The Wire: Complete HBO Season 1-5 [2002]

See Larger Image	List Price: £124.99 Our Price: £89.98 Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Starring: Dominic West Average Customer Rating:


Audience Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over Binding: DVD EAN: 7321902249360 Format: Box set Label: Warner Home Video Manufacturer: Warner Home Video Number Of Items: 24 Publisher: Warner Home Video Region Code: 2 Release Date: 2008-12-08 Running Time: 3499 Studio: Warner Home Video
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Editorial Reviews: The Wire is one of those programmes where the increasing number of people who seem to passionately recommend it are simply not wrong. For buried underneath a mountain of praise, and talk of it being one of the finest television shows of all time, is a staggering piece of work, one that slowly but surely takes a look at the many facets of the drugs trade, centred in the city of Baltimore. Series by series, we spend time with the cops, the dealers, the media, local politicians, the education system and more, as The Wire gives each careful treatment, and a three-dimensional portrayal. It also paints a picture of a city in real trouble, with Baltimore one of The Wire’s uncredited stars. But where the show really delivers is in the characters it creates and moulds, and the very real troubles and challenges each of them must face. The show’s detailed strokes are even more compelling than the broader picture it paints. Enhanced by a series of non-showy performances in front of the camera, and some immaculate writing behind, The Wire really is that proverbial real deal. It’s genuinely unpredictable (characters of all sizes find themselves ruthlessly bumped off when you least expect them to), fearless in its tackling of certain subjects, and is that very masterpiece that an increasing army of champions of The Wire suggest it is. The five series contained here are genuinely American television at its very finest, right through to the final scene. Mesmerising television. --Simon Brew
Spotlight customer reviews: Customer Rating: Summary: I can't believe it's just a cop show Comment: There is no disputing that The Wire is a towering piece of work - a television series with the production values of a feature film, a plot as complex as any great social novel but rendered with the care and attention to each telling detail of a Raymond Carver short story. This is storytelling that invests its trust in the intelligence of the viewer. I agree too with everything said here by other reviewers regarding the excellence of the individual and ensemble acting and the powerful evocation of place (Baltimore). However, I simply can't give this boxed set five stars because David Simon and Ed Burns' production values for The Wire have not been carried over into the commentaries and bonus material provided here by HBO. The commentaries are at best pedestrian and at worst banal. The 'behind the scenes' and 'making of' bonus features are disappointingly repetitive. The Wire has spent five series building and developing its audience's critical faculties. Surely, HBO could have done better justice to this masterpiece of televisual art than to issue it with such a slight and condescending package of extras? Customer Rating: Summary: Wired Comment: The Wire simmered for years and some may still not yet have discovered it - hard to believe I know. Series one is the challenge because what is an apparently nerve stretchingingly slow intro to life on the streets of Baltimore, is actually ever so clever. Taking time to set up a drama is rare but The Wire shows how it pays off. Just when you think you can take it or leave it, the disc pops out and desperation for season two kicks in. If you're looking for cops and robbers, CSI procedurals or the Sopranos your time is wasted here. This is an incisive look at the rotten core of police and political culture and the inevitably endless war on drugs, played out against the backdrop of a city divided on ethnic lines, its very fabric crumbling under the strain. The Wire uses some of the best writers around and is a skilled, forensic social commentary for our times and near perfect TV drama. I visited Baltimore in October 2008 and there's lots of bright shiny regeneration but in the areas where The Wire is filmed - believe me they chose to show he good bits! Customer Rating: Summary: All The Pieces Matter Comment: It is very probable that if you're reading this you've never actually seen an episode of "The Wire" before. Granted, 2008 was the year in which the series reached critical mass, receiving write-ups in magazines and newspapers, and spreading via word-of-mouth like some virulent disease, but despite this charm offensive, you are in fact more likely to have at least heard of "The Wire" than to have actually watched it. And for this reason alone, I am quivering with jealousy. HBO have been nice (and commercialy minded) enough to package the entire series into a serious boxset on serious earth, and even if you are intimidated by the price, not to mention the glassy-eyed proselytizers singing its praises up and down this page, THIS IS THE PERFECT FORMAT FOR THE SHOW. The sheer depth and complexity of the show meant that it was never easily digestible as a TV Series, being doled out in hour long morsels, all spaced out over 12-13 weeks. DVD is pefect medium for this show, which takes its time to tell a story. It should be pointed out that if you have a short attention span, this is not the show for you. One episode is not enough to actually get to grips with the story. But give it time. Before too long one episode won't be enough for you to ration yourself to as you continue to spiral into helpless addiction to this series. Of course you'll have heard things said about the show and that, at it's heart, it's just another police procedural. To be more precise, it's the police procedural to end all police procedurals. After finishing the first series, it will be impossible to watch shows such as "CSI" ever again. "The Wire" applies more forensic detail in studying the machinations of a dying American inner city, than Grissom does when examining a corpse. The only downside to buying this hefty boxset is that for you, the experience of watching this series may well be over all too soon. As I said before, I am jealous of the uninitiated, because an embarassment of riches awaits you. Savour it while it lasts. Customer Rating: Summary: The Best TV series I have ever seen! Comment: This is the best Tv series that I have ever seen. I watched all 5 seasons in a row and I am still constantly thinking about it. This TV series gives so much food for thought! I have never seen anything as original Customer Rating: Summary: Brilliant - But should come with a health warning Comment: This as has been said by many reviewers is one of the best, if not the best TV series ever made. Unlike so many flashy superficial series this takes time to build story arcs and character development. Other reviews will tell eveything you need to know so I just want to add a little that hasn't been stated as far as I can see. I would not recommend watching this, as I did, practically non-stop from start to finish. Ultimately the series' depiction of Baltimore is one of utter hopelessness and bleakness. As much as I enjoyed the series and admired the performances, I was extremely depressed for weeks after the end of season 5 and could not stop thinking about the various characters' fates and how nothing really changed. As a white liberal european I have no idea how authentic a vision of Baltimore or other US cities this is, but the enmdemic corruption at all levels of public office (especially so-called Democrats)and the legal profession coupled with the gangs' casual attitude to murder and extreme violence left me rather disturbed. I suppose its is a mark of fine writing and performing that you can be so emotionally caught up in the fate of murderers and unscruplulous drug dealers but that is exactly what happens. The lesser of two evils theme is brilliantly exploited especially with the characters Omar, Bodie and even Proposition Joe. Overall I thought it petered out a little in the final series and seemed a little rushed and less well scripted. Actually by then I was skipping bits not relevant to the main plot and just wanted to see the final outcomes as I had invested so much in it. All in all a brilliant example of what TV can do so much better than film, but just don't expect to feel good or satisfied at the end.... It just aint that knid of show! More Reviews