Own the rights?
54 out of 66 people found the following review useful: scary as he used to be, 30 July 2008 Author: wendy718 from Iraq
in fact , am watching this drama and writing in the same time. i couldn't wait me and my husband for this to start , we are iraqi and we lived most of our lives under Saddam's regime , this is a good drama about Saddam , it starts when he came to power in 79 , so scary , so unpredictable as he always used to be , we watched him on TV , lived in a country ruled by him , and in this series i am remembering my childhood , and my life in Iraq, i believe this drama is so real offcourse except for the language which is Arabic in reality ,all characters resemble the real ones , with the music and all.i'll give it 9 starts.
23 out of 29 people found the following review useful: Truly chilling dramatisation of Saddam's dictatorship, 5 August 2008 Author: DVD_Connoisseur from England
"House of Saddam" is an excellent dramatisation of Saddam's rule, starting in 1979. With high production standards, excellent performances and truly blood chilling scenes, this is unmissable television.This four part drama series provides an insight into the world of the Husseins and looks at Saddam's relationships with family, friends, allies and enemies. It appears to be a well researched piece and, despite dramatic licence, you feel you're watching actual events unfold.9 out of 10. Excellent.
15 out of 20 people found the following review useful: Gripping television that will win awards galore!, 9 August 2008 Author: Peter Hayes from United Kingdom
The rise and fall of the Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein.What a big project this must have been. Trying to distil the best bits of Saddam's twenty four years in power in to four hours and not losing those not steeped in Middle Eat politics would appear impossible to some - but my word, they have pulled it off! Here you have it all: Power, sex, family, violence, politics, war, madness, you name it. The complete drama play box. Yet this is a personal drama that is more interested in family and politics than needless bloodshed. Not that it isn't very gory at times. This is not for children.You also have a fantastic lead performance from Yigal Naor. Utterly mesmerising: Deluded, multi-faced, sometimes charming and yet ruling by fear. Trusting nobody - and certainly not his friends or family. Hitler meets Idi Amin in a country with rich oil fields and - therefore - "important" to the West.Pick of the highly convincing support cast is Philip Arditti as "first son" Uday. The mad-as-a-hatter "heir". The camera lingers/glaces on him for no reason at council and cabinet meetings, sneering or (inappropriately) looking unconcerned. He even makes Saddam look straight!Yes, it had loads of things to crib and copy from: The Sopranos and the Godfather Trilogy among them, but it is amazing how the format fits around a story that is almost entirely true. In its major facts at least.If there is a better mini-series played on TV this year I would be very surprised. You'll want to watch it more than once - I know I did.
13 out of 19 people found the following review useful: History according to Hollywood?, 28 January 2009 Author: nejad33 from Los Angeles
This is a well made, well acted superb production as a series, but it really fails to tell the truth about Saddam's connection with the United States. Once again we have Hollywood deciding what stays in and what stays out and this series makes Saddam to be a something from Shakespeare's "King Lear" and it is utter non-sense. I was surprised and very disappointed since this was made by the BBC and they usually get things right?. I guess when HBO joined in things got changed?. This series never delved into the US role in backing Saddam's regime early, and later backing him to fight Iran by supplying him with Bombs to Bomb Iran for almost 8 years. Killing all the women and children with Chemicals that came from US. This is well known documented FACT and part of the US history but I guess it is easier to make someone else to be the Monster like Saddam.They didn't show one scene with Tariq Aziz in the White House with Bush senior and Regan when they were making all the arm deal to Bomb Iran and later the same US Govt made Saddam to be the monster. This was covered by the PBS on Frontline: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/gunning/there was real footage showing Tariq Aziz in the White house and meeting with Regan and Bush all smiles when they were shipping arms to Iraq to bomb Iran and that part of history is somehow OK by HBO and BBC to decided what part of History is made into this fabricated fantasy of Saddam? Hollywood makes it's own history of Saddam and the sad part is for the most part the general public, and mostly Americans whom can not name their own presidents or have very little knowledge of their own history and yet sit back and watch this crap and then write reviews on this site as it to be some amazing series to depict someone like Saddam?.I encourage you people to log into sites http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/and watch the truth about your own history about Iraq and Saddam and US.
9 out of 12 people found the following review useful: Compelling Drama, 24 August 2008 Author: Theo Robertson from Isle Of Bute, Scotland
Imagine a a miniseries where you know the ending . Wouldn't that mean there's a lack of suspense ? You know the ending therefore there's little reason to watch . We all know what happened to Saddam Hussain so it says a lot that within a few short minutes of watching this show I was totally intrigued and hooked by it The production team knows the audience will know the ultimate outcome of this chronicle so concentrate on the dramatic aspects of Saddam's time in power . The first episode concentrates on his ascent to power by liquidating his rivals on trumped up charges of " counter revolutionary activities " and waging a war against his Persian neighbours . The second episode introduces his two sons who were every bit as bad as him if not worst and shows the results of his doomed escapade in Kuwait . The third episode shows his genius of brinkmanship and political machinations while the final episode shows the dictator as a fugitive on the run Some critics have expressed disappointment in that some aspects are skated over too quickly while others say the ordinary sufferings of the ordinary Iraqi people are ignored . There's some truth to this but again the the producers have quite rightly ignored scope and concentrated on well written drama superbly acted by an unknown cast . I've never heard of Yigal Naor or Philip Arditti but they both give superb performances and I look forward to this series picking up a few awards at the more prestigious award ceremonis
9 out of 13 people found the following review useful: How to seize power and hold on to it for a quarter of a century, 30 August 2008 Author: gray4 from Somerset, England
This four-part mini-series grips you from the outset. Yigal Naor's portrayal of the young Saddam is brilliant, seizing power brutally but always with a purpose behind his brutality. This contrasts with the mindless, purposeless brutality of his elder son Uday (Philip Arditti), which comes through in the 2nd and 3rd episodes.The mini-series' structure, taking four key years in Saddam's life over 24 years, is managed extremely effectively, although one consequence is that some of the best-known incidents of his reign of terror have to be omitted.The character of each family member develops across the episodes and the overall sense of an all-pervading reign of terror comes over very powerfully.My main criticism is of the final episode, almost elegiac with a mellow Saddam on the run with a consequent loss of tension and momentum. Although I suppose that, as we all know what happened to him right from the start, this is probably inevitable. But well worth watching and superbly acted by everyone.
11 out of 17 people found the following review useful: Exceptional television drama, 3 August 2008 Author: Don Boyd from London, England
The first episode of this drama series could have fallen into all the traps that recreations of modern history, and ancient history for that matter, fall into: Glib unrealistic portrayals of character; ridiculous over simplification; and sloppy historical inaccuracies. Alex Holmes with his production team and a brilliant cast avoided this brilliantly in the light of one over-riding handicap they had - All of us have our preconceptions and our own sketchy 'take' on the Saddam sagas presented by the media and by governments over the last 25 years in various forms of uneven levels of factual integrity, political expediency and rigor. Amazingly, despite this, I was able to accept the inevitable economies of scale limiting Holmes and his ingenious team, and was spellbound by the simple exposition of Saddam's corrupt, and corrupting modus operandi. The family dynamic was cleverly integrated with the political backdrop and viewers more interested in the subtext will not be disappointed. A grisly reminder that we have lived through an era when monsters exist within the human race and our world seems to be reluctant to learn from history and be more alert to their ability to operate, and cause tragedy and mayhem while we too often watch and allow them. Great telly too on a straightforward entertainment level.
8 out of 12 people found the following review useful: IMO this is the best review of these series I found on Internet, 8 December 2008 Author: Andrey from United States
"I began to watch the first episode and thought ”My father looks more like Saddam than this actor.” It was nice seeing a primarily Middle Eastern cast in such a landmark piece, but then again they all end up being characterized as sociopaths or terrorists in the end. I suppose I shouldn't complain just yet due to the opportunity this gives us to see Arab actors speak English and not get shot within the first 4 minutes (I think the first set of murders/ executions happens about 6 minutes in).Saddam is portrayed as a power hungry version of Vito Corleone. He lusts for power, trusts no one, and supposedly “know a traitor before he knows himself.” The difference is that people supported the Godfather while they are made to detest Saddam. There is brief mention of the US involvement in the war with Iran (at least they elude to it) and a glance at Saddam's attempt to gain favor on the international stage.That is where the truth ends and the propaganda begins. What I at first had thought was an Arab cast became a lie. It wasn't the actors names at the end of the show, it was their accents. These were not Arab American actors or even Arab actors, they were (for the most part) Israeli. Saddam is played by Yigal Naor (yes he is of Iraqi descent but that makes no difference here), Ali Hassan al-Majid is played by Uri Gavriel. There is only one actual Arab is the main cast and three others in supporting roles. There are Iranians, Cypriots and Israelis.As much as I want to watch the final two episodes I simply cannot. I cannot watch a group of people pretend to be Arab. It has happened too many times and I must simply make a stand against it. There are Arab Actors, hire them. Use people who can actually speak Arabic.I simply can't take this miniseries seriously anymore. It is simply a tool to make people think they knew what happened and why they are justified in killing thousands of Iraqis. They only recreate the events that were most notorious. They focus in on the religious fault lines (even though Saddam was a secular man). Heck, they even throw in a light skinned blond woman for all the men to lust after. Truly this can be reduced to racial stereotypes and western misrepresentations of facts and culture.I am no fan of Saddam, but even he deserved better than this."
5 out of 9 people found the following review useful: Great performances and production, 14 August 2008 Author: goreblimey77 from United States
*** This review may contain spoilers ***
Just having finished watching Episode 3, my previous impressions of the high caliber of this production have been confirmed and surpassed. The whole cast turns in by-now-predictably superior performances, aided in good part by the writing and cinematography - both of which are likewise outstanding. In this latest episode, however, I was especially impressed with Agni Scott's quite stunning performance as Raghad Hussein.Scott plays the loving and obedient wife of General Kamel Hussein, and the knowing daughter of her country and her father, Saddam Hussein. And Scott plays the role to perfection. Raghad's deep understanding of Iraq and of her father is a telling counterpoint to the repeatedly foolish choices of her husband -- the self-pretending pretender to the pretender who is the President.Scott (a true beauty whose resemblance to Mini Driver is quite astounding) shines here, as she has done in other venues (e.g., The Hamburg Cell). But so much of this production shines in so many ways, large and small. (Like the camera shot at (ep. 3) @ 25 minutes -- "I always knew he was a snake . . ."; like the musical score).A very bad story, told so very well. Thank you BBC and HBO. Thank you, all.
I'm no fan of Saddam, but the level of propaganda and lies in this program stops it from being anything but complete fiction, 9 December 2009 Author: thornsthorns from United Kingdom
I'm no fan of Saddam, but the level of propaganda and lies in this program stops it from being anything but complete fiction.He is shown like a cross between an Hitler, godfather and a coward.The film really seems to serve no purpose other than as a propaganda tool.Again i am no fan of the guy, but history and programs pretending to historical or based on history, should remain factually true, or at the very least spiritually true to the events.This program is neither, but nonetheless is entertaining enough i suppose. But if you want that kind of entertainment your better off watching sopranos or the original godfather trilogy.
Add another review
