Game of Thrones: S7

This is a good season with some amazing set pieces and a quickened pace towards what will ultimately be the climax of the show. The only problem is that the pace, while kind of nice, feels very out of place with the rest of the show. Sometimes, it would take almost an entire season for a group to reach their intended destination; and in this season, it would take only an episode even though it should have been a long journey. Some things that I would have liked to have seen were only touched on because of this. It doesn't ruin the season, as it's still very exciting, but I think the decision shorten to 7 episodes was a mistake. I'd also like to note that the digital file IS available to be redeemed on iTunes, as have been all of the other GoT seasons. Also, the digital copy appears to redeem ALL 7 SEASONS of the show, not just season 7. It did this both on iTunes and Vudu, but the redemption code card only made mention of season 7, not all seasons. The seasons don't appear to have the short extra featurettes that came with the other season redemptions, and the episodes are all listed together under "season 0" in iTunes. So this means, having all seasons in iTunes, I have seasons 0 (from this blu ray), 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6. This is kind of annoying since it's organized so poorly.

Game Of Thrones season 7 Winter is here awesome season but only 7 episodes in this season.👍👍10/10

The continuing saga of Westeros, and finally, what we've all been waiting for, the Winter comes. Cersie is the 1st ever ruling queen, and is making herself one heck of a bed to lie in. Some Greyjoys fall, some Greyjoys rise. Sansa, Arya and Bran Stark are back at Winterfell, Bran being almost not human. Drogon, Viserion and Rhaegal, Danerys' dragons, stun and horrify. Trivia: What happens when Danerys says "Dracarys"? If you purchase Season 7 on BluRay or DVD discs, you have audio and subtitle choices: Audio: English, French, Spanish and Portuguese (Brazilian) Subtitles: English SDH, French, Spanish, Portuguese (Brazilian). Note, if you have subtitles on while listening to a commentary track, the subtitles are still of the show's dialogue, not the commentary dialogue. In the commentary tracks, most of the people commenting have not seen the episode before they gathered for the recording. I like a good commentary, and thought the commentaries for this season varied in interest. Bonus Features galore! I highly recommend bonuses J and K, and also some of the Commentary tracks. DISC 1 ...episode 1... "Dragonstone" Arya comes out swinging. ...episode 2.... "Stormborn" It's the days before texting. When you don't find out your stepbrother is King except by accident. ...Bonus Features: ...A... Commentary track on episode 1, "Dragonstone", by Jeremy Podeswa (director), Gwendoline Christie (plays Brienne) and John Bradley (plays Samwise Tarly). Gwendoline, who has a wonderful huge laugh, "After that opener, everyone's going to feel like they got hit by a bicycle." Pretty good commentary. ...B...1st of 2 Commentary tracks on episode 2, "Stormborn", by Gemma Whelan (plays Yara Greyjoy), Jacob Anderson (plays Greyworm) and Nathalie Emmanuel (plays Missandei). ...C...2nd of 2 Commentary tracks on episode 2, by Bryan Cogman (producer/writer), Barrie Gower (prosthetic supervisor), Pilou Asbek (plays Euron Greyjoy) and Rowley Irlam (stunt coordinator). Cogman, on the scene where Qyburn shows Cersei his scorpion: "Essentially, she [Daenerys] arrived with nukes [her dragons]. So, how do you write a war story when one side seems to really have the upper hand?" Irlam: "[It's a ] zipper shot – where two armies meet." Recommended commentary. DISC 2 ...episode 3... "The Queen's Justice" Favorite quote: Tyrion, "At some point, I want to hear how a Night's Watch recruit became King of the North." Jon Snow: "As long as you tell me how a Lannister became Hand to Daenerys Targaryen." Tyrion: "A long and bloody tale. To be honest, I was drunk for most of it." ...episode 4... "The Spoils of War" The Loot Train Battle is magnificent. ...Bonus Features: ...D... Commentary track on episode 3, "The Queen's Justice", by Bernadette Caulfield (executive producer), Deborah Riley (production designer) and Michele Clapton (costume designer). Caulfield mentions Zumaia beach (see the wonderful Bonus Feature J): "It's very special for the particular strata that the beach features. There's only 8 kilometers worth of it. Geologists from all over the world will travel to see it." ...E... 1st of 2 Commentary tracks on episode 4, "The Spoils of War", by Matt Shakman (director), Rob McLachlan (director of photography), Sam Conway (special effects supervisor) and Chris Plevin (camera operator). McLachlan explains the preparation done for shooting the Loot Train Battle: "We were there several months in advance and used some of the wonderful apps hou can get on your phone that tells you exactly where the sun is going to be months later. We could choose our shooting directions appropriately, and the big reason that we try to do that and keep it as backlit as we can, is Mother Nature supplies you with a really beautiful light, if you look the right direction at the right time of day." Conway tells how they set a stunt man record. And then there's incredible horsemanship. Recommended commentary. ...F... 2nd of 2 Commentary tracks on episode 4, by Chris Newman (producer), Joe Bauer (visual effects supervisor) and Steve Kullback (visual effects producer). Listen to this for a full explanation of how they shoot the scenes with Daenerys riding the dragon as it shoots fire. Also, "Every time there's a scene that takes place on a ship in Game of Thrones, it was all happening on the same deck of the same ship that's mocked up in a parking lot in Belfast, Northern Ireland." DISC 3 ...episode 5... "Eastwatch" Samwell Tarly is a lowly scribe at the Citadel, and it's not quite what he had envisioned. But he is going to save the day. Just when we think the writers have totally forgotten a character, someone comes bouncing back in a big way. "Safety is never a permanent state of affairs." ...episode 6... "Beyond the Wall" The subtitle could be "Needs Must and Strange Bedfellows". Am I the only one rooting for Tormond Giantsbane in his adoration of Brienne of Tarth? It's an extraordinary twist with Viserian. ...Bonus Features: ...G... 1st of 2 Commentary tracks on episode 5, "Eastwatch", by Dave Hill (writer), Matt Shakman and Rob McLachlan. McLacklan, on the scene of Jon Snow, Daenerys and the dragon at the cliff edge: "We had to have a safety cable on Kit [Harington, who plays Snow], here, because his cloak was blowing so much we were afraid he was gonna be swept off the cliff." Shakman has a terse comment on the scenes of Bran's 'seeing': "This raven, very hard to work with." Recommended commentary track. ...H... 2nd of 2 Commentary tracks on episode 5, with Liam Cunningham (plays Davos Seaworth) and Iain Glen (plays Jorah Mormont). Glen asks Cunningham, "What are you going to feel like when it's all over?" Cunningham, "I've been trying to prepare myself for the last year.... Off you're going, back to obscurity." Glen: "Bereft." Cunningham: "Yeah. It's all right for anybody listening to this, it's all right for you. When this is over, you'll find something else to fall in love with. Our lives are essentially over. Yes. My bank manager's crapping himself." Good commentary track, though these two old pros do get caught up in just watching the show. ...I... Commentary track on episode 6, "Beyond the Wall", with Alan Taylor (director), Jonathan Freemen (director of photography) and Sean Savage and David Morgan (camera operators). Taylor, on the rigors of the schedule: "I remember coming back [he hadn't directed an episode of GOT for a few years], I guess I'd gotten soft in my other jobs. We're going out and it was pouring rain and I kept looking around waiting for someone to say, 'OK, let's pack it in.' Nobody said anthing.... Finally, I went up to Toby and said, 'What if it keeps pouring, what do we do?' And he said, 'Oh, we keep shooting.' " Good commentary track. DISC 4 ...episode 7, season finale... "The Dragon and the Wolf" We say goodbye to another character, and I'm not sure if I'm sorry to see him leave or not. Sensa Stark: "I'm a slow learner. It's true. But I learn." And a whole family dynasty is rewritten. ....Bonus Features: ...J... "From Imagination to Reality: Inside the Art Department" (Part 1: 24 minutes, Part 2: 22 minutes) A full list of the 40 commentators is added as a note to this review. Deborah Riley, on working on "Game Of Thrones": "Working in the art department is like an extreme sport." In this 2-part Bonus, among many other things, we're taken through decisions made on the creation of Dragonstone (castle on the island), Skull Room (in the basement of King's Landing), Dragon Pit (outside of King's Landing), Highgarden (base of the Tyrells), Map Rooms (at Dragonstone and the new floor at King's Landing) and the Citadel (Westeros' version of the Alexandria Library). All of these locations are new, except for the Dragonstone Map Room which was revamped for Season 7. And WHAT locations! Daenerys' beach landing below Dragonstone castle is Zumaia Beach in Spain. It's rock formations echo dragon's teeth. And the long stairway wending up from the beach to Dragonstone are real, the stair and causeway leading to the island chapel of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. Also real is the Italica Coliseum, built by the Romans and used for the Dragon Pit. They CGI'd in the tall walls, and covered over the rectangular hole in the middle. But they used the long pit extending to the coliseum entrance as the underground ramp up which the Hound carries the crate with the wight. Highgarden Castle scenes (and what a scene between Jaime and Lady Olenna Tyrell) were filmed at Almodovar Castle, again in Spain. It has turrets galore and sits high on a hill overlooking the valley and a river. ...K... "Fire and Steel: Creating the Invasion of Westeros" (30 minutes) Commentators include Bryan Cogman, Emilia Clarke (plays Daenerys), Dave Hill (story editor), Peter Dinklage (plays Tyrion), Nikolai Coster Waldail (plays Jaime), Keisha Castle-Hughes (plays Obara Sand), Rowley Irlam, Eric Carney (VFX), Frank Doelger (producer), Joe Bauer and Jerome Flynn (plays Bronn). Joe Bauer says: "In season 6 we had 11 shots that featured Emilia riding the dragon. This year, we have over 80." ...L... 1st of 2 Commentary tracks on episode 7, "The Dragon and the Wolf", by David Benioff and D.B. Weiss (both producers/writers), Lena Headey (plays Cersei) and Kit Harington. ...M... 2nd of 2 Commentary tracks on episode 7, with Jeremy Podesta (director) and Greg Middleton (director photography). BONUS DISC In a separate disc holder is "Game of Thrones: Conquest & Rebellion, An Animated History of the Seven Kingdoms." I found this delightful. Produced in 2017, this starts with the city of Valyria across the sea, "through magic or sheer will, they mastered the greatest creatures in history." That is, they had dragons. In 10 chapters, this 45 minute featurette takes you from Valyeria to Dragonstone and right up to the beginning of the first episode of Season 1. You'll recognize the various narrators, all characters in the TV series. This disc has audio options of English, French and Chinese language. And subtitle options of English SDH, French, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese, and two others. With "Game of Thrones", I'm not just a Happy Reader, I'm a Happy Watcher. Now we're all on tenterhooks waiting for the last season.

Got this for my wife. I didn't want to like it or get into it but I did. I think the series got better over the years but the series end was disappointing.

++++Warning, this will contain spoilers from the previous season, but no major giveaways from season 7++++ I will not go into great detail about the season's storylines because it is impossible to do so without giving too much away. But, this season (which is the second to last season) basically is setting up the two major conflicts, the battle against the army of the dead, and who will rule the 7 kingdoms if the army of the dead are defeated. It picks up shortly after the events of last season with Daenerys finally crossing the sea and coming home, Jon having won the battle of the bastards and being proclaimed King of the North, and Cersei claiming the iron throne after getting her revenge on pretty much everyone last season. This season sees the first skirmish between the two sides, then each side having to figure out how to deal with the white walkers. For extras, there is at least one commentary track (some episodes have a couple different commentary tracks) and in-episode guides for every episode. Then on the last disc, there are about an hour's worth of making of and behind the scenes materials and a handful of animated shorts on the history and lore of the seven kingdoms. There is also a separate disc with the animated Conquest & Rebellion story, which basically sets up everything that happened up to season 1 of the series, some of which may show up in live action when the spin-off show(s) are made in a few years. Overall, the show is what it is, and most people know by now what it is like. There is still a lot of sex and violence, although the sex has probably been toned down a bit this year. So if either of those turns you off to a show, then you still will not be into the series. I would say that not as many main characters die this year as have in the past, but it is clearly whittling the number of characters down. Obviously, the show is now ahead of the books, and it is not clear how the two stories will ultimately match up when the series is over and George Martin finally finishes the books. That said, the showrunners have done a great job telling their story, and this season sets up which should be a very action-packed, and hopefully satisfying end. It continues to be well written and acted, and the visuals, both in practical and special effects look great on blu-ray for those who do get the discs. The only drawback this season is that the number of episodes is less than in the prior seasons (7 versus the 10 that had been the norm for the prior six seasons) although there are a couple longer episodes which offsets that a bit. I definitely recommend it.

MUST WATCH this series...it is uniquely and exquisitely acted, filmed, edited, and written. It is THE ONLY series I watch over and over again ... over a dozen times to date. The Amazon series also enhances the experience of reading the books. Honestly, this is an unusual thing, but the books have so many characters and so much detail that it is impossible to grasp it in just a few readings. Now that I've watched all the available GOT seasons on video, it is great fun to reread the books, pick up new information I missed in previous readings, and find all the events in the books that differ from those in the GOT videos. The HBO GOT movies are the most amazing and highest quality I have EVER experienced. MUCH better than movies I've seen in theaters. Honestly, if you have not seen this entire series, you are missing out on the most amazing film EVER MADE. You will never forget the stories, actors, locations, and production quality. And, you will never stop thinking about it all. DO view the commentaries; they will give you a much deeper appreciation for the research and care put into this production.

If you already have the previous six seasons, going for the next one is almost a given. You can expect the same quality in production, looking and sounding very good in any kind of set up. Missing is the last season recap, although I’m not sure if that is because HBO never made one. There are plenty of additional features to go around, with the most interesting being the Conquest and Rebellion set of animated shorts (it comes in separate disk, in its own box). In terms of the season, well, it holds better watching the episodes back to back, and feels a lot less rushed (especially episode 3) than watching it week by week. The show has always been very character and dialog driven, and the lack of action sequences never felt as a loss. But this season, maybe because most of the characters still alive are not that prone to having long, insightful exchanges, felt rushed in some parts, and very slow in others (the first episode is almost all a set up). And that is even when you have one of the best sequences in the whole show (end of episode 4), and an amazing fight in the north, although for very questionable reasons. Overall, Season 7 of Game of Thrones is still better than most stuff out there, and production wise is top notch. But perhaps the lack of direction from the books, or the excess of freedom from not having a reference source, is very noticeable now. Here is hope Season 8 is an improvement.

The penultimate season for the Game of Thrones is a wild ride. (A quick add! The DVD comes with an animated short, voiced by fan favorites from the series that tells the story of what came prior to the First Season. The animation is very well done and does answer some common fan questions.) If you enjoyed the first six seasons then you simply owe it to yourself to watch this one. The acting is superb. The timing is first rate. The gratuitous sex has been reduced siginifcantly (though not entirely eliminated), and almost all of the plot lines are resolved save the largest. Winter is here, snuggle up, and prepare to be entertained. ** Spoilers Follow ** Littlefinger was behind every bad thing that happened in Westeros over the past 15 years- everything. Aura slits his throat at Sensa's direction. Jon Snow becomes the King in the North and pledged himself to the Mother of Dragons, much like his ancestor. By the by, incest continues to abound in the Dragons as Jon is actually a Dragon himself. Cersei agrees to fight alongside the the other two armies against the undead, tries to remit, and is rebuffed by Jaime. The dead use their new ice dragon to destroy the Wall, and the final scene sees the unstoppable horde marching south into the lands of the living.