Rating: 
Summary: Two reasons to get this collection.
Review: Number one is "A Call to Arms" - Other than the "The Gathering" and "In The Beginning", which have already been released, this is by far the best of the remaining movies. Number two is the inclusion of commentaries. JMS's commentaries are some of best, so even if you had the first movie disk, this collection has something to offer. I, for one, am glad that "The Legend of the Rangers" is nowhere near this collection. Makes it easier to pretend that atrocity never existed.
Rating:
Summary: Good, though not essential
Review: Of course seeing the pilot is tremendously good background on how the original vision was transformed. And the other movies are pretty good. Particularly strong are ITB and ACTA.
I'm a bit disappointed the Legend of the Rangers movie wasn't included - to make a truly complete B5 Movie DVD set, especially since AFAIK this is currently unavailable.
Rating:
Summary: Gathering up the B5 movies into one set...
Review: Some reveiwers have indicated a specific order for watching the B5 movies. While "The Gathering" and "In the Beginning" are both essential at filling out the background of the show, they you can easily enjoy the 5 seasons of the series without having viewing any of these. On the other hand, it does fill in quite a bit of information on the series but, again, the events depicted in these two first TV movies are actually hinted at throughout the entire run of the series.
That said, the transfers here look and sound about as good as the last three seasons of B5. "The Gathering" improves slightly on the previous DVD release that, and the fact that it has a commentary track, should entice viewers that have it already. The same can be said for the static "In the Beginning". I personally found that this TV movie was a bit disappointing as it spelled out what had been hinted at and throughout the series. It also features some scenes that showed up later on in the series (particularly those involving the show's original lead Michael O'Hare). Both tend to look a bit grainy at times and the underlit scenes are not well served by the DVDs. It would probably have benefited both these (and the TV movie "Thirdspace")with transfers onto a dual later DVD with more space allocated to the visual part of the picture. "The Gatering" is the pilot episode of "B5" and the only movie presented in full screen. Commander Sinclair (O'Hare)presides over a ceremony greeting the Vorlon ambassador. It will be the first time humanity has had direct contact with the Vorlons. Unfortunately, ambassador Kosh of the Vorlons is attacked by a lone assassin. When Kosh's mind is read it appears that the assassin is....John Sinclair. Security Chief Michael Garabaldi (Jerry Doyle) and Sinclair have limited time to discover who is behind the murder and why they are trying to pin it on the commander. "In the Beginning" portrays key incidents from the Earth-Minbari war involving both Sinclair and John Sheridan who will inherit Sinclair's job as commander of B5 during the second season of the series. We see how the war began due to a miscommunication between two species that have more similarities than differences.
"The Gathering" has its moments but is the weakest of the TV movies. The film has the unenviable task of setting up most of the B5 world and ,as such, the mystery at its core really is designed to provide more details about the background of the world J. Michael Straczynski created for the series. With only three regular cast members carried over to the series (Sinclair and Garibaldi although and telepath Lyta Alexander), "The Gathering" mostly sets up the saga that JMS designed for the 5 year series. After the original premiere JMS upgraded the optical effects for the movie in preparation for a reairing of the TV movie and home video release. The pilot here is somewhat different from the original TV movie. JMS went back and made some minor tweaking including more character moments. The transfer looks slightly better than the first dual sided disc that featured this and "In the Beginning"
"In the Beginning" spells out many of the adventures and conflicts hinted at throughout the run of the series during the Earth-Minbar war. We finally see how Sheridan helped turn the tide in the war against the Minbari. We also see key scenes that show up later and are important to explaining the fate of Sinclair in the show. The transfer improves slightly on the previous DVD release but is still somewhat grainy and dark at times.
"The River of Souls" was actually the fourth movie produced and relates to a first season episode involving a race that collect the souls of the living after they die. They hope that they can preserve the essence of the person and allow them to share their knowledge and wisdom. The commentary track here, on "Thirdspace" and "A Call To Arms" are among the best. Since it involves JMS, director Janet Greek and actress Tracy Scoggins we get a whole bunch of neat tidbits. The image quality is, again, an improvement over the broadcast version but it has some of the same flaws as the other TV movies included. Overall, the visuals look pretty impressive here as with "Thirdspace".
The ones that interested me the most was "Thirdspace" and "A Call to Arms". Both were offshoots from the main story arcs of B5 and are excellent stand alone movies. Although the latter film was prepared as a "B5" "Crusade" bridge, it operates quite well as an open ended TV movie. Here's hoping that "Crusade" will follow and that JMS will tie up all the lose ends of that series. In "Thirdspace" the B5 crew discovera massive spaceship stranded for centuries in hyperspace. They bring the ship out and discover it has unusual properties including the ability to drain any ship coming into contact with it of all its energy. Meanwhile, resident B5 mindreader Lyta Alexander begins having strange visions of B5 destroyed by a massive power and overrun by creatures from another dimension.
In "Crusade" a deadly virus is unleased on Earth by minions of The Shadows. Without the cure, the people of Earth only have 5 years to live without a cure. Both look pretty good and are an improvement over the broadcast quality images but, again, a bit more care could have been taken with these occasionally grainy and dark transfers. Any scenes involving the opticals and live action appear especially effected by these transfer issues. On the whole, though, both look pretty good.
Overall, a great set and addition to the B5 universe. Of the five movies included here, only three are essential but all five are pretty solid in terms of the quality of the writing and performances. My only complaint is that I wish that Warner would take a bit more care in transferring these to DVD as they do share many of the same flaws from seasons 3-5 with somewhat murky images and grainy transfers. It's a particularly issue when it involves the CGI effects integrated into live action sequences. A very good set and an essential purchase for B5 fans. As with the previous sets you get a booklet with credits for each movie and the who is on the commentary track. There's also a touching note from JMS about the death of the talented actor Richard Biggs who played Dr. Stephen Franklin on the show. Tragic loss at such a young age. The single extra includes a featurette on how science effected B5 and visa versa. Pretty interesting but you probably won't watch it more than once.
Rating: 
Summary: Babylon 5 the movies (packaging)
Review: The content of the movies is great no problems there, but getting a full set that isn't damaged seems to be a problem for Warner Brothers. Something in the way that they package the dvd's shakes movie disc one and three loose in the case. They then tend to get scratched by the center piece that is supposed to hold them in place. After two sets arrived damaged, I'm still waiting for a good set to be shipped to me.
Rating:
Summary: A valuable companion to the B5 season sets
Review: The release of Babylon 5 The Movies on DVD marks the closing of the critically acclaimed Babylon 5 series, arguably one of the best Science Fiction series to date. Having said that, it's important to remember that this box set should not be viewed as a starting point for first-time Babylon 5 viewers. As indicated by the editor's review, the only DVD that can be viewed first is 'The Gathering', the reworked pilot which is good as an introduction to the universe and the characters. The other movies were made either during or after the conclusion of the B5 series and as such contain many elements that would completely destroy a first-time viewer's experience of the five year arc. The movies 'In The Beginning', 'Thirdspace', 'River of Souls' and 'A Call to Arms' are all welcome additions to the existing B5 universe, allowing us to see just how far the characters have developed through the series. Although the self-contained nature of 'Thirdspace' and 'River of Souls' in particular do not provide the level of mounting suspense that we're used to in the series, they're still worth watching and allow the B5 flame to burn just that little bit longer. To summarise: If you are a first-time Babylon 5 viewer, you would be better off to purchase the single DVD 'Gathering / In The Beginning', watch ONLY 'The Gathering' and then work your way through the season DVD box sets before moving onto the movies. If you are a fan or have a good understanding of the B5 universe, this is an excellent companion to the five B5 season sets.
Rating: 
Summary: Not nearly as good as the series
Review: What i can't stand Stracynski(sp) doing is always omitting key characters out of every movie. The cast is what makes babylon 5, babylon 5. In each and every movie, there are always key characters missing. The entire 3rd movie consisted of ONLY garibaldi and lochley. I mean come on! Where's sheridan and delenn? More londo and g'kar please, less lochley! Delenn is missing from A Call to Arms, etc.
Another honorable mention is to the HORRIBLE soundtrack in that movie. It was terrible and very annoying to say the least. The first movie was all right, since we all ready know what happens in the earth mimbari war. The second and third movies were a bit weak in terms of excitement and were basically fill ins. They seemed more like 2 part episodes than movies, and weak fill in type 2 parters to say the least. The first hour in both movies were rather boring and stretched.
A Call to Arms seems MUCH like what you're NOT supposed to do. This seemed very analagous to star trek TNG and nemesis! The series was magnificent but the transition into the movie was horrible. Characters are twisted and turned, etc. Weak story line and cheesey dialogue and characters. Techmages giving Sheridan revelations. CHEESEY! Come on! I can't say how much I couldn't stand that thief character who is supposedly a thief but seemingly knows much more than sheridan. A thief with an attitude and a loner type. How original can you get? I can't stand how they purposely make sheridan into a second rate character so they can 'boost' his replacements. Classic cardboard cut out characters, which is the main reason i'm NOT watching crusade. Block of wood Daniel Dae Kim and the girl from beastmaster? Oh, please! Do yourself a favor and stop watching babylon 5 after season 4! It seems to spiral 'to hell' after it. What a pitiful and horrible end to such a great series.
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