Rating: 
Summary: One of my all-time favorites
Review: Love that show. A great show that didn't have to rely on special effects, but relied solely on emotion. A&E Network is re-running all of "Crime Story" on Monday nights at 8 p.m. central time. I'm taping them, but if the series is released on DVD, I'm there.
Rating:
Summary: Yeah!!!
Review: Oh my Gawd!! I had no idea this was on DVD!! This was one of the best TV shows of the '80s and deserved a longer life. If you're thinking of getting it do not hesitate. Get it. You won't regret it. Now, if we could just PLEASE get ABC's 1991 drama "Homefront" on video life would be just about perfect. :)
Rating:
Summary: Yeah!!!
Review: Oh my Gawd!! I had no idea this was on DVD!! This was one of the best TV shows of the '80s and deserved a longer life. If you're thinking of getting it do not hesitate. Get it. You won't regret it. Now, if we could just PLEASE get ABC's 1991 drama "Homefront" on video life would be just about perfect. :)
Rating: 
Summary: Too good for TV
Review: OK I cannot comment on the quality of the DVD, but I must tell you I have nothing but fond memories of one of the great TV shows of the 80's. The Pilot (which oddly I just rented about 4 months ago) serves both as a stand alone crime drama, but also as an amazing spring board that does truly leave you wanting for more. With Dennis Farina in one of his early roles (same year as the GREAT Manhunter, and well before he became first a repeat of himself in the early 90's then found the perfect roles for himself in Get Shorty and Out of Sight) nailing the Lead Detective role to a T, David Caruso pre-King of New York and providing a hint of what would make him a good T.V. Star, and A.J. Denison providing one of the great TV badguys of the 80's (along with the vilians from "WiseGuy") and last but not least the great Able Ferrara, delivering a plot driven story that worked in a medium (tv) that was much tamer than his later explorations into crime (King of NY and Bad Lieutenant)yet delivered intensity that (for better or worse) leaves the viewer wishing that Michael Mann's incredibly stylish tv series (and CERTAINLY the better of his two tv efforts of the 80's, Miami Vice of course being the other) finds more of its episodes re-released soon.
Rating:
Summary: Super Series
Review: One of the Best TV series of the 80s. Too bad it only ran 2 seasons. Thanks to A&E for the reruns, but agree DVD of entire series is the way to go. Love the 60s Oldies music on the soundtrack. Do any of you experts out there know the name of the singer and/or song title playing at the end of the Julia Roberts episode?
Rating:
Summary: Action, music, style and substance
Review: This crime drama not only recreates a style, but has substance as well. Beneath the 1963 vintage cars, music and interiors is a character-driven story that concerns itself with the personal themes of justice and revenge. The show's 44 episodes can be summarized in this brilliant pilot film that introduces us to the trigger-happy police lieutenant Mike Torello, who sees himself as the guardian angel of Chicago. His nemesis is a stylish gangster-on-the-rise, Ray Luca. There is also a cast of secondary characters that includes some of the most memorable villains ever portrayed on television: Pauli Taglia, Frank Holman and Manny Weisbord. The pilot contains two superb action scenes: a car chase and a department store holdup, and also the start of a powerful theme, when Torello vows to avenge the murders of two friends. His determination to bring down Ray Luca and his organization confuses justice and revenge - a theme that is carried throughout the series up to its final (and controversial) episode. Yet, Lt. Torello, as played by Dennis Farina, is a complete character, unlike the "action heroes" of so many crime dramas. We see his sense of humor, his tensions with his wife, and he even weeps following the death of one of his officers. John Dennison's portrayal of Luca is equally substantive: his calculating mind, his interest in things like chess and modern jazz, and his stoic indifference to death (even his own!) And, of course, there's a good sampling of humor. Upon arriving at a murder scene, Torello looks at the corpses and remarks "This looks like a Jackson Pollack."
Rating:
Summary: No more VHS or Quality Extended Play!
Review: Two of my favourite shows of the Eighties were Crime Story (1986-1988)and Wiseguy (1987-1990). Both shows introduced the Arc format in which a compelling story was told over a number of episodes. Wiseguy kept it to around 10 (at most) but I remember reading an article in which the creators' of Crime Story envision each season as a 22 chapter novel. Back in the early 90's STARMAKER released the entire series on ten video tapes entitled Crime Story: The Complete Saga. This was fantastic at the time since I did not tape CS when it was on NBC. Some tapes were only 96 minutes (Pilot, Vol 5: Luca's Fall) but others lasted 144-288 minutes or higher (Part 2: The Mafia War, Part 9: Damaging Testimony). I believe these tapes may still be available on Amazon in the VHS section. Its fun to watch such notable actors as Kevin Spacey, Stanley Tucci, Julia Roberts, Laura San Giacoma, Gary Sinise (who also directed episodes of the show)and more early in their careers. Unfortunately, the video quality of these tapes were substandard as they were duplicated in something called Quality Extended Play which is really just SLP mode. And of course tracking became an issue depending on the quality of your VHS player. This has changed with the impending release of the Crime Story pilot on DVD. Although it appears to be a bare bones "movie-only" edition the video and audio can only be improved upon. Also, it appears Anchor Bay has taken care in creating new artwork for the DVD. Oddly enough, it looks like Anthony Denison is the good guy (Torello) instead of Luca. Perhaps this has occurred because of Farina's roles in such films as Midnight Run and Get Shorty? Hopefully, if the pilot sells well Anchor Bay may release the entire 2 seasons in a similar fashion to the recent X-Files DVD set. Hmm... maybe enough interest will be developed to provide a resolution to 1988's cliff hanger (I won't spoil here but its a corker!). Heck, even Wiseguy got a tv movie back in 1996 (with a regular Crime Story actor: Ted Levine as a villain).
Rating:
Summary: Release it all!!
Review: You-a tell-a dem, dey release-a alla dis series, I-a buy every one!! This was the ONLY intelligent and enteraining series ever to see television. (Which explains why it was cancelled....) This should have been made as a series of longer feature films and released in theaters.... ...nothing intelligent ever survives television. In TV, we're talking about a medium where shows like Survivor do well. My dog likes survivor. I don't.
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