It's not coming out anytime soon on HDM, it's shot 4:3 in a grainy verité style, and for those wanting slick, glossy imagery with spoon fed dialogue and plots you should avoid this like the plague.

However, the Wire was, as evidenced by tonight's finale, quite simply the best show that may ever be made for Television. Forget that, that's two small for the scope of this project - The Wire could very well be one of the top 10 films of all time.

Hyperbole? Maybe. But I'm in mourning, and in awe of a group of filmmakers, writers, actors and artists that brought together one of the smartest, edgiest, and most compelling 5 seasons I will ever see. I miss it already, yet feel entirely satisfied by this fine concluding episode.

Forgive my indulgence in throwing this into the HDM thread, but for those still craving content over codec wars, plots over pandering to the studios, and f'in' excellent cinema over format wars, you can do no wrong by visiting the Wire's Baltimore.

Simon, Burns, et. al. - thanks for the excellence, the bravery, the intelligence and craft that occasionally made me often giddy to witness. The Wire shall be missed, but watched and cherished for decades to come.

Was it at least shot on film, so there can a HD version some day?

Was it at least shot on film, so there can a HD version some day?

Yes it was shot on film...

fitprod

It's not coming out anytime soon on HDM, it's shot 4:3 in a grainy verité style, and for those wanting slick, glossy imagery with spoon fed dialogue and plots you should avoid this like the plague.

However, the Wire was, as evidenced by tonight's finale, quite simply the best show that may ever be made for Television. Forget that, that's two small for the scope of this project - The Wire could very well be one of the top 10 films of all time.

Hyperbole? Maybe. But I'm in mourning, and in awe of a group of filmmakers, writers, actors and artists that brought together one of the smartest, edgiest, and most compelling 5 seasons I will ever see. I miss it already, yet feel entirely satisfied by this fine concluding episode.

Forgive my indulgence in throwing this into the HDM thread, but for those still craving content over codec wars, plots over pandering to the studios, and f'in' excellent cinema over format wars, you can do no wrong by visiting the Wire's Baltimore.

Simon, Burns, et. al. - thanks for the excellence, the bravery, the intelligence and craft that occasionally made me often giddy to witness. The Wire shall be missed, but watched and cherished for decades to come.

+100

it would be a dream come true if they released this on blu ray but i doubt it because it's not exactly the most lucrative tv series for HBO

Just finished watching the finale. Great commentary Shark.

The cinematography of scenes from all around the city really stood out tonight and gave a real feeling of Baltimore.


Great way to end the series.

If it was released on BD it would be 4:3.

What I find unusual is that at the start of the show, when they show scenes from previous episodes, it's done in widescreen. Why go through the trouble?

But I agree, I have come to discover and love this show only this spring and have watched all 5 seasons in about a month's time. Filmed drama on the big, or small screen, doesn't get any better!

ej

Haven't watched the finale yet (will in about an hour), but I agree wholeheartedly. The Wire is the best show in the history of television. And while I'm sad that it's over (or nearly so, for me), I have nothing but respect for Simon et al. for getting out as planned instead of milking it and watching it slowly spiral into mediocrity. What makes the show special is their willingness to always do right by the story rather than pander to the wishes of the viewer.

Kinda bummed that the show will not be producing any more shows... Was there any reason given for this decision, it seems like it has a pretty good storyline and following.

If I recall correctly, last season's shows were aired in widescreen. They went back to 4:3 for this last season. Don't know why, but budget may have been an issue. Great Great Show.

...every SD DVD release is 4:3. Some of you may have seen a cropped version on HBO, I can't say... Shot on good ol' 16mm I believe, so the aspect is square.

Yeah, certainly a hell of a lot more nostalgic of a closer than I'm used to given Tony's, uh, "stop", with the lugubrious shots of Baltimore floating on screen... There was a patience to the whole proceedings, but a definite sense of purpose. The city was lingered on, this image of B'more that we've all come to love, but any moment of catharsis (Bubs eating at a table!) is done in, what, 5 seconds?

On a HD related note, TMN up here broadcast it =stretched=. Luckily my Kuro will do 4:3 from HD material, but, still... awful for those that had to see that... I wouldn't be surprised that those that saw it cropped saw it as such because of ye olde "I bought my WS television so I don't want to see black bars ever again" yarn that HBO:HD may take to task. I know they've often cropped 2.35+:1 to fill our fancy-ass TVs.

Is there any known reason for the cancellation of the show?

not canceled, it's tied up and finished.

Simon and Burns are on record saying that they didn't feel they could be true to the one major story that's occurred during the show's run, namely, that the African-American involvement in the drug trade in B'more has been largely subsumed by Hispanic-Americans. This maybe a "cop out" (*cough*), but I do find it refreshing that a show ends on its own terms, even if it does feel that it could go on for years to come...

To HBO's credit they've managed to see this one play out, as they did with SFU, Sopranos, Oz... It's all the more disappointingly that they dropped the likes of Deadwood without giving us the ending that narrative so richly deserved...

I see little on the horizon that approaches the heights of these master works - I think it may be the end of an era, alas... Quality doesn't always translate into viewers. There's no show as critically loved as The Wire that had so few people watching it - an easy statement to make as, based on metacritic's scoring system, there's no show in history to be as highly ranked.

I'm not the first to call it the best show on television, and I won't be the last....

To HBO's credit they've managed to see this one play out, as they did with SFU, Sopranos, Oz... It's all the more disappointingly that they dropped the likes of Deadwood without giving us the ending that narrative so richly deserved...
And Carnivale, whose last season was snatched right out from underneath just as it was getting REALLY interesting.

I see little on the horizon that approaches the heights of these master works - I think it may be the end of an era, alas... Quality doesn't always translate into viewers. There's no show as critically loved as The Wire that had so few people watching it - an easy statement to make as, based on metacritic's scoring system, there's no show in history to be as highly ranked.
I don't think there's ever been a show anywhere near this good (granted, there could just be a period after that) that has been so COMPLETELY ignored by all the major awards. Sopranos got Emmy after Emmy, year after year. Yes, it was a good show. But not this good. Just imagine how angry people would be if the Sopranos had been snubbed by the Emmys throughout it's run. It's doubly unfair that a show as great as The Wire has been completely overlooked, and I think that probably played a part in the consistently low ratings that constantly had it in danger of being cancelled.

I guess the only thing to be happy for in all that is that it DIDN'T get canceled and was allowed to finish. But it still makes me angry.

I see little on the horizon that approaches the heights of these master works - I think it may be the end of an era, alas... Quality doesn't always translate into viewers. There's no show as critically loved as The Wire that had so few people watching it - an easy statement to make as, based on metacritic's scoring system, there's no show in history to be as highly ranked.

I'm not the first to call it the best show on television, and I won't be the last....

The Wire is without a doubt my favorite show to hit television. Never before have I seen such great storytelling that continually doesn't succumb to conventional methods used to appeal to the masses.

It's a shame to see The Wire and The Shield, both masterpieces in my opinion, end in the same year.

Never watched it and not quite sure what it has to do with HD software if it's not coming out yet.

Never watched it and not quite sure what it has to do with HD software if it's not coming out yet.

Nothing at all, save that many of us are in this for the celebration of the moving image, as opposed to stats whoring, screen cap fetishisms, and other such bunk that has long populated these threads. I thought I'd take the time to recognize a great loss with the ending of this show, one that I encourage you to watch, even if it's "only" in SD.

Consider this merely a digression in your regular day, and let us wallow in peace over the death of this show, a show that proves that all the HighDef slickness is =nothing= without story, character, ambition and style.

Fantastic ending! I still can't believe that there are still people who have not heard or seen this show. I encourage everyone to rent/buy the dvds, you will not be let down. This is far and away the best show made for television, EVER!!!!