The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo / The Girl who Played with Fire / The Girl who Kicked the Hornet's Nest (Extended Versions) [DVD]

A purchase I made a few years back now and thought it time to write a review.The three part Swedish thriller series is wonderful to watch, and I have re-watched this numerous times and never get tired of doing so.It's good on several fronts: the story line is interesting, Intricate and absorbing and just draws in; the acting is good and well done; the characters portrayed are varied and given depth; the dialogue is good; it is principally set in Stockholm which complements the storyline and looks good; the series can be watched in the original Swedish language with English sub-titles, or, English dubbed version which works very well.Oh yes, and I have now purchased the three part book-set too.

Great films from Stig Larsson’s novels. Don’t let the fact that they are Swedish put you off. The English dubbing is actually quite good, if you choose it, and are easy to watch as a result. Acting is very good. Noomi Rapace is very good as Lisbet Salander . Glad I bought the set. Great value.

This is the impressive made-for-Swedish-TV series of three films dating from 2011 and in the original language with subtitle options. These offer the full length films seen in the TV series and are not the shorter cinema release versions. Consequently they make far greater sense of the complex story-lines of the three substantial, gripping and award-winning books. This is obviously the version to buy.The title role of Lisbeth Salander is convincingly played by Noomi Rapace and she is supported by Michael Nyqvist in the riole of Mikael Blomkvist. The remainder of the various casts over the three films is, without exception, of the highest quality and the filming delivers on maintaining both drama and atmosphere over the whole extended time span.In the interest of avoiding 'spoiling' the plot line nothing of that need be added. The books have been absolute best sellers and offer a considerable amount of detail throughout which is unfailingly essential to fully understanding the plot and the characters and their motivations. The films largely keep to the books and offer a deeply satisfying alternative to the books. Nevertheless it is an alternative and reading the complete saga in book form is probably an imperative! The sequence will be a matter of personal choice or opportunity but logically and helpfully, it would seem to make more sense to read the full printed version before watching the films. In this way it will be easier to follow the areas where short-cuts are made within the re-telling.However, this review is not intended to discuss the actual film as by now it will have both its supporters and detractors. Entering into those conflicts is not the purpose of the review which is aimed squarely at the many supporters of this set.Essentially, for all of those who are keen supporters of this TV series the only issue of vital importance will be whether the Blu-ray offers a technically successful product.For this reviewer the answer is a clear affirmative. The BD transfers offer firm colours and there is a satisfying perceived depth of imaging. The whole set simply becomes more 'real.' The series, which is so concerned with close characterisation, benefits considerably from this enhancement of reality. The soundtrack is convincingly 'real' too.The degree of improvement experienced from this BD will also inevitably depend on the replay equipment used. The following technical information is intended to be a guide to aid in assessment.The screen used for this review is only of moderate dimensions being a 40 inch television screen. However, the television is a high performing 4K unit which delivers a compensating positive effect. The moderate screen size lacks the impact of larger screens but is less critical of film faults.However, the contributing player is, unusually, able to separate the audio and visual HDMI signals before they leave separately to the television and pre-amp. That feature enhances both the visual and audio elements of the output. The audio, not so critical in the case, delivers an unusually wide-ranging and revealing performance. Its precision is equally revealing of film scores.Readers with alternative equipment will have to interpret this review bearing in mind their own equipment and its comparative advantages and disadvantages.The disc offers purchasers with suitable replay equipment a substantial improvement over the previous DVD.In summary this BD set offers a transfer from good quality 2011 film stock and enthusiasts should find it both essential and rewarding to buy.

I read the books some years ago (and again more recently) and have been avoiding the films as I normally hate adaptations of books that I've loved. Over xmas, in the UK, the 3 films were shown and I finally watched them and was confused as hell. There were such big chunks missing - such that I couldn't see how the films made sense to anyone who hadn't read the books.On the recommendation of someone else I bought this box set and have watched the films on 3 consecutive nights and can only say - BUY IT NOW.Not so sure about the part of Berger (she is far more of a nervous looking wimp than i envisaged her in the books) but what an actress Noomi is. At time she had an almost alien look about her and then, especially when she met with Palmgren, her face lit up and she was absolutely beautiful.Stockholme and the Swedish countryside are stunning - worth watching just to admire the views. And I love the Swedish method of filming. The music isn't over powering and, when Lisbeth is eating, she's shovelling it in and really eating and drinking. It really drives me mad when people pretend to drink from a cup that is obviously empty and these films have sense of realism about them.Having watched the short versions over xmas and then followed up with the dvd versions (which are an hour or more longer, per film) what surprised me was a couple of scenes in the short versions were not in the longer ones (which I found bizarre).Like when Paolo and Mimi are stuck in the barn that's alight. In the shorter version, before Niedermann drives away , you see their shadows flitting across the background as they escape from the fire and then you see them supporting each other and coughing under the trees. This was one of the bits missing from the DVD and it makes you wonder how much longer the films could have been, had all the filming been included.Compared to the books there is still a lot of ground that could have been covered. At the start of the 2nd book there's the whole part of the hurricane / the man trying to kill his wife and Lisbeth dashing to the beach to save her young lover. Neither the hurricane (which, to be fair, didn't add anything to the plotline) nor the boy were in the short film and, in the dvd version, we just see her in bed with the boy and kissing him goodbye - with no explanation as to who he was.So, if you love the books, give this box set a try. For possibly the first time I can say that a film has lived up to the standard of the books.

Released in movie form in North America, the Millennium series was actually a mini-series in Sweden.The full series is available here and adds depth (and some more scary, odd and cool moments to the story of Lisbeth Salander.The opening episodes (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo) is vastly superior to the admittedly excellent U.S. film adaptation of the novel.The difference is a combination of a more detailed adaptation and Noomi Rapace's brilliant performance.The rest of the mini-series - The Girl Who Played with Fire and The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest - maintain the level of Dragon Tattoo and the result is an epic experience.

Came in good time, well packaged. Thank you!

Be careful, this blu ray is not playable on most Japanese blu ray players or computersvery disappointed, its the wrong region

Extended version della trilogia. Ogni film suddiviso in 2 parti della durata di ~93 min. cadauna (~3 ore ogni singolo film). Guardati in audio originale svedese con sottotitoli in inglese (presente anche la traccia audio inglese + english subs). Prodotto di qualità eccellente. Reasonable price. Consigliato a tutti.

You learn a lot with the extended versions.