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The Wire - The Complete Second Season by Ernest Dickerson
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DVD detailsActor: Amy Ryan, Chris Bauer, Dominic West, Idris Elba, Paul Ben-Victor Director: Ernest Dickerson Brand: WIRE DVD: Region Code 1 Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0; Greek (Original Language); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital 2.0 Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD-Video, Full Screen, NTSC, Subtitled Picture Format: 1.33:1 Running Time: 720 minutes DVD Release Date: 2005-01-25 Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated) Studio: HBO Home Video
DVD Reviews of The Wire - The Complete Second SeasonDVD Review: The Finest Season Of The Wire Summary: 5 StarsI'm not going to give an episode by episode synopsis of this masterful season of what is the greatest show ever aired on television, in my opinion. However, in the view of this reviewer, this is finest season David Simon and Ed Burns wrote.
I've seen the negative reviews and have heard many people complain that Season 2 is "slower," "takes longer to develop," and "the characters aren't as interesting." The reality is that each of these individuals along with each of the reviewers on this site that are saying this have never been to Baltimore. I've lived in Baltimore my entire life and was born here. My family to this day runs a small manufacturing business in the steel industry and this season pretty much captures each side of the true Baltimore - this is a blue collar manufacturing and port town plagued by heroin, disease, prostitution, and perhaps the highest murder per capita rate in the entire world (if you don't count Detroit). And that is what The Wire strives to achieve.....this isn't just a dramatic cops and drug dealers show....this is epic about the city of Baltimore and here we witness the decline of the city's industries that have long supported its communities (along with the drugs, murder, gangbangers, ect.)
At the beginning of the first episode when McNulty is on the boat, they go by the former Bethlehem Steel Sparrow's Point plant. McNulty says his father worked there but was laid off. That is the theme - The deindustrialization of this town, and hence, our country.
In my opinion, Frank Sobotka is possibly the greatest character of the entire show (except for Omar). He has the responsibility to so many men at the port but doesn't have the work to give them so he has to resort to bringing in contraband for the greeks. By the way, the prostitutes in the barrels and the giant drug bust REALLY HAPPENED here several years ago and there IS a large Greek community here (even though the greek wasn't really greek). Also, another perk for me here is NO MARLOW.....Stringer Bell is the perfect villain here, an Adam Smith-following, enterprising, kill everyone in his way, straight up businessman.
I'll stop there but if you want to really witness every side of Baltimore and really know what this town is about, look no further.
DVD Review: The Wire - Season two Summary: 5 StarsI was surprised at how fast it came after I ordered it. And it was in brand new condition. I will definately do more shopping with you!
DVD Review: Brilliant; Tolstoyan in conception Summary: 5 StarsAfter Season One, which focused on a gang of Baltimore drug dealers, Season Two of The Wire shifts focus to the docks. We're introduced to a new cast of characters, from the tough Polish-American who runs the stevedores union to his feckless son and a creepy band of international criminals headed by "The Greek" who smuggle prostitutes from Eastern Europe as well as heroin.
Many of the characters from Season One also reappear.
It takes a couple of episodes to set up the premise for this season but once that's done the drama becomes riveting.
What impresses me so much about this series is the panoramic view it takes, which reminds me of Tolstoy. Some characters are fundamentally trying to do the right thing but crushed by their circumstances. A few are just utterly evil, but even these are human with their foibles, their sense of humor, their loves, hatreds and desires. One crime boss attends economics classes at night school and tries to apply its lessons to his business. A hired assassin is an avid reader of Harpers and The New Yorker. And most characters are somewhere in the middle. They want to do good but sometimes it's just easier not to.
Like all the best drama, there are moments of comedy and also tragedy, incredible surprises, brilliant performances and a steady ratcheting up of tensions. I really recommend this series. I don't know of anything better that has ever been produced for American TV.
DVD Review: Riveting Summary: 5 StarsI highly suggest you get this. But wait! Not just the second season, get the series and treat yourself to some of the best work you'll ever see.
DVD Review: Best writing on television Summary: 4 StarsThis series is more like a novel than the typical TV show. I like that they address all the players in THE GAME and not just making it seem like one particular race's problem. Plus, it's a show not afraid to let cases go bad and not always get the main bad guy. I'm still not a fan of Dominic West and not sure why he has top billing, he's not the most compelling character of the show-not by a long shot. Still, this is one of the best on TV.
Description of The Wire - The Complete Second Season(HBO Dramatic Series) The most unvarnished, uncompromising and realistic police drama ever returns for another hard hitting season. McNolty has been demoted to harbor patrol, Daniels is in the police archive dungeon, Prez is chafing in the suburbs and Gregs is stuck behind a desk. Meanwhile, on the docks of the Baltimore harbor, the rank and file scrounge for work and the union bosses take illegitimate measures to reinvigorate business, but a horrific discovery is about to blow the whole port inside out. While the detail is on ice, a new case begins...DVD Features: Audio Commentary:Audio commentaries with Dominic West and Michael K. Williams, executive producer Karen Thorson and editor Thom Zimny. Episodics and Recaps Episodic Recaps
It hardly seems possible, but The Wire's second season is even better than the first. The "visual novel" concept of this masterful HBO series is taken even further in a rich, labyrinthine plot revolving around the longshoremen of Baltimore's struggling cargo docks, where corruption, smuggling, and murder draw the attention of detective McNulty (Dominic West). What follows is a series of events which at first seem unrelated (including 13 bodies found in a cargo container), and then the ongoing effort to topple the drug empire of "Stringer" Bell (Idris Elba) and the imprisoned Avon Barksdale (Wood Harris), whose business is suffering from short supply, high demand, and disruption of distribution. The dutiful diligence of a Marine Police Patrol Officer and the moral outrage of the longshoremen's union leader are also factored into the suspicious goings-on at the loading docks, and what unfolds in these 12 episodes is an American crime epic easily on par with the Godfather saga. Yes, it's that good. Detailed synopsis is pointless; The Wire must be seen, heard, and absorbed to fully appreciate the way in which over 40 characters are flawlessly incorporated into a sprawling but tightly disciplined plot that deals, in the larger sense, with the deindustrialization of America and the struggle of longshoremen in a changing economical climate. Offering a privileged and occasionally frightening glimpse of the inner workings of shipping ports and cargo transports, The Wire is also a detailed expos? of organized crime and blue-collar corruption, and an authentic, well-informed study of political maneuvering among police and city officials. There's not a single false note to be found in the cast, direction, or writing of this phenomenal series, hailed by many critics as "the best show on television." With all due respect to HBO's other excellent series, The Wire tops them all. --Jeff Shannon
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