House of Saddam
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DVD details
Actor: Igal NaorBrand: HBO
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 5.1; English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 5.1
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Miniseries, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.78:1
Running Time: 260 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-04-14
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Product features:
- Revealing the private world of Saddam Hussein and his inner circle, this gripping 4-part, 4-hour miniseries charts the rise and fall of one of the most significant political figures in recent history. Over the course of 27 years, Saddam (Igal Naor) rose from peasant origins to the highest office in Iraq, consolidating his power by executing those who posed real or imagined threats, and surrounding
DVD Reviews of House of Saddam
DVD Review: Good, but misses a lot
Summary: 4 Stars
As a production this is an awesome film. The acting is superb (expecially the actor who played Udai... he made a convincing psycho) and while not as wide-ranging as I would have liked it did make a convincing show of the progress of history.
With that being said, there is much which is left unsaid. The movie begins with the point where Saddam, then Vice-President of Iraq, deposes the sitting president. However, Saddam's struggle for power began significantly earlier. In 1959 he had attempted to assassinate Qassim in, the military dictator who himself overthrew Faisal II. He sprayed bullets indiscriminately and apparantly ruined the planned attack. He managed to escape and in 1963 he became head of Iraq's security apparatus following a Ba'athist coup. He had a reputation for routinely using torture and terror against potential enemies and his role in that regime probably led to its overthrow. When the Ba'ath returned Saddam took measures to ensure that true democracy would never be a feature of Iraq. These things are not discussed in the movie at all, except for a brief couple of minutes in which an Iraqi movie is being made about Saddam's life.
Very little is made of the cult of personality that Saddam initiated after he assumed the role of President. You see billboards on the street and that sort of thing but Saddam's image was everywhere: stamps, books, watch faces, monuments, money... just about anything would have Saddam's image or a quotation from him. Nothing is shown of the secret police either, when an off-handed comment could land you in a prison and might even cost you your life.
The timeline of the story is usually correct but the events surrounding Desert Storm are off. At one point the Iraqis are talking about the Coalition crossing into Kuwait and how they would soon be crossing into Iraq. In fact, the far left wing of the line was the first to jump off, directly into Iraqi territory in order to reach the Euphrates and cut off the bulk of Iraq's army (I know because I was there, with the XVIII ABN Corps). Saddam gave the order for the Republican guard to pull back to Baghdad but in fact the guard, which was sitting astride the Kuwaiti/Iraq border, was waiting to go SOUTH and was already in the process of being engaged by VII Corps. All the RGC divisions were hit and several virtually ceased to exist after Coalition armor got through with them.
Another funny line from that scene is Qusay's comment that the regular Iraqi army units were retreating and "not even the Americans would attack retreating troops." Somehow, I don't thing these words passed the lips of one of Saddam's ruthless henchmen.
The sudden surprise cease-fire is another joke. You can bet the cease-fire was directly authorized by Saddam: someone else didn't have to tell him about it. Also, Coalition forces did not begin withdrawing on the day of the cease-fire... further forces were held back but the lines held for a couple of weeks.
Nothing is said of the uprisings north and south, even though one group of Iraqi dissidents ambushed Udai's vehicle and badly injured him. Even if this is mostly supposed to be about Saddam's family, THAT fact should have been mentioned. He walked with a limp after that.
Finally, during the part of the film that looks at the Coalition effort to find Saddam after the fall of Baghdad, a captured Iraqi is unhooded and it looks as if he has been beaten during interrogation. This is a flat-out lie. I would like to know if that information is supposedly published somewhere or if the film maker added it because "everybody knows that's what Americans do."
I still give this four stars for its acting and production values. But while it is entertaining it is hardly a thorough depiction of this story.
Description of House of Saddam
Revealing the private world of Saddam Hussein and his inner circle, this gripping 4-part, 4-hour miniseries charts the rise and fall of one of the most significant political figures in recent history. Over the course of 27 years, Saddam (Igal Naor) rose from peasant origins to the highest office in Iraq, consolidating his power by executing those who posed real or imagined threats, and surrounding himself with family members, ultimately his notorious sons Uday and Qusay. Along the way, Saddam pushed aside his wife Sajida (Oscar® nominee Shohreh Aghdashloo) for a young mistress, orchestrated the death of Sajidas brother Adnan (his closest confidante), and forced two cousins of high rank who had married his daughters to divorce their wives before meeting a grisly end. In the end, House of Saddam reveals its title character as a man of undeniable vision ultimately brought down by his own flaws especially an unquenchable thirst for power, attained at all costs, including the sacrifice of those who were closest to him.Bestsellers in DVD
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