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| Buffy The Vampire Slayer - Collector's Set (40 discs) | 
 enlarge | Director: Joss Whedon
Actors: Sarah Michelle Gellar, Alyson Hannigan, Nicholas Brendon, Anthony Head, James Marsters
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Category: DVD
List Price: $199.98
Buy New: $164.99
You Save: $34.99 (17%)
New (21) Used (3) from $149.99
Avg. Customer Rating:  314 reviews
Sales Rank: 2409
Format: Box Set, Subtitled, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled), Spanish (Subtitled), English (Dubbed)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 40
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 4.3
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.9 x 5.5
MPN: 024543212904
UPC: 024543212904
EAN: 0024543212904
ASIN: B000AQ68RI
Theatrical Release Date: March 10, 1997
Release Date: August 1, 2006
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand New. Fast Shipping with insurance and tracking. Ships in 24 hours! Item is in stock. no back orders or cancellations. No APO/FPO, HI, AK, PR
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Product Description
No Description Available.
Genre: Television
Rating: NR
Release Date: 19-SEP-2006
Media Type: DVD
Amazon.com
From its charming and angst-ridden first season to the darker, apocalyptic final one, Buffy the Vampire Slayer succeeds on many levels, and in a fresher and more authentic way than the shows that came before or after it. How lucky, then, that with the release of its boxed set of seasons 1-7, you can have the estimable pleasure of watching a near-decade of Buffy in any order you choose. (And we have some ideas about how that should be done.) First: rest assured that there's no shame in coming to Buffy late, even if you initially turned your nose up at the winsome Sarah Michelle Gellar kicking the hell out of vampires (in Buffy-lingo, vamps), demons, and other evil-doers. Perhaps you did so because, well, it looked sort of science-fiction-like with all that monster latex. Start with season 3 and see that Buffy offers something for everyone, and the sooner you succumb to it, the quicker you'll appreciate how textured and riveting a drama it is. Why season 3? Because it offers you a winning cast of characters who have fallen from innocence: their hearts have been broken, their egos trampled in typically vicious high-school style, and as a result, they've begun to realize how fallible they are. As much as they try, there are always more monsters, or a bigger evil. Despite this, or perhaps because of it, the core crew remains something of a unit--there's the smart girl, Willow (Alyson Hannigan) who dreams of saving the day by downloading the plans to City Hall's sewer tunnels and mapping a route to safety. There are the ne'r do wells--the vampire Spike (James Marsters), who both clashes with and aspires to love Buffy; the tortured and torturing Angel (David Boreanz); the pretty, popular girl with an empty heart (Charisma Carpenter); and the teenage everyman, Xander (Nicholas Brendon). Then there's Buffy herself, who in the course of seven seasons morphs from a sarcastic teenager in a minidress to a heroine whose tragic flaw is an abiding desire to be a "normal" girl. On a lesser note, with the boxed set you can watch the fashion transformation of Buffy from mall rat to Prada-wearing, kickboxing diva with enviable highlights. (There was the unfortunate bob of season 2, but it's a forgivable lapse.) At least the storyline merits the transformations: every time Buffy has to end a relationship she cuts her hair, shedding both the pain and her vulnerability. In addition to the well-wrought teenage emotional landscape, Buffy deftly takes on more universal themes--power, politics, death, morality--as the series matures in seasons 4-6. And apart from a few missteps that haven't aged particularly well ("I Robot" in season 1 comes to mind), most episodes feel as harrowing and as richly drawn as they did at first viewing. That's about as much as you can ask for any form of entertainment: that it offer an escape from the viewer's workaday world and entry into one in which the heroine (ideally one with leather pants) overcomes demons far more troubling than one's own. --Megan Halverson
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| Customer Reviews: Read 309 more reviews...
 The widescreen and Full screen issue (UK vs. US) September 27, 2005
297 out of 352 found this review helpful
I keep running into people who want the UK version cause it's widescreen. Guys, it's very simple - not always widesceen is better. At Buffy - Joss wanted us to see it in Full screen - not widescreen - it's very simple. The widescreen contains more elements that was not intended to be seen !
Here is a note from JOSS about it:
No doubt you are looking over this scrumptious BUFFY package and exclaiming "No @#$%ing letterboxing ? Whutzat ? GYPPED !" Possibly you are breaking things. Please calm down. The fabulous episodes of BUFFY (and that one crappy one, sorry about that, seemed really cool when we wrote it...) were not shot in a widescreen format. They were shot in the TV 4 by 3 ratio. Now I'm a letterbox fanatic, but not just because I crave th' wide. I want to see the whole screen, as framed by the director. The BUFFY's I (and others) shot were framed for traditional TVs. Adding space to the sides simply for the sake of trying to look more cinematic would betray the very exact mise-en-scene I was trying to create. I am a purist, and this is the purest way to watch BUFFY. I have resisted the effort to letterbox BUFFY from the start and always will, because that is not the show we shot. This is. So enjoy ! Stop breaking things. You're getting the best presentation of -- let's face it -- the best Television Drama since MATCHGAME '79. Bye for now !
Sincerely,
Joss Whedon
p.s.
To the people who got hurt by the Double Dip - get over it ! almost any Tv Show or movie that come out on DVD gets double dipped today ! that's life - the studios want to make more money. I really don't know what you want from Joss. would you prefer that the 7 seasons would not be available until now?
Welcome to the Hellmouth August 10, 2005
195 out of 262 found this review helpful
What can really be said about "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" that hasn't already been said. In every form of production this series was a miracle: after leaving Buffy for death after the desasterous 1992 feature film, writter Joss Whedon took his original idea and tranformed it into television form. But it was only the upstart network: The WB that would give Joss and company a chance. It was from there in March of 1997 that Buffy was born. Eventhough the show was "officially" cancelled 6 times durring its run the show lasted seven years filming 144 episodes.
To sum up the story of Buffy is extremly difficult, especially when you don't have the amount of space a book offers to do so. In the simplest of forms Buffy the Vampire Slayer is a story about outsiders, true love, and family. Buffy is a typical blond southern californian girl: superficial, peppy, and niave. It isn't until that she finds out that she is actually the lastest in a long line of women chosen to fight vampires and the forces of darkness. That secrest forcess Buffy to grow up rather fast, especially when she and her mother relocate to Sunnydale, California. It was there that Buffy truly began her journey. But she was a unique slayer in fact that she had friends by her side that saved her life more times than anyone can count... overtime these friends became her family, and the core to the show.
The best was to write about the complete series is to do so in a season by seaosn basis. Season 1 (which lasted on 12 episodes) basically series as an introduction to the series. The characters are introduced, and fleshed out... it is amazing that it only takes the show 12 episodes to establish seven character that seem like they become part of the family by the episode "Prophecy Girl". But the first season also serves as an introduction to the universe the show is set in. Sunnydale (the town buffy lives in) serves as a "hellmouth" of sorst which means that it has alot of mystical energy that draws "the forces of darkness to it."
Season Two served the show, by demonstrated what the series was capable off. Buffy will not always be a fluffly happy show, and in times can become rather depressing... Anything goes, like real life: hearts can be broken, people can die, the world will go on. It is in this season that Buffy learns all these major lessons....
Season Three tells the story of ending... and how to deal with them... There are only a few amount of people that you can count on... This is learned when the Mayor of Sunnydale becomes the #1 bad guy, trying to asscend and rid the world of humans. This season also shows that friends can become family, family is not just blood, its who you choose.
Season Four was all about the growing up. When Buffy and company go off to college, they learn that there are many things that can pull them apart, but it is who you trust that is ultimatly important...
And so on... each season's basic focus is about the growing trends and how people eventually become who there are, and what influences... how people are torn apart, and brought together. How Family doesn't just have to be blood, but can be found...
I have only just scratched the surface of this amazing show that digged so deep down that is has become the sole focus of numerous college courses. Joss Whedon and his writters developed a world that is full of so many themes (universal and specific) that it can charm anyone of any age (while at the same time making them laugh, cry, and want to throw up with pain).
I personally started watching the show when I was 9 years old from the very first episode. I continued on with the show until the series finale when I was 15 (I also followed the series Angel)... And the show still seemes so fresh in my mind. Eventhough I have seem the "highschool episodes" many many times, I still find that there is more and more to discover in this universe... The best way I can describe this show is magically.
When I started watching Buffy, it was the only tv show that I watched (besides teh simpsons), it was from there that I branched out into other shows: dawson's creek, chamred, felicity, gilmore girls, and so on... but no matter how many shows I watched I could not find anything to match the wit and magic that I originally found in Buffy. When I first bought the first season on DVD years ago, I remember listening to the commentary for "Welcome to the Hellmouth" and "the Harvest" by the series creator: Joss Whedon (the commentaries are included on this set). It was in this commentary that Joss Talked about everything from the movie to getting the show to last into its fifth season... He talked about the show and the process of making the show with so much compassion and love and drive it really touched me... I believe that the commentary is the soul purpose that influenced me to become a television writer... It is less than 2 months before I start college, and I believe that there would be no more perfect time for this set to come out.
If you have ever put off buying this series, this is your chance to own the complete series of the of the best things to ever air on television!
You buy "The Chosen Collection" so your kids will leave your "BtVS" DVDs alone November 20, 2005
102 out of 106 found this review helpful
My premise here is that by the time all seven seasons of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" were released on DVD the vast majority of fans who were inclined to do so had gone out and bought all seven sets. I am sure there are a few frugal fans who were waiting for something along the lines of "The Chosen Collection," but they would be relatively aware (something akin to being a vampire with a soul). Of course I had all of the episodes of "BtVS" (and "Angel") on video tape (even made up my own special boxes with cover art and episode synopses on the back) before I went out and bought all of the DVD sets, but I had occasion to buy "The Chosen Collection" as well.
That is because my oldest daughter is away at college and she was not allowed to take my "BtVS" DVD sets with her. I had purchased the first season for all three of my kids (two are away at college so it is not like they are all in one place) and was intending to eventually get them the other six but "The Chosen Collection" is too good of a deal to pass up and not just because of the price. This one big red and white box takes up a lot less space (a bit more than a third). That is because when you open it up inside you will find wallet-like cases for each of the seven seasons. So it seemed an appropriate gift for someone turning 21 who writes about Buffy whenever possible in her college classes.
I have covered each of the seven season of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" elsewhere, so here I want to talk about the "EXCLUSIVE, NEVER-BEFORE-SEEN EXTRAS" included on the 40th DVD in "The Chosen Collection" (Yes, the other 39 discs are the same produced for the individual series sets):
"Back to the Hellmouth: A Conversation with Creators and Cast" is a casual 54-minute conversation amidst candles and old books with Whedon, Marti Noxon, Doug Petrie, Nicholas Brendon, Emma Caulfield, Danny Strong, David Fury, Jane Espenson, Charisma Carpenter, Drew Z. Greenberg. Topics covered include first Buffy moments (for Joss it all goes back to a scene in Invisible Girl), favorite Buffy moment, and assorted behind the scenes stories, all with choice inserts from episodes (e.g., Nick in a Speedo) and piano music. Noxon does a good job of getting off topic to interesting things (e.g., Joss writing the musical during his down time), but the fact that writers talk more than actors is hardly surprising. This is the best extra, what with finding out how Fury got Giles fired ends up getting Allyson Hannigan married and all, plus how being a mid-season replacement allowed Whedon to make the first twelve episodes before their aired so that the WB was denied the opportunity to tinker with the show. There is enough new stuff here for those who do not pick up this set to make friends with someone who has to check this out at least once.
"Buffy Cast and Crew: Favorite Episodes" is short and to the point, although the choices are basically made by those listed above with a few other additions. However, if you are waiting for Sarah Michelle Gellar to weigh in on any of these featurettes you will be totally disappointed. Hannigan only popped up once, which is not enough for me and I suspect many others as well, but cast members Amber Benson and Danny Strong both speak well for the series and David Greenwalt shows up as a key talking head as well.
"Buffy: An Unlikely Role Model" begins with Joss Whedon's explicit intention of creating a role model and has the cast and crew talking about why it actually worked (personal actions are key) without getting into ivory tower explanations.
"Breaking Barriers: It's Not a Chick Fight Thing" focuses on Buffy stunt double Sophia Crawford and Stunt Coordinator Jeff Pruitt and details how she got the gig (she had good kinetics according to Joss) and what they tried to do in terms of developing Buffy's martial arts fighting style, with some of Crawford's best fights (e.g., "Anne") caught by behind the scenes cameras. So you really get to see familiar things in a new way with this one.
"Love Bites: Relationships in the Buffyverse" looks at most of the major romantic entanglements as things went from metaphorical sex to the real thing for Buffy and her friends. Vampires are always rich in veiled sexuality and the show combined that with the imperative that teenagers need to be punished for sex (see "Friday the 13th," et al.). There are a few insightful comments from a few actors and writers on this featurette.
"Evil Fiends" is a brief look at not so much the individual Big Bads but rather at the philosophy on the show of turning teenage problems into tangible monsters. Nothing really new here and it is so short it hardly seemed worth including and ends the bonus disc on a weak note.
But then I am hardly arguing that this one disc justifies picking up this set if you already have the complete "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," because it does not. I do think it is an ideal present to stop family and friends from always want to borrow your sets, although I can also see where you might decide to buy this one for yourself and let the kiddies (or whoever) take your old ones (I kept those but made sure I got to see the bonus disc, twice, before she takes it back to college). Of course, now the next generation of fans are going to want the "The Angel Collection."
 A terrible show March 5, 2007
47 out of 120 found this review helpful
dont waste your time or money on anything Buffy. The show was lame and cancelled on 2 occasions by 2 different networks. This is 40 discs and time youll never get back. The packaging is the only good thing about it nothing else. Bad acting, bad plots and well just plain bad overall. my last review on this show got 204 comments. No one was able to prove me wrong because facts are facts the show was cancelled. I know its hard to accept but it is a fact none the less. Save your money and watch it on tv only problem no one carries it on tv . that speaks volumes
CANCELED BY 2 NETWORKS. THIS IS JUST A BAD SHOW July 29, 2008
37 out of 76 found this review helpful
Buffy was canceled twice because of the show just being over the top pc and add to that poor scripts and awful acting. Sarah Michelle Gellar was so wasted i nthis show. No wonder she couldnt wait to get away from it. Save your money for something better because this show is down right bad
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