Blu-ray, DVD Release: The Deuce

Digital Release Date: Nov. 27, 2017, Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Feb. 13, 2017
Price: DVD $29.96, Blu-ray $39.99
Studio: HBO


Set during the early 1970s in New York City’s Times Square, the HBO drama The Deuce, starring James Franco (127 Hours) and Maggie Gyllenhaal (White House Down), gives viewers an up-close look at the gritty world of sex and crime, as the porn industry begins its climb to legitimacy, cultural permanence, and billion-dollar profitability.

James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal take it to the streets in The Deuce.

Over the course of eight episodes, The Deuce chronicles the rise of the porn industry that began in New York City in 1971-72, driven by the gradual legalization of porn and a politically motivated effort to “clean up” Times Square. Seizing the chance to cash in on the nascent porn business are a vivid assortment of characters, including: Vincent Martino (Franco), a bartender with vision and connections; Frankie Martino (Franco again), Vincent’s identical twin, a dangerously freewheeling counterpart to his entrepreneurial brother; Candy (Gyllenhaal), a self-made, on-the-street sex worker eying a new career in porn filmmaking; pimps C.C. (Gary Carr) and Larry Brown (Gbenga Akinnagbe); young prostitutes Darlene (Dominique Fishback) and Lori (Emily Meade); midtown cop Chris Alston (Lawrence Gilliard, Jr.); mob capo Rudy Pipilo (Michael Rispoli, The Rum Diary); disillusioned college student Abby Parker (Margarita Levieva); and others.

Here’s a breakdown on the bonus features:

Digital Download, Blu-ray & DVD Bonus Features Include: 

  • The Deuce in Focus- Delve inside The Deuce with Michelle MacLaren, James Franco and Roxann Dawson as they talk about bringing the show to life.
  • The Wild West: New York in the Early ’70s- Head back in time in this featurette that focuses on the frontier of the pornography business–New York City in the early 1970s–with the cast and crew of The Deuce. Creators David Simon and George Pelecanos plus James Franco and his co-stars open up about this unique period in NYC history as porn moved from the street to the mainstream screen.

Blu-ray & DVD Exclusive Bonus Features Include:

  • Audio Commentaries- Commentaries on Episode 1 and Episode 8 with cast and crew including David Simon (Co-Creator/Executive Producer), George Pelecanos (Co-Creator/Executive Producer), Nina Kostroff Noble (Executive Producer), Michele MacLaren (Director), Maggie Gyllenhaal (Actor/Producer) and James Franco (Actor/Executive Producer).
Buy or Rent The Deuce

About Laurence

Founder and editor Laurence Lerman saw Alfred Hitchcock’s North by Northwest when he was 13 years old and that’s all it took. He has been writing about film and video for more than a quarter of a century for magazines, anthologies, websites and most recently, Video Business magazine, where he served as the Reviews Editor for 15 years.