DVD: The Gilded Age

Human beings have the tendency to assume that human events that occurred decades or centuries ago that things were not as complicated or sophisticated as they are today.

That’s a false assumption. Men and women have always been complicated creatures.

Lust, greed, avarice, social status, haves and have-nots, politics, religion, bigotry, prejudice, hypocrisy and all the other less savory human traits have been around since mankind first walked the earth.

So too were generosity, compassion, charity and the more noble attributes of man and woman.

In Warner Bros. The Gilded Age The Complete First Season DVD collection shown on HBO, all of the aforementioned traits (both good and bad) are on full display.

It was a time when fortunes could be won and lost in an instant.

When a young orphaned woman moves into the home of her two aunts she finds herself caught up the world of the rich where class and wealth meant everything.

She faced a choice. Does she adapt to the ways of rich and powerful or did she choose her own path despite her aunts’ constant bickering.

She learned to mingle with powerful railroad barons, influential publishers, wealthy entrepreneurs and the upper class in their tit for tat war of social status.

Constant bickering, maneuvering and back-stabbing were the norm as well as other backroom bantering.

The series boasts incredible serious sets, classic costumes, impressive interiors and exteriors that capture the sheer exuberance and frivolity of the mid-19^th Century Gilded Age.

The DVD collection contains all of the First Season episodes along with several featurettes about the creation of the series, characters, sets, costumes and more.

It’s a superbly acted period piece that lovers of rich and pompous lifestyles of The Gilded Age.

1 Corinthians 13:4 (NIV) “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.”