‘Dark Winds’: Season 1 Blu-Ray Review – A Riveting Crime Drama That Hits All The Right Notes

The year is 1971. Joe Leaphorn of the Navajo Tribal Police must solve a series of unrelated crimes. He is joined by his new deputy, Jim Chee. Together, the two men battle the forces of evil and their own personal demons on the path to salvation. Starring Zahn McClarnon, Kiowa Gordon, Jessica Matten, Deanna Allison, and Rainn Wilson.

For thoughts on Dark Winds: The Complete First Season, please check out my thoughts here. 

Video Quality

The first season of Dark Winds comes to Blu-Ray with a top notch 1080p presentation that represents this show as it deserves to be seen. The series showcases deep colors from the dry landscapes and certain costumes which make a mighty impression. From the bright daytime scenes to the moments at night or in shadow, the skin tones and facial details are rendered flawlessly which brings a great immediacy to the picture. The series features some very distinct locations which are presented with tremendous depth and clarity on this disc. Small features are readily visible, such as distinct stones on a cliffside. Black levels are deep without any major instance of crush or banding. No compression artifacts crept up during the viewing thanks to a solid encode. RLJE Entertainment has done a good job with this series. 

Audio Quality

The Blu-Ray disc comes with a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track that handles this material quite well. The dialogue stays pinned to the front center channels for the most part and comes through clearly. This track never experiences any anomalies throughout the season. The track does a fine job of making sure neither sound effects nor the score ever overpowers the exchanges of dialogue. The score establishes a distinct tone for the series that properly fills up the room on this track. There is occasional weight to the low end when bits of action pop up. Ambient activity is not forceful, but it spreads nicely in the rear channels to help flesh out the world. Overall, this track gets the job done admirably. There are optional English SDH and Spanish subtitles provided.

Special Features

• Show Me More – Dark Winds: A great 33-minute program which explores the series courtesy of interviews with the cast and creative team in which they discuss trying to be respectful of the culture depicted on screen, the original source material, the journey to the small screen, the various performers in the show and more. 

Final Thoughts

The first season of Dark Winds is a very strong debut for a series that will hopefully have a long life. In only six episodes, the show is able to craft a fleshed out world full of unique characters and compelling backstory which gives way to impactful themes. The series does a nice job of balancing investigative intrigue with strong character moments. This is a show that you are destined to get through quickly since each episode will leave you wanting to hit play on the next. RLJE Films and AMC have delivered a Blu-Ray with a fetching A/V presentation and one worthy supplemental feature. If you are a crime drama fan wanting a fresh perspective on the genre, give this one a spin. Recommended 

Dark Winds: The Complete First Season is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD. 

Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.

Disclaimer: RLJE Films 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.