Starring Larry David as an over-the-top version of himself, the iconic Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning comedy series Curb Your Enthusiasm offers a tongue-in-cheek depiction of the writer/producer/comedian’s fictionalized life. With Jeff Garlin (as manager Jeff Greene), Susie Essman (as Jeff’s wife Susie), Cheryl Hines (as Larry’s ex-wife Cheryl), JB Smoove (as Leon), and Richard Lewis and Ted Danson (as themselves), all reprising their roles alongside a rotating cast of familiar faces, including Vince Vaughn (as Freddy Funkhouser) and Tracey Ullman (as Irma Kostroski), Season 11 finds Larry once again seeking and dispensing his own peculiar brand of social justice.
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Video Quality
Curb Your Enthusiasm comes to DVD with 10 episodes over 2 discs, which offers a fair amount of room to avoid compression issues. Unfortunately this series has yet to receive a Blu-Ray release despite airing in HD in recent years, but hopefully that will be rectified someday. Due to the limitations of the format, these episodes are not going to look as good as they do in high definition, but the presentation is very strong within the DVD format. Even without the added definition, this is still a striking show with fine details easily visible in most environments. Colors are rendered favorably, and there is a small bit of texture in the clothing and the production design. Most of the show takes place in the bright daytime, but any night time scenes look slightly less robust with black levels struggling ever so slightly. Skin tones look natural, and close ups look quite good. We could be waiting forever for this series to reach Blu-Ray, so those who want to own it should feel good about the overall quality of this DVD presentation.
Audio Quality
This DVD comes with a Dolby Digital 5.1 track that sounds great for the type of show that it is. Dialogue is the priority of this series, and it is rendered clearly with a focus in the center channel. The memorable music cues are presented exceedingly well here. Amongst all of the quips and uncomfortable exchanges, sound effects and background chatter never overpower the dialogue causing lost information. The rear speakers create an immersive atmosphere as the sound of the various environments transport you. The mix has a good sense of directionality so that nothing ever feels like it is coming from the wrong place. This track is far from pushed to the limits, but it does what it needs to do well.
Special Features
There are no special features provided on the disc.
Final Thoughts
Curb Your Enthusiasm continues to be one of the most hilariously uncomfortable shows on television in its eleventh season. The season kicks off with a classic bit of ridiculous happenstance that spirals out into countless awkward and outrageous situations that only get better as the season progresses. Newcomers to the show make a sizable impression alongside many of the classic faces who have stuck by Larry throughout the years. Plus, there are a number of guest performers who prove to be the perfect foil for Larry’s brand of righteous, overblown sense of justice. Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has delivered a DVD with a good A/V presentation for the format but nothing in the way of special features. If you are a fan of the show, this is the only way to own this one on physical media. Recommended
Curb Your Enthusiasm: The Complete Eleventh Season is currently available to purchase on DVD and Digital.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the DVD.
Disclaimer: Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.