Sylvester Stallone and Taylor Sheridan fans looking to add a little extra flair to their Blu-ray collection can do so with the Steelbook release of Tulsa King. The mafia drama (though I’d say dramedy may work best here, even though drama does take center stage) is Sheridan’s latest in a bountiful portfolio of hugely successful TV shows that continue to dominate the airwaves. The Steelbook for season one showcases Stallone, who plays the show’s lead and protagonist, Dwight “The General” Manfredi, as he stands in front of an oil rig and flat lands of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It’s simple, but it works well, as this is the first season of a fish out of water story, which is indicated perfectly in this shot.
The back of the case has the same open fields in the background, while in the foreground this time is Dwight’s hand holding his plane ticket from New York to Tulsa, which he’s burning. This is a great, symbolic shot to have on the case, as it’s simple, but works perfectly for this first season. Dwight’s also wearing the pinkie ring he was given by Invernizzi crime boss, Pete “The Rock” Invernizzi (A.C. Peterson). Much like the front of the case, the image on the back is simple in nature, but chosen wisely. It looks great and stands out nicely from the peaceful background.
On the inside of the case we’ve got Dwight sitting at the bar of the Bred2Buck saloon, which could be considered his headquarters down in Tulsa. It makes sense for this to be the shot used on the interior, as it uses the two-panel spacing appropriately, while continuing to focus on Dwight. There are a couple of other moments that come to mind that could’ve been used, such as Dwight looking out from his hotel window down at Tulsa, but I think the importance of the saloon, and the simplicity of it all works much better here.
Tulsa King continues Sheridan’s track record of intriguing concepts that turn into highly addicting programing. While Sheridan created Tulsa King, showrunner duties fall onto Terance Winter, who is no stranger to mafia-centric shows, being heavily involved in The Sopranos, as well as being the creator of Boardwalk Empire. What makes Tulsa King so fresh is that it has such a steady pacing and creates a world and characters that are both captivating and fun to watch – even though some of what they do might not be all above board.
The show begins with Dwight being released from prison after serving 25 years for murder. While he was guilty of the crime, he never flipped, not only losing 25 years of life, but also his wife and any relationship with his daughter. Now that he’s out he’s looking to be taken care of and receive some compensation for his loyalties, but things have changed and his friend and old mafia boss Pete Invernizzi is now in poor health, so his son Charles “Chickie” (Domenick Lombardozzi) is now all but running the operation (Pete still has final say) alongside his smug, hot-headed number one guy, Vince Antonacci (Vincent Piazza).
So while the Invernizzi family appreciates all Dwight did for them, they also have nothing for him in New York, and tell him to head to Tulsa and begin to set up operations for the family there. Dwight views this as a slap in the face and reads it as them banishing him until he’s dead. Still, Dwight is an old dog, so he does what he’s told and heads to Tulsa. It’s here that he meets Tyson (Jay Will), an uber driver with ambition who Dwight takes a liking to and hires on as his fulltime driver before they even reach his hotel.
What’s fun here is that Dwight has been locked up for 25-years, so there’s a lot he doesn’t know. When he finds out that weed is being sold legally, he knows enough to try and get his hand in the pot with local dispensary owner Bohdi (Martin Starr) and wants to build his new empire up from there. The first few episodes see him learning about certain changes in the world, though there are some conflicts here and there. It feels like he isn’t fully aware of how iPhones work when he’s first released, but not long after he says he’s fully aware of what crypto and NFTs are, which doesn’t really track. This is one of only a few times this happens, so it’s easy enough to overlook, but I think there’s more to toy with Dwight’s being unaware of how certain things have changed that make it fun that I hope continue on in for part of the second season, at least. Old school entering the new world is part of the show’s charm, so avoiding more noticeable scenarios such as the above – at least until Dwight’s been out a bit longer – would work to its advantage.
Starting Tulsa King after finishing the most recent season of Yellowstone shows off their stark differences. While both can be addicting TV, Tulsa King has faster paced episodes that tend to average at around 35-40 minutes in length. The focus is on the characters, but the dialogue is also faster, the action is quicker and there aren’t pauses to admire the scenery here. That’s not a knock at Yellowstone at all, as that’s part of that show’s charm; however, it’s nice to be able to jump into Tulsa King and get a completely different vibe from things Sheridan has done before. Tulsa King has more comedic beats than his other projects, and that style fits into the tone and story here so naturally that it just makes the characters spouting the dialogue that much more likeable and entertaining.
Not only do we get to see Dwight trying to get accustomed to modern day society throughout the season, but we also get two villain arcs. Firstly, we’ve got the slow burning arc that’ll likely go the series in length, which is Chickie and his disdain for Dwight, and the love/respect that Chickie’s father has for the man. Second, we’ve got the more immediate threat of Coalan Waltrip (Ritchie Coster), the leader of a biker gang out of Tulsa called The Black Macadams. He doesn’t take kindly to Dwight coming in and trying to establish himself as king, and he looks to put an end to Dwight’s plans before they even begin.
Stallone is perfect in the role, and Dwight has the ability and depth to become one of his most iconic characters if the show sticks around long enough. It’s crazy to think that Stallone has never had a major role in a gangster movie, but such is the case. It seems like fate though, as this truly is a match made in heaven, as playing Dwight requires the ability to have the audience empathize with someone who has dedicated his life to the mob, and Stallone does that with ease. There’s a moment in the first episode where he’s intimate with a woman and she asks his age and he said 75, and it didn’t even dawn on me until then that Stallone was 74 years old. He looks fantastic and shows no signs of slowing down, which is what we all hope for at his age. They’ve also written Dwight so that while he’s done bad things, he didn’t necessarily do them out of malice, which makes it easier to root for him against the scummier members of the mafia family that he’s on the outs with.
For fans of Sheridan, Tulsa King is a no-brainer. It fits in wonderfully with his other shows such as Yellowstone and Mayor of Kingstown, especially since each have their own distinct tone and vibe, while also clearly being projects that stem from the creative mastermind that Sheridan is. It’s also a must-watch for Stallone fans, as this is some great material that sets him up nicely for a memorable role in a series that will likely see him closer to 80 than away from it when it’s likely coming to an end. For everyone else, I’d still recommend giving Tulsa King a chance if you’re a fan of interesting characters, engrossing, well-paced and addictive storytelling, and just a good time. Well, a good time as long as you’re not on the opposing side of the Tulsa king himself.
Overall Score: 4.5/5
Blu-ray Video and Audio Review:
While he doesn’t direct the majority of the episodes, Sheridan’s style is all over Tulsa King. There’s a respect for the scenery and locations, but in a much more subtle manner than we see out in Montana. What connects his shows are the realism that’s dedicated to the look and feel, and while Tulsa King has a bit of a lighter vibe to it at times (though make no mistake, it gets dark and violent often enough), it keeps that same, natural, realistic feel to it that sucks the viewer in all the more. The 1080p transfer looks fantastic, and elevates the picture nicely from the streaming aspect if that’s the only place you’ve watched.
The audio side of things gives audiences a Dolby TrueHD 5.1 experience, which compliments the show nicely. The shootouts, motorcycles, and even simple sound effects come from all around in nice and clean fashion, bringing the world of Tulsa to life in exciting ways. The dialogue also rings through nicely from centerstage, never battling it out with the score or any other mix. Overall, this is a solid presentation across the board.
Special Features:
Behind the Story – If you’ve picked up a Sheridan series Blu-ray before then you know that he likes to have a featurette for each episode that sees the cast and crew (more often the cast) talking about that particular episode, where their characters are at, and what they were thinking throughout it. Tulsa King gets the same treatment, with nine of these featurettes to align with each episode. As I mention in my Yellowstone Blu-ray reviews, I recommend not watching these until you finish a disc, or at least that particular episode, as they’re full of spoilers for the episode in question.
Stranger in a Strange Land: Genesis – This is an eight-and-a-half minute feature that sees Sheridan talking about he’s always wanted to work with Stallone, and how he came up with the idea of an aging gangster, fish out of water type story that he thought he’d be perfect for. We then hear from more of the cast and crew about where the story originated from.
Carpe D.M.: Stallone – This 8-minute feature starts with Stallone talking about how he always wanted to be in a gangster film, but could never make it happen. He couldn’t even get the job as extra #28 standing behind the cake during the wedding in The Godfather, but that’s how long he’s wanted to be a part of the world. He talks about how this is the perfect story for him now, and how much he’s enjoying it.
Mercy and Malice: The Cast – Here we’ve got a 12-minute feature that sees the cast and crew talk about what it’s like working with Stallone, the character of Dwight, and how they all fit in to his quest to regain the things most important to him: loyalty, family and friendship.
Haberdashery: Costume Design – This feature comes in at just under 10-minutes in length and we hear about how they purposely keep Stallone in ‘90s style suits for the opening episodes, because that’s all he knows and owns, and as the season progresses he begins to modernize his style more. We also learn about little tricks the cast did to learn about their characters through their wardrobe, as well.
Outthink Your Enemy: Stunts – This feature comes in at 11-minutes and we see the stunt crew for the show, the various times they show up, and some of the more time-consuming stunt scenes in the season, including the climactic shootout in the final episode.
The Here and Now: On Location in Tulsa – This is an 8-minute feature that focuses on the shooting locations, what it’s like shooting in Tulsa, and how it compliments the show.
Paramount Pictures Presents Tulsa King: Season One Limited Edition Steelbook. Created by: Taylor Sheridan. Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Jay Will, Martin Starr, Andrea Savage, Max Casella, Domenick Lombardozzi, A.C. Peterson, Garrett Hedlund, Dana Delany, Ritchie Coster, Emily Davis. Running time: 349 Minutes. Rating: 14A. Released on Blu-ray: June 6, 2023.
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