DVD Review: Twin Peaks: The Definite Gold Box Edition

Definitive Gold Box Edition of the series that became one of television’s most acclaimed events finally arrives – with all 29 episodes plus both the original and European versions of the pilot – on October 30, 2007 from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. Considered both technically and artistically revolutionary when it debuted, TWIN PEAKS™ garnered 18 Emmy® nominations over the course of its two-season run with its cast of memorable characters, stunning cinematography and intriguing plot. Co-creators David Lynch and Mark Frost and a large number of the cast and crew have returned to participate in this extraordinary new collection.

This 10-disc set includes “Greetings from Twin Peaks” collectable postcards and a plethora of special features, including hours of newly-minted bonus content, featuring exclusive cast and crew interviews and rare footage never before released on DVD, produced by award-winning DVD producer Charles de Lauzirika (“Alien Quadrilogy,” “Spider-Man 2: Special Edition,” “Blade Runner: The Final Cut.”)
Thought to have been lost forever, a selection of deleted scenes has been unearthed for this collection and approved by David Lynch, offering viewers additional clues and background on some of their favorite characters and locations in the series.

The collection showcases the phenomenon that was TWIN PEAKS with such archival nuggets as the “Saturday Night Live” opening monologue and “Twin Peaks” sketch featuring Kyle MacLachlan, the “Falling” music video featuring Julee Cruise, the Richard Beymer behind-the-scenes photo gallery, original network promo spots and many more rare gems!
Newly remastered from the original negative and personally approved by David Lynch, the episodes have never looked better. Moreover, viewers will have the option of enjoying the episodes in either new 5.1 Surround Sound or the original 2.0 network television audio.

Review:
I was pretty excited when I sat down to review this collection. I had heard so much about it in comparison to Veronica Mars, which still holds a dear place in my heart.

This series was well ahead of its time to say the least. David Lynch did an unbelievable job at setting up this world within Twin Peaks where absolutely nothing was as it seemed. The series has humor, suspense, and characters that have such incredible depth to them. The series surrounds the death of the beautiful Lauren Palmer. When her body washes up on shore in the small town, it’s a tragedy that the whole town feels. Agent Dale Cooper, played by Kyle MacLaclan, is assigned to the case. MacLachlan’s character brings a much needed lighter tone to the series as everything seems to constantly get more and more strange. The town has no shortage of secrets that seem to surface as the episodes unfold from love affairs to town crazies to corporate evilness, everyone has something to hide. While this series starts off as murder mystery, it quickly becomes something much darker and deeper.

So beyond the goodness of the actual writing and acting what do you have to look forward to? I’m always all about the extras that come with dvd sets, and this one does a pretty good job considering the time frame when this show aired. You get 12 postcards from a set of 60, you can go to the website to see the rest of them. You also get both the US and international versions of the pilot, deleted scenes, an exclusive documentary, the log lady intros, interactive map, on-air promos, rare photos, features such as “A Slice of Lynch” and “Return to Twin Peaks”, the SNL sketch and Kyle MacLachlan’s monologue, the “Falling” music video, and more!

So overall, if you were a Twin Peaks’ fan, then you’ll be in heaven with this set. If you’re new to the scene, you’ll be glad that you checked this one out. It’s rare to see a series that spans a story across an entire season these days, and if you enjoy that format as well as good drama, then you’ll love this series.

Review by Emma Loggins

Grade: A+
Official site: http://www.greetingsfromtwinpeaks.com/
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