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The Wire : Complete HBO Season 1 | 
 enlarge | Directors: Brad Anderson, Clark Johnson, Clement Virgo, Edward Bianchi, Gloria Muzio
Actors: Dominic West, John Doman, Idris Elba, Frankie Faison, Larry Gilliard Jr.
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £50.99
Buy New: £14.98
You Save: £36.01 (71%)
New (17) Used (7) from £13.24
Rating:  96 reviews
Sales Rank: 42
Format: Pal
Languages: English (Original Language), French (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 18 years and over
Region: 2
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 5
Running Time: 720 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.5 x 5.4 x 0.7
EAN: 7321900253949
ASIN: B0007IK5Z0
Release Date: April 18, 2005
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Television really doesn't come much better than this. Criminally ignored by far, far too many people, The Wire has proven itself to be that rarest of things: an intelligent, clever, character-driven show, that's lasted more than one season.This boxset brings together all the episodes from the maiden series of The Wire, spread across thirteen episodes. Yet those episodes, unlike many in the police genre where the show spends a good deal of its time, are dedicated to just one case. Furthermore, it follows both sides of the case. Thus, there's the Baltimore police department, with its statistics to manage, its internal politics to manage and its chain of command to respect, set against a highly organised drug gang, who too have more than their fair share of problems. The Wire is a slow burn show, taking time to delicate put its pieces in place. Rarely do you get a dramatic end to an episode, and it's not afraid to humanise and blur the lines between good and bad. But, bluntly, there's nothing--not even The Sopranos--that US TV has broadcast in the last ten years that can hold a torch to it. This first series is genuinely outstanding television, and really deserves your attention. And the good news? Excellent as it is, this first series isn't even the best that The Wire has to offer…--Simon Brew
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| Customer Reviews: Read 10 more reviews...
Real Art July 1, 2007
C. J. Weekes
44 out of 46 found this review helpful
Over the last few years the quality of the US dramas have been outstanding. The shortned List -: 24, West wing, Battlestar Galactica Rome, Deadwood and of course The Sopranos.
I borrowed The Wire on the strength of this and it was very hard going at first. It had a gritty and unappealing setting(inner city Baltimore). The Pace was pendantic and there was so much street slang and police jargon, it did not seem to be going anywhere. I had not even read the reviews. I was truly going to return it. But at about the 6th or 7th episode. I began to understand the reason for the earlier seeming directionlesness.They were laying the foundations, indeed there was line I think the character Lester made about building things piece by piece till all the characters fit. I aslso began to realise what the writers had done they had created a whole universe, I simply had to see things in thier context.
Now having watched all 3 Seasons on DVD. I concur with the other viewers is saying that this is truly an extraordinary piece of work, A tale of an American city taken from different perspectives as an allegory for something that is happening in the society at a more profound level. Kudos to the writers for the complexity and depth and to HBO for being so bold (as they have always been). The acting is simply seamless, you could be forgiven for thinking you are watching a documentary. The show scope is breathtaking. It has truly raised the bar on what televison can produce
Listen Carefully June 24, 2007
Jon (UK)
101 out of 108 found this review helpful
It's no wonder this series hasn't caught a massive audience. It's intelligent, it doesn't depend on cheap theatrics and easy hooks, it asks viewers to think for themselves, it refuses to run cliches and stereotypes, its characters are often amoral or ethically flip-flop just like real people, it doesn't hand over the story in neat little bites, it relies on small beats of emotion to redirect the narrative arcs and it absolutely will not make any allowances if you miss something important. When you add the methodical attention to detail in police work, the unfiltered slang used by the gangs, the unremitting bad language, the use of drugs and the occasional splashes of genuinely unpleasant violence it really is a winner. Oh yeah, and it takes its time and goes really slowly as well.
If reading the above you think it's a description of TV hell then goodbye. Don't let the door bump your backside on the way out. On the other hand if it rings any bells with you, then you have to watch this. The closest thing I can compare it to is...nothing else. There's never been anything quite like it. I read someone else here use the word genius and I think it is. It's a novel written for TV.
A word of warning, though. I was in episodes 5-7 before I started loving it. Up until then it was appreciation then it all clicked into place and I went back and played the whole thing from the start.
Also the 2nd and 3rd seasons are even better but you need to begin with season 1.
The greatest cop show of all time. March 30, 2005
50 out of 54 found this review helpful
The Wire was made by HBO an american cable network. By being on cable HBO avoids the censorship and popularism that makes much of the american TV that we receive bland (if polished), this has allowed it to create series of the quality of the Sopranos and Deadwood. The Wire has failed to "break out" in the way that those series have and was only shown on FX289, a little watched SKY channel, in the UK. This does The Wire a grave injustice as it is arguably superior to either of the aforementioned shows as it possesses an ensemble cast as strong as either of them with fantastic performances from Idris Elba and Andre Royo among others. However, it is in plot that The Wire surpasses any other show I can recall, most detective shows are episodic containing one or two crimes at the start of the hour that are solved in the last 5 minutes. The Wire breaks this mould following a team of detectives trying to catch Avon Barksdale and Stringer Bell two dealers who control the drug trade in East Baltimore over a whole series rather than an episode. This perhaps accounts for The Wire's lack of success on TV as one missed episode means you fail to see the jigsawlike case completed and fully understand what happens. The show is also unusual in that it shifts perspective between the police, criminals and addicts and in doing so becomes more than a CSI style whodunnit, and more a show about institutions and the people within them. In short the most fantastically clever thing on telly.
Be Warned This will cost you August 31, 2007
Ian Paterson (Newcastle Uk)
22 out of 24 found this review helpful
I had never seen the Wire on TV and truth be told had barely noticed it being a fan of The Shield this kept getting linked as a reccomend and I'm really glad I did.
12 hours of one of the best shows I've seen. There are other reviews that give you the low down on the story so let me describe it like this I think it's The Godfather of the modern day drug gangs. The layers of story just keep building. DVD would seem the perfect format for this to be viewed as I watched multiple episodes at a time. It must have been hard watching this on TV over 3 months as small incidents in early episodes are referenced with only one exception there is a flashback to explain the story.
The characters are fantastic and so well written that you have no problem remebering whom everyone is, which when you are talking about 20 key charcaters is an impressive trick. No way could such a complicated story be shown in a movie and this is a perfect example of when great TV can trump a great film.
The extras on the DVD consist of two commentaries with the comentary on the penultament episode being particularly good with series creator David Simon and writer George Pelecanos who is the Quentin Tarantino of authors
The real warning here is that you should get the figure 60 into your head because I promise you if you buy and watch this then you'll be purchasing seasons 2 and 3 as soon as the distinctive credit music starts on epsiode 12.
Engrossing and Well-Made TV Drama August 5, 2007
Mr. Laurence Williams (UK)
14 out of 15 found this review helpful
This 1st Season of the TV series 'The Wire' was increasingly more enjoyable for me as each subsequent episode was watched. It comes as no surprise that HBO are responsible for The Wire, they also produced other similarly top-notch dramas such as The Sopranos and Six Feet Under. I have avidly watched 'The Wire' from the beginning and in sequential order !
The story, which runs for the entire season and the series as a whole, unfolds to reveal a multi-layered plot surrounding a specific group of drug-dealing criminals (along with their army of street-side distributors) and the detectives within the Baltimore Police Department who are trying to catch them in the act. Episodes do not have dedicated storylines nor a definite beginning/ending, everything flows through the Season as a whole and of course to subsequent Seasons.
*** My review of this programme is intentionally vague about the story as I don't want to spoil things for first-time viewers !
The gritty and very believable narrative involves murder, other major crimes including corruption, marital strife and officious superiors. Developments often pull no punches and regularly end the 'wrong way' ie no sugar-coating. There is a lot of violence, bad language and anti-social behaviour...
The attention given to showing how the opposing groups operate in their environment is intense; we are shown the often fascinating specifics of investigative policing (which allude to the programme title as electronic monitoring dominates) warts and all, including the hours of 'boring' surveillance and laborious detective work.
The viewer is rarely 'spoon-fed' plot developments, which are on occasion complicated, nor helped with understanding the involvement of particular individuals other than mentioning their name (so you have to keep a good track of who is who !). The cast is uniformly excellent and most will be unknown to British viewers. That combined with their supremely good acting skills and excellent screenplay makes the characters and story all the more believable.
The feeling of reality is affirmed due to the overwhelming majority of each episode being filmed on location (even including those scenes which are indoors) and the absence of an accompanying musical soundtrack. Having watched the entire season, I cannot remember another TV drama I have watched where I was so genuinely affected when a particular character who one has become 'attached' to was injured or killed.
The DVD set has 3 episode commentaries and, thankfully, English subtitles as I often had difficulty understanding the language used by our American friends (although it is noteworthy that the lead actor, Dominic West, is actually British and fakes a very believable Baltimore accent and another main character Idris Elba, 'Stringer Bell', is also British but speaks with a New York accent !).
I have seen DVD reviews observing that the transfer from the US NTSC to UK PAL DVD format did not include any of the usual conversion processes leading to picture/sound abnormalities; I could not detect any problems whatsoever on my retail DVD set played through a widescreen TV and amplifier....
I shall be watching Season 2 almost immediately !
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