October 13, 2015
Mad Men - The Final Season - Part 2
Kilian Melloy READ TIME: 2 MIN.
With the Blu-ray release of "Mad Men: The Final Season, Part 2," you can finally have that definitive binge viewing festival of the 1960s-era fashion, picaresque alpha maleness, and retro Americana that defined Matt Weiner's trendsetting television landmark.
Over the course of its seven seasons, "Mad Men" traced the entirely of the 1960s. The first episode was set at the end of the '50s; the final hour takes place late in 1970. In between there's a whole evolution not just of American society, but of a cadre of indelible characters. Horndog men learn something about the virtues of love, enlightenment, and inner peace; women start to burst free of cultural constraints on their personal and professional development.
The show's enigmatic finale is given just a little bit of clarification in the audio commentary track recorded by Weiner and star Jon Hamm. Elsewhere in this two-disc set's extras you'll find video essays on women in the workplace as the '60s ended and the '70s set in like a series of aftershocks to the cultural upheavals of the previous decade. Equally intriguing is a featurette on the Baby Boomers, who were the driving demographic behind the sudden re-shaping of the cultural landscape (not to mention the catalyst for how markets shifted focus, turning traditional hierarchies into a youth culture).
Not quite so engaging: A short featurette on the first Earth Day (which took place in 1970), a Who's Who of famous people (mostly musicians) who lived in L.A.'s Laurel Canyon, and a synopsis/timeline of the advertising firms of the era: Who started which firm, who left to begin their own ventures, etc. An advertising history geek would thrill to this; for anyone else, it's a mildly interesting bit of background information.
If you've been collecting these sets as they come out, this is the end of the road -- and the start of the party. "Mad Men" will remain a classic for decades to come. If you never invested in a Blu-ray of the previous seasons, you're in luck: Along with this final season release, there's also a complete series set hitting the shelves.
"Man Men: The Final Season, Part 2"
Blu-ray
$24.99
http://www.amc.com/shows/mad-men/exclusives/shop
Kilian Melloy serves as EDGE Media Network's Associate Arts Editor and Staff Contributor. His professional memberships include the National Lesbian & Gay Journalists Association, the Boston Online Film Critics Association, The Gay and Lesbian Entertainment Critics Association, and the Boston Theater Critics Association's Elliot Norton Awards Committee.
