Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Very Best Of... [DVD]

i would of liked a bit more from this dvd like interview with the cast ect but it was just 4 episodes since then i have gotten rid of this dvd

top watch with good episodes

fantastic

I love Buffy the vampire slayer and this DVD was perfect to add to my Slayer collection!!

The cult classic television programme Buffy the Vampire Slayer first aired in March 1997 on The WB network and has since become a cult classic that has been adapted into comic-form, novels, video games and (undeveloped) animation, along with gaining a wide scholarly audience exploring the psychology and impact that the character of slayer Buffy Summers has had on the mass media and on the portrayal of the female action heroine in general.The television series was preceded by the film version starring Kristy Swanson as the titular slayer and, unfortunately, was not received very well as a serious horror film, being made in tone with the genre of a comedy horror/B-movie. Following this initial big-screen attempt to bring his vision to life, writer/creator Josh Whedon of both the film and television series approached multiple television networks in order to re-work his creation into an episodic format that subsequently generated an unprecedented following. With Sarah Michelle Gellar cast as the re-vamped (pun intended!) Buffy, the show lasted a total of seven seasons which ended in 2003.Buffy the Vampire Slayer was one of my favourite escapes throughout my teenage years and helped me a lot through some tough times, and was ranked high alongside other heroine-themed shows of its time like Charmed and Xena: Warrior Princess. It was certainly sad to see the series end, but it is great to see its continuation on the printed page, and of course to revisit the show's legacy via the relative season box-sets and certain thematic releases over the years, such as this one.Distributed by Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment in 2004 throughout the UK in Region 2 format, 'The Best of Buffy the Vampire Slayer' promises just that. After an audience of Buffy fans voted for their favourite episodes via an online poll throughout September and October of 2003, the four most popular were chosen to be distributed on this single-disc release in order of popularity. These are as follows:Hush : Not surprisingly, this episode was voted the most popular, having won Whedon an Emmy-award for a script composition that features very little dialogue; relying on intense and emotional music with clever and witty character interaction. It features the spine-chilling Gentlemen: fairy-tale creatures who have come to Sunnydale to steal people’s voices in order to recover seven human hearts for some unrevealed purpose. This is also where Buffy and Riley discover each other's secrets, as well as introducing Amber Benson as Tara Maclay who goes on to be Willow's future love interest.The Gift : The saddening finale to Season Five, which left viewers stunned Buffy’s following Buffy’s death after the climactic battle with the Hell-God Glorificus in order to stop all reality from folding in on itself. This episode certainly ranks high as one of Buffy's finest on-screen moments as she sacrifices herself to save the whole world from a reigning ever-lasting hell.Becoming (Part One) : This first half of the show's second season two-part finale involves the wake of Angelus's plan to awaken the demon Acathla in order to suck the world into a never-ending hell dimension of torment for all human life. It also features the death of Kendra by the hands of the vampire Drusilla.Graduation Day (Part 2) : Marking the finale to Season Three which introduced rogue slayer Faith to the series, this episode involves the Scooby-Gang and the students of Sunnydale High's military stand against the Mayor, who plans to bring about an apocalyptic massacre by means of demonic ascension.Regarding special features, there isn't anything major apart from a series of 10-20 second clip trailers/TV spots for the show, as well as for Angel and Firefly, which were Whedon's other TV projects being distributed at the time of release. The total running time is approximately 2 hours and 50 minutes, plus there are audio language options and subtitles in both English and French.It would have been nice to see both parts of "Becoming" and "Graduation Day" included within this selection, as it would have given some more context and continuity to the viewer. However, their omissions don't seem to hinder the feature in any major way; only being a slight problem if you happen to be completely new to the franchise. I'm sure each Buffy fan has their own personal favourite episode(s) and not everyone will agree with the choices made here. However, as a single disc best-of compilation of the series as a whole, I believe that these four episodes are appropriately chosen for a passing glance into the ever-expanding Buffyverse.

How, i want to know, can anyone expect to be able to compress the wonders of Buffy down into just four episodes? To show the magnificence of the series in that amount of time is just asking for a miracle that cannot possibly happen.Becoming part one i do not consider one of the best buffy episodes ever. Part two perhaps... but really, what's the deal with part one? The plot, the emotion, shown in this epsiode is a tiny dip in the ocean compared to the feeling shown in part two.Graduation day part two - yeah, ok maybe. But to understand the significance of it you need to have part one in there too. You have to see everything that happens between Buffy and Faith in the previous episode to possibly understand how Buffy taunts the mayor - these two episodes cannot exisit with out the other, yeah? thats the whole point of 'to be continued...'The Hush - finally a classic episode! The orginality of filming an episode silently is why this epsiode deserves to be here, and the amount of acting it must have surely required; and the music score was, of course, just fantastic.The Gift - of course, the monumental epsiode. Really, when it comes down to the basics behind the plot of Buffy it is the turning point for the entire series. It is the cause of everything that happens in the following two seasons, even if it doesn't seem obvious. All of buffys actions can be linked back to this episode - the change in her personality when she came back caused reactions that before would not ever have happened (Buffy and Spike anyone???)What i really want to know, is why on earth is Chosen not in here? It was the last episode ever of pete's sake, ad evreyone put in a heart stopping performance - i cannot have been the only one who cried my eyes out, surely?Well, i could rave for hours, but i won't. Its not that these episodes are not good, but come on, really? Finding the best four episodes that suits everyone? It's impossible.What I want to know is , where's James marsters performance in Crush? Where's Sarah MG's unbelievable performance in The Body? Where's Primevil? Restless? taking us right back to the start, where's Welcome to the Hellmouth?And especially, where is the probably most famous episode ever -Once More With Feeling? It's scandalous that it is not in here, all the main characters put in fantastic performances in what is probably one of the most original episodes of buffy ever and yet, remarkably, still seemed to fit in with the overall feeling of that season. But thats Joss Whedon's amazing mind for you.Now here's a thought - why isn't he picking these? After all, he knows the series better than most of us can even imagine...