Black Sails: The Complete Collection (Seasons 1-4) [Blu-ray] [Region2] Requires a Multi Region Player

Late to the party on this amazing series, but it's among one of my favorites now. I binged all four seasons from the library then had to have my own copy, and of course I couldn't resist something as shiny as the steelbook edition blu-ray set. The show itself is wonderful, full of complicated characters, minorities of all kinds (racial, gender, and sexual), and the kind of rage specific to those minorities when oppressed by mainstream society as they would have been at the time. It's a fantastic "what if" look at history, of what happens to stories when they are shaped and told by the victors, and weaves together historical figures (Blackbeard, Calico Jack, Anne Bonny, Woodes Rogers, etc) with characters from Treasure Island and original characters created for the series, all revolving around the true (and exaggerated/sensationalized) accounts of piracy based in Nassau while also serving as a prequel for the novel. There's plenty here for the pirate and/or history buff to enjoy, and for those who are familiar with Treasure Island, but more than enough for any viewers not well acquainted with either of those things as well.The first season is the weakest, with a slow setup and enough gratuitous sex scenes to rival Game of Thrones as well as a disappointing rape plotline, but once everything gets going it only gets better and better with each season. The whole cast is excellent and well lead by Toby Stephens as James Flint, one of the best characters I've ever seen on television. Each character is complex and carries their own backstories and motivations - no one is ever simply a hero or a villain, with good people doing horrible things and bad people doing good things along the way as everyone fights for survival. Each revelation about a character will shed light on something that happened earlier in the series, and every character grows and changes throughout the show. Try not to be spoiled for this one if you can!Production values start high and keep rising higher with each season. Battles start small then progress to full scale invasions of Spanish fleets. The series was filmed in and around Cape Town, South Africa, and really showcases the natural beauty of the region alongside the detailed setpieces. The underwater sequences are particularly impressive, as well as the storm in season 3.As for the steelbook set, for the most part it's very impressive. Each "book" contains two seasons, with the front and back artwork on each lining up to form one larger image on each side. The downside to the design is that multiple discs are stored on one "peg", making it difficult to just grab the disc you want from the pile. One of the pegs has 4 discs crammed onto it, so the top one doesn't always stay put properly. Season 1 is spread over three discs, while seasons 2 and 3 are on four discs, then season 4 only gets 2 discs. The extras are all over the place - they don't seem to be anything new that wasn't on other DVD releases, mostly one long behind-the-scenes interview with cast and crew that's chopped up into smaller "episodes" so that they tie in to each ep as you watch them, but they're nice to have. The little plastic sleeve is fine to keep the set together, but it's very easily scratched and smudged. The set in general seems to attract fingerprints, really.There's a different menu style for each season, with season 1 being the odd one out. It looks like it's the only season with subtitles and language options - there's a screen at the beginning where you choose the language, then the menu will come up. It's very minimalist, with only icons to select. The anchor is for "play all", the parchment page lets you select an episode, the ship's wheel has the setup options, and the arrow sends you back to the first language selection screen if you accidentally click the wrong one. All the other seasons have a more standard text-based menu screen (see pics, some of them are rather beautiful too look at).I just finished rewatching to test the discs, and every one played fine. Be aware that this is a region 2 blu-ray, so will only play on region-free/unlocked players in the US. There were two moments where the sound dropped out for a split second (and did so every time if rewound and played again), but that seems to happen randomly to some blu-rays and it wasn't during any dialogue, just background sounds, so it doesn't bother me that much. The picture is excellent, the colors are crisp and bright, and the sound is adequate on my system. Very happy to have this set in my collection!

Loved this story line. Kept me spellbound from the very first disk. Toby Stephens, as Captain James Flint impressed me a lot with his dramatic range and his portrayal of a tortured man who was finally able to confront his demons. He provided an unseen but perfectly plausible plot twist when you read about the epic stories of pirate behavior. Ray Stevenson was memorable as well in a smaller but pungent role as the keel haled Captain Edward Teach. Remarkable production when you realize these were real men, and historic events were for the most part true.

This was a birthday present for my boyfriend. We are sitting down and watching the series together. The special metal casing they came in was an added touch to the item. Very happy with it.

Season 1 played fine season 2 would not play so I purchased another blue Ray player for all regions however it still would not play. Season 3 would not play either both gave a message saying “ this blue Ray disc will play back on region B players only on both my old player and my new all region player. Season 4 played fine. Not pleased but chalking it up to a learning experience.

The product was delivered just as it was described. Great!

So far it's a really good show if you are into pirates, complete with good acting and story. I haven't finished it yet but hopefully it ends well.

This is a great tv show. The complete collection is a great way to collect the Black sails show.

The DVDs are stacked on top of each other so you have to take them all out to get to the next one. It also advertised that it comes with a steel book and it did not. We were disappointed for the false description. However it seems to be playing great and we really enjoy the show. It also came a day early.