 
|
|
DVD
Lions Gate
Publisher: Lions Gate
Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Actors: Paul Blackthorne, Valerie Cruz
Based on Jim Butcher's best-selling novels, "The Dresden Files" chronicles the cases of no ordinary detective. Harry Dresden (Paul Blackthorne) is a wizard, the only one listed in the Chicago phone book. He's got a handle on the crimes that can't be solved by anyone else. Paranormal? No problem. Dresden deals in all matters of supernatural threats. If you need a little hocus pocus or some other worldly advice, Dresden's your man.
The Dresden Files is about a wizard named Harry. "Good marketing," a cynical observer notes in one episode from the Sci-Fi Channel's one-season wonder based on the books by Jim Butcher. "Couldn't you come up with something a little more original?" Actually, this series manages to be plenty original despite echoes of The X-Files and the 1970s cult classic The Night Stalker. Paul Blackthorne stars as Harry Dresden, a scruffy Chicago private eye whose gift comes in handy for children menaced by skinwalkers, or for offering Lt. Murphy (Valerie Cruz) of the Chicago police "an unconventional point of view" concerning grisly, bizarre cases involving werewolves, vampires, and other decidedly unfriendly spirits. The Dresden Files is a paranormal noir (para-noir?) that deftly balances genuine scares, hard-boiled moxie, and tongue-in-cheek humor, delivered with panache by "Bob" (Terrance Mann), an ancient English spirit who resides in a skull and gives.Harry supernatural assistance. Harry's backstory--magician father, wizard mother, treacherous uncle--is revealed over the course of these 12 episodes. The eighth broadcast episode, "Things That Go Bump," was reportedly intended as the series pilot, and may be the best place to start. But Harry's world-weary voice-over in the classic tradition ("If you're a wizard and you fail, people can end up dead") keeps viewers oriented. Low ratings made The Dresden Files disappear, making this DVD set welcome for the series' hardcore fans who mounted the ultimately unsuccessful letter-writing campaign to save Dresden from the "Brilliant, but Cancelled" files. But even those who are unfamiliar with Butcher's books or are not on the Sci-Fi Channel's wavelength will be charmed. --Donald Liebenson
| Customer Reviews: |
|
| |
| More like 3.5, but I may be biased. |
| Customer Rating: 3 out of 5 |
 |
|
Ok, here's the deal. While the producers didn't go out of their way to make this clear, "The Dresden Files" is NOT an original series. It's based off of a series of books by Jim Butcher by the same name. The reason it only gets 3.5 stars in my book has less to do with an actual dislike of the series, and more disappointment in what it could have been. The books are, beyond question, the BEST ones I have ever read (move over, Harry Potter and Eragon). If they had stuck more closely to the origninal material, this would be a 5 star series still in production.
|
| Gets better every time I watch it |
| Customer Rating: 5 out of 5 |
 |
|
I have not yet read the books that this series was based on so I have no real frame of reference as far as how faithful it was, but based on its own merits I thought it was really good. Some of the creature effects could have been a little better, but given the budget they probably had to work with I thought they did rather well. The interplay and banter between Harry and Bob is quite good, and is usually very humorous. I liked the fact that it was usually like a detective story more than a straight-up supernatural problem. The supernatural element was a large part of the show, as anyone who knows anything about this series would know, but the life of Harry Dresden is quite compelling overall. The things he goes through between trying to pay his bills doing consultant work for the police department, dealing with paranormal activity, and being under constant scrutiny by fellow magic users makes the drama of his life interesting. Plus, there is a large factor of rewatchability. So buy this as quickly as you can and watch it more than once.
|
| Better Than the Books |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
 |
|
I picked this up on a whim, and I kind of liked it. Since film adaptations of books invariably veer from the source material, I gave the books a try, and found I liked the series better. In the books, it seems to me Harry is a keg of dynamite looking to explode of someone, and it's hard to root for someone with anger management issues.
In the series, Harry is just as scruffy, but a lot more likeable mostly because he often finds himself on the short end of the stick. Being able to see Bob also added a more human touch to the series, and Murphy just wasn't some excuse for Harry to get cases; she had some depth to her.
Now that I discovered it, I wish it could have gotten another chance, but oh well. Give this one a try if you can find it.
|
| Three star story, three star casting/acting, one star production values. |
| Customer Rating: 2 out of 5 |
 |
|
The first thing I did after putting the DVD in was hunt frantically for subtitles; it's nearly impossible to make out the dialogue over the overmiked bgm and sound effects.
There are no subtitles available on the DVD.
This makes the show almost unwatchable.
The reinterpretation of the Dresden story (he wakes up with a lady in the opening scenes, his father knew about his magical abilities, Bob is a semi-effete platinum blond guy who only occasionally (probably because it interrupts his brotherly psychoanalytic love) has to re-enter the skull he lived in in the book) is something I should keep an open mind about in this review, and the casting and acting (I'm still trying to make it through the second episode) are average for a low-budget TV show on its first episode.
I really want to like this series. I just finished the first book and am prepared to love almost anything labeled with the word Dresden, even if it's a TV show ghostwritten by someone who only read the back covers of the novels.
If I could just hear what the characters were saying, maybe I could summon enough interest to finish watching these DVDs instead of wandering off to write this review.
|
| Dresden Files Review |
| Customer Rating: 4 out of 5 |
|
|
I loved this series, why did they have to go and cancel is after the 1st season. It was only a handfull of episodes and most were just the beginning of what happens in the books written by Jim Butcher. The only thing a would have to say was disapointing was that there was not enough bonus content on the season. Overall it was a great value $22.99(CND) I really hope they do choose to continue the series sometime in the near future.
|
|
