England is on the brink of a devastating war with France that will last over a hundred years. A terrible plague, which will wipe out a third of Europe’s population before it is done, is spreading. Caris, a visionary young woman, struggles to rise above the suffering and oppression in order to lead her people out of the Dark Ages. With her lover, Merthin, she builds a community in Kingsbridge that stands up to the church and the crown. Together, they unearth a dangerous secret and must fight to save their town from ruin, ultimately ushering in a new era of freedom, innovation and enlightenment.
Produced by Ridley & Tony Scott’s Scott Free Productions and directed by Michael Canton Jones (Memphis Belle, Rob Roy & The Jackal), World without End is a great piece of television drama that follows up the successful miniseries Pillars of the Earth and draws you into the drama and revelations of the characters and their agendas and the power struggles. Featuring a great cast that consists of Cynthia Nixon (Sex and the City), Ben Chaplin (The Thin Red Line), Charlotte Riley (The Take), Rupert Evans (Hellboy) and Peter Firth (Lifeforce). The 8 episodes that last around 45 to 51 minutes each are spread across two discs and each episode is paced to ensure that the story doesn’t drag out. Its a gripping piece of Television drama that is recommended
Filmed with Arri Alexa cameras at 2K, Sony presents World without End on Blu-ray with a 1080/24p MPEG4-AVC codec in an aspect ratio of 1.85:1. Coming from a digital source there is virtually no grain at all to be seen. The image presented is clear and vivid and looks quite filmic. The darker toned colours are nicely reproduced throughout the eight episodes and fit the era that the story is set in. Black levels are good and don’t hide too much detail in the lower lit scenes. Some shots display excellent sense of depth as well. The transfer also highlights some of the excellent production design and cinematography. A real pleasure to view
Presented on Blu-ray with a DTS-MA 5.1 audio track, World without End does sound a bit restrained on Blu-ray. There is some activity in the surround speakers but its limited to Mychael Danna’s original score and some quieter ambient effects. There are scenes where you think the rear sound field would come to life but its more focused on the front speakers. There are small bursts of audio effects like crowds gathering and thunderstorms but they are quite distanced apart. The audio mix does have some merits though as it compliments Mychael Danna’s wonderful music and creates a nice ambiance throughout. The LFE has some activity during the more intense music when needed. Dialogue is clear throughout the series as well.
The Making of Ken Follett’s World without End: (25 minutes) The only extra in this set is presented on disc two. Featuring behinds the scenes footage from the production and onset interviews with the cast and producers / directors, for a series that is quite epic in scale, and nearly four times the length of a normal blockbuster film, I was expecting a bit more in all honesty. More like an extended EPK this doesn’t really cover enough ground about how much work went into the shows production. Presented in High Definition
Not really being a fan of these epic scale TV shows (Game of Thrones, Spartacus etc) I went into this blind and wasn’t expecting to enjoy it so much. Superbly directed by Michael Canton Jones with Hollywood heavyweight Ridley Scott (one of my favourite film directors) and the late great Tony Scott in the producers chair, World without End is a great piece of storytelling that manages to weave drama and intrigue and throw in some decent battle sequences. The discs AV quality is as what was expected from a new production. The only downside to the package is the rather slim special features section consisting of a single featurette. Whilst some deleted scenes or commentaries would of been welcomed for such a large scaled mini-series, it appears that isn’t the case with this. The show however is highly recommended and is well worth watching.
