Note: This is exactly what you are doing when you place it second on a list of “negatives” alongside other less bizarrre complaints about running length and missing commentaries. I guess my concern would be that if they think fans find children being exposed to normal female anatomy “uncomfortable” and innapropriate (which clearly you do), they’ll think twice about it next season. And given that they’re not going to stop showing breasts in Game of Thrones this might mean kids not doing commentaries, which would be a sad loss.
Other than that, this is a really helpful rundown of exactly what’s in that much anticipated package, thanks! Will preorder now!
RosieQuote Reply
As a European person that stayed in the US for quite some time I have to say that this is just a cultural issue.
I don’t want to judge anyone, but in Europe boobs are totally fine and in the US it’s the same with violence. For example the Movie “Shakesspeare in Love” is Rated R in the US and in Germany it’s rated something like G.
Thats why many europeans didn’t get the fuzz around Janet Jackson’s super bowl incident.
Long story short: I don’t think the kids commenting on that episode got too uncomfortable because they are from Europe and are used to seeing more breasts than US kids are. ;)
Julian BudkeQuote Reply
Rosie, relax, I’m not making it an issue at all. I just thought it would be funny to include it in my list of dislikes, more as a commentary on the fact that a) there are a lot of boobs in this show and b) there really isn’t much to complain about with this set.
But I’m not offended by it. I just thought it was an awkward moment (which, again, the kids apparently did as well). If that makes me “spectacularly puritanical”, then so be it.
Winter Is ComingQuote Reply
Just preordered blu-ray from best buy for $34.99 – looks amazing!
CatherineQuote Reply
Nice review of the discs. Definitely gonna be buying the blurays on pre-order. BTW, are you some kind of puritanical, stone aged boobie hater? Lol, I jest! It’s funny how the responders were seemingly far more sensitive to the comment, than the comment was to the commentary/boobie event.
A Mad KingQuote Reply
I can say without a shred of guilt that I just bought a Blu-Ray player for and with this box set.
I had been considering a PS3 since the price dropped to 200, and this was the final tipping point. This and a remastered Shadow of the Colossus on PSN.
Winter is coming. To my house. In a couple weeks. In high definition. Time to re-re-re-read book 1.
DavidQuote Reply
I love me some gag reels, but I don’t really need one…but seriously – no deleted scenes? That’s either a shocking oversight or a blatant future money grab for some double-dip set. It may sound like quibbling when the stuff that IS included sounds so awesome. But I would have thought deleted scenes / blooper reel would be no-brainers for inclusion.
Mike JohnsonQuote Reply
Has anyone preordered from Amazon.co.uk?
They have the Blu Ray listed twice once at £36.99 and also at £32.00.
The only difference I can see is the more expensive one has the Exclusive Amazon Bonus Disc.
Seems a bit of a rip off to charge an extra £5 for an 18 minute featurette plus I thought the whole point of these various exlusives different shops/websites have was that they would be included in the price so that you bought from them and not someone else.
MormegilQuote Reply
awesoem features ^^
but unfortunatelly I won’t be able to buy the BluRay over th DVD =/
Thiago SlashQuote Reply
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