Why So Blu?

Breaking Bad: The Fifth Season Cooks on Blu-ray This June

I have to admit, I never heard much about this show other than my reviewer Aaron Neuwirth mentioning it over the past 4 years.  Best Buy had a sale this past winter on the Blu-ray sets.  I said what the heck and bought seasons one and two.  I was hooked.  And then much to my surprise, every one around me was too and we were all talking about it like religious fanatics.  I even bought the digital files last December to catch all the way up with Season 5.  And that’s my lead in to today’s topic…Breaking Bad: The Fifth Season has a Blu-ray release date.  And that date…drum roll please…is June 4th.  The Blu-ray will feature such bonuses as cast and crew commentaries, all-new featurettes, outtakes, deleted scenes, audition and rehearsal footage and much much more.  I can tell you all about this, but why don’t you read the facts below.  You know you wanna!

CULVER CITY, CALIF. (April 1, 2013) – Walter White’s transformation from high school chemistry teacher to full-blown, ruthless drug lord continues on Sony Pictures Television’s critically acclaimed drama series on AMC, BREAKING BAD: THE FIFTH SEASON, available on Blu-ray^™ and DVD June 4^th or available now for DigitalDownload from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment (SPHE).  The highly anticipated fifth season reunites Bryan Cranston, three-time Best Actor Emmy^® winner and winner of this year’s Best Male Screen Actors Guild^® Award, with two-time Emmy Winner Aaron Paul (Best Supporting Role).  The Fifth Season Blu-ray and DVD feature an eight-minute, uncensored bonus scene, “Chicks ‘N’ Guns,” written and produced exclusively for the home entertainment release.  Starring Aaron Paul, Bob Odenkirk (TV’s “How I Met Your Mother”), and Charles Baker (Splinter), the scene tells the pivotal back story to episode 508 in the fifth season, “Gliding Over All.”

“The extra scene we created exclusively for the Blu-ray and DVD proves just how much the relationship between Jesse and Walt has drastically changed over the past five seasons of BREAKING BAD,” said Vince Gilligan, show creator. “Chicks ‘N’ Guns is an original idea that presents fans with a pivotal missing moment during episode 508, Gliding Over All.  Writers Jenn Carroll and Gordon Smith, and Director Michelle MacLaren, did a fantastic job bringing it to life, and I think fans will love it.”

BREAKING BAD: THE FIFTH SEASON comes as a three-disc Blu-ray and four-disc DVD set, including cast and crew commentary on every episode, deleted scenes, outtakes, audition and rehearsal footage, and all-new featurettes.

 

BREAKING BAD also stars Anna Gunn (TV’s “Deadwood”), Dean Norris (“TV’s “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”), Betsy Brandt (Magic Mike), RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, and Jonathan Banks (Identity Thief).  It was created by writer/director/producer Vince Gilligan (TV’s “The X-Files”), who also served as executive producer with Academy Award^® winner Mark Johnson (Rain Man, 1988’s Best Picture) and Michelle MacLaren (TV’s “The X-Files”). Co-executive producers of the series include Melissa Bernstein, Sam Catlin (TV’s “Canterbury’s Law”), George Mastras (TV’s “The Dresden Files”), Peter Gould (TV’s “Too Big To Fail”), and Thomas Schnauz (TV’s “The X-Files”).  Moira Walley-Beckett (TV’s “Pan Am”) served as supervising producer with Stewart A. Lyons as Line Producer/UPM. Cranston and Diane Mercer (TV’s “Arrested Development”) are producers of the series.

 

Synopsis
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Bryan Cranston and Aaron Paul return in their Emmy® winning roles of meth cooks Walter White and Jesse Pinkman in the fifth explosive season of Breaking Bad. With Gus Fring dead, Walt’s transformation from a well-meaning family man to a ruthless drug kingpin is nearly complete. Forming a partnership with Jesse and Mike (Jonathan Banks), Walt proceeds to make a killing until the fruits of his murderous schemes are threatened by a new development in the investigation led by Hank (Dean Norris). Executive produced by Vince Gilligan and Mark Johnson.

BREAKING BAD: THE FIFTH SEASON episodes include: Live Free or Die, Madrigal, Hazard Pay, Fifty-One, Dead Freight, Buyout, Say My Name, Gliding Over All

 

Blu-ray™ Exclusive Special Features Include:

• Two all-new featurettes:
  • “Scene by Scene: Directors Discuss Memorable Moments” provides the directors’ experience making the show.
  • “The Writers of Breaking Bad” gives the writers a turn to show viewers what it’s really like to work together and create amazing scripts.

 

Blu-ray & DVD Special Features Include:

• “Chicks ‘N’ Guns” is a scene created and produced exclusively for the home entertainment release.
  Certain that the DEA dragnet that sent Mike fleeing is about to close around him, Jesse enlists Skinny Pete and a stripper to help him forget his

woes…until Saul arrives and gives him something entirely new to fear.

• Cast & crew commentaries on every episode
• Deleted scenes
• Outtakes
• Three all-new featurettes:
  • “Nothing Stops This Train” takes viewers on location to see what a huge undertaking it is to film a modern-day train heist.
  • “The Cleaner: Jonathan Banks as Mike” gives viewers a chance to spend time with fan-favorite Cleaner, Jonathan Banks, as he talks about his time with the show.
  • “Chicks ‘N’ Guns: Behind-the-Scenes” shows how the scene came to be, going behind the scenes with Aaron Paul and Bob Odenkirk as it’s filmed.
• “Writers’ Room Timelapse” takes viewers through the entire breaking of episode “Fifty-One” with commentary from the writers.
• Laura Fraser & Jesse Plemons audition footage
• Prison stunt rehearsal footage
• “Gallery 1988 Art Show” features artwork inspired by the show
• “Chris Hardwick’s All-Star Celebrity Bowling” features team Breaking Bad going head to head with team Nerdist to raise money for charity.
• Inside Breaking Bad: 19 episodes that give a behind-the-scenes look of what it takes to create an episode

 

Today, iTunes will digitally debut the BREAKING BAD Deluxe Edition Season 3, including more than 10 hours of special features including uncensored episodes, commentaries, featurettes and more. Also available on iTunes is theBREAKING BAD Deluxe Edition Seasons 1 and 2, featuring more than 50 minutes of bonus features, including uncensored episodes, interviews with the cast and creators, deleted scenes, a music video and more. The Deluxe Edition Season 4 will be available in May, with Deluxe Editions for the Fifth and Final seasons to follow. (www.iTunes.com/breakingbad/)

 

iTunes Deluxe Editions Special Features

Season 1 & 2 – More than 50 minutes of bonus features:

All seven uncensored first season episodes and an uncensored episode from season two (episode 206), cast and crew commentary, “Making of Breaking Bad” featurette, deleted scenes, “Inside Breaking Bad” featurette, “Negro y Azul” music video, Better Call Saul commercials and six Breaking Bad Original Webisodes

 

Season 3 – More than 10 hours of bonus features:

Three uncensored episodes (episode 303 “I.F.T.”, episode 305 “Mas,” and episode 310 “Fly”), cast and crew commentary on nine episodes with Vince Gilligan, Byran Cranston, Aaron Paul, Anna Gunn, Dean Norris, Betsy Brandt, RJ Mitte, Bob Odenkirk, Jonathan Banks and more, six behind-the-scenes featurettes – Inside Breaking Bad (“Silent But Deadly: The Brothers Moncada,” “White Heat: Cranston on Fire,” “Pizza of Destiny: Cranston’s Greatest Shot,” “Team S.C.I.E.N.C.E.,” “The Music of Breaking Bad,” and “Hit and Run”), mini video podcasts with the cast and crew on every episode, Better Call Saul commercials and testimonials, and 20 episodes of Inside Breaking Bad

 

Broadcast Year: 2012 (AMC)

 

BREAKING BAD: THE FIFTH SEASON has a run time of approximately 566 minutes and is not rated.