True Detective: Season 3 [DVD] [2019]

Not my favourite of the 3 series, but having set a high bar it was going to be difficult to best the first 2.

Another great series

Strong performances all round, well shot (as all the TDs) and some captivating moments but overall I felt it was a little overlong and the final revelations were a little underwhelming. There is a lot of characterisation which I am not adverse to but I found it a little too overworked at times and felt the whole thing could have been 36% shorter! The first series is a difficult act to follow with its sprawling sense of lingering menace. Two and three certainly have their moments but feel more limited and less consequential.

By common consent Season 2 of True Detective was something of a car crash compared to the seminal heights achieved by Season 1. Now we come to Season 3 and it's a pleasure to confirm that the standards set by Season 1 have easily been equalled and to some extent surpassed due in no small part to a towering performance by Mahershala Ali as Wayne "Purple" Hays an ex Vietnam war veteran tracker who is now a Detective with the Arkansas State Police along with his partner Roland West portrayed by Stephen Dorff.The story is set in three timelines - 1980 when the original crime concerning two young children who go missing occurs then 1990 when the investigation is re-opened following new evidence coming to light and finally 2015 when Hays by now suffering from sporadic memory loss and hallucinations is consulted with a view to participating in a "true crime" TV documentary about both the 1980 and 1990 investigations.The action moves seamlessly through the various timelines and one is never left in any doubt as to which is which thanks to the locations in a number of towns and cities of Arkansas that are utilised together with high production values generally. All the actors perform at the peak of their powers and even the minor supporting parts command one's attention throughout.To avoid spoiling other viewers enjoyment I will refrain from detailing the intrincicases of the plot - suffice it to say that the story and it's ramifications for all involved is entirely credible whilst at the same time casting a light upon social attitudes both as to crimes and people's reactions to them which were prevalent at the time up to the present day.All in all Series 3 is highly recommended viewing and I have no doubt will bear repeated viewings in the future.Extras : Designing The Decades / Music Of Season 3 / Finale Extended Cut / Deleted Scenes.Audio : English / French / Latin Spanish / Castilian Spanish / German and Italian.Subtitles : English SDH / French / Latin Spanish / Castilian Spanish / German / Italian SDH / Danish / Dutch / Finnish / Norwegian and Swedish.

THE ONLY ONE OUTSTANDING ITEM..

Watch that instead. It's much better. But this is better than season 2, so hey not a disaster.

We have been fans of the series since the first season. However curiously enough and contrary to popular opinion we liked the second season more than the first. Season 1 had an extremely strong start but eventually got too much drawn out into a bungled and underwhelming end. The second season though not benefitting from iconic characters and cast of actors, was the reverse; starting slow and ending with a lot of excitement.We’ve now began to watch this third series. And I ‘m glad we did. It has a very strong, atmospheric start in an obscure part of Arkansas. The characters are intense and curious. With the series‘ colours, tones and mournful soundtrack all adding to the ‘noir’.Mahershala Ali does an effective job as an ex Vietnam tracker whose life is phenomenally depicted in three stages each separated by a decade.Again there is a dramatic unresolved mystery that rapidly builds and that stretches over decades. There is a range of suspicious characters. And, somewhat to my surprise, there seem to be some tie back to the first series, which perhaps leads into an overacting story across seasons, very interesting.We bought this series on Prime.It has excellent picture quality and a great score. It’s very immersive to watch on a proper screen with the right sound set up.Great season again; it simply worth seeing this very compelling story. It pulls you in straight away.

No spoilers.I loved True Detective season 1, but like many others found season 2 disappointing.Thankfully season 3 is back on form and is a credit to the writers and cast.I can't really pick out anything wrong with this season, but still prefer season 1. The only thing that I can put it down to is the plot of the first being more compelling.

The 3 DVDs were in excellent condition and the I thoroughly enjoyed watching them. HOWEVER - the case was damaged severely. I'm grateful the DVDs were not damaged

This is just great. While the second season had been a let down, the third season of True Detective just makes it up. What an amazing show. This season is even slightly better than season 1. I highly recommend to watch this in English. It might be difficult but without the original voices the whole experience is just not the same.