"I'll have three fingers of Glenlivet, with a little bit of pepper....and some cheese"
"I'll have three fingers of Glenlivet, with a little bit of pepper....and some cheese"
Member since:12.02.2004
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We've all been there - our brother or sister needs a favour, and we've helped them out. A loan of money, a lift somewhere, maybe even telling a lie for them. But what happens if your brother is on death row, awaiting execution for a murder that he claims he didn't commit? That's easy - you get yourself imprisoned in order to break him out. Of course it helps if you are the architect who designed the prison, and you have the blueprint of the entire place tattooed over your torso.....
Sounds far fetched? Well, it is - but who cares? Its the mouthwatering set-up to this years big TV hit, Prison Break. Originally shown on Five earlier this year, it garnered huge word-of-mouth and won a new army of fans when it was repeated on UKTV Gold. Now the entire first series is released on DVD, so you don't get the agonising weekly wait for the next episode. Big cliffhanger? Just whack in the next DVD and keep
on watching! Also, with series 2 just starting in the US its a perfect time to catch up with the best TV show for ages.
While the other major US TV hit, Lost, baffles viewers with its labyrinthe and seemingly endless plot, Prison Break keeps things tight and not a second is wasted. Witness this from the fast-paced first episode. While most shows will take a few hours to set the scene, the credits have barely finished rolling when mild mannered architect Michael Schofield (Wentworth Miller) walks into a crowded bank and attempts a robbery. However he's already called the cops, and is sent to Fox River Penitentiary where his brother Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) is on death row. Having designed the prison, Michael has been tattooed with the blueprint, and will use every trick in the book to get his brother out. However, his plans spin out of control when so many of the inmates hear about the plan, that he's soon taking a team out of the prison!
At first, Prison Break ticks all the 'prison movie' cliche boxes - all the inmates are present and correct. We've got the old guy seeing out his time and keeping his head down, the wisecracking youngster, the fixer, the genuinely creepy sex offender and the grizzled ex-mob boss now seemingly running the prison from his cell. Add in a sadistic warden who always seems one step ahead of the inmates escape plan, and you may feel that we're in familiar territory.
However despite this, there is an originality to Prison Break which lifts it above most of the current TV shows - the writing is great, characters really grow over the course of the series, and the casting and acting are spot on. The eerily calm, cool Miller makes a great leading man, and is sure to launch a big career after this. Purcell gets the less showy role as Lincoln but is apparently already being talked of in Hollywood casting.
There's a strong support cast too, in particular Stacy Keach as the sympathetic prison boss Pope, who forms a bond with Michael. Peter Stormare (from Fargo) is impressive as mob boss Abruzzi while there's good work too from Wade Williams as tough-guy warden Bellick and Sarah Wayne Callies as prison doctor Sarah Tancredi who finds herself falling for Michael's charms, unaware that he may be using her for his escape.
It's also 2 shows in 1 - apart from the main storyline concering Michael and Lincoln's bid for freedom, we get a twisty political thriller following Lincoln's lawyer and ex-girlfriend Veronica (Robin Tunney) and her bid to prove Lincoln's innocence. There are shades of 24 and the John Grisham thriller "The Pelican Brief" as Veronica soon finds that a lot of people want Lincoln dead, and her too!
The DVD extras include the usual cast commentaries, but also several informative documentaries on the making of the show.
If you've never seen the show, its a perfect time to pick up the DVD and see what you've missed before series 2 appears on our screens. Nearly every episode ends on a cliffhanger, and even the much criticized ending is the only possible way that the writers could have concluded such a series.
Here's to series 2!
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
Production Year: 2000 - Drama - Director: Giuseppe Tornatore - Original Language: Italian - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Monica Bellucci, Giuseppe Sulfaro, Luciano Federico, Matilde Piana
great review
what do u think of mine??
http://dvd.ciao.co.uk/Prison_Break_Complete_Season_1_Six_Discs_Box_Set_DVD__Review_5714223
LukeRichardson 17.11.2006 23:22
I have always wanted to watch prison break! Unfortunatley though I havnt got channel 5 and Im skint at the mo so cant afford the box set! Good review though! Luke
Soho_Black 10.11.2006 06:20
If this is to be posted as a DVD review, I'd like to see more on the extras than "informative documentaries". Which aspects of making the show do they focus on?
Season one ofPrison Breakis great television. Here's the set-up. Lincoln Burrows (Dominic ... more
Purcell) is framed and wrongfully convicted for assassinating the Vice President's brother. Lincoln's brother Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), whojust happen...
Postage & Packaging: £1.21 Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Season one ofPrison Breakis great television. Here's the set-up. Lincoln Burrows (Dominic ... more
Purcell) is framed and wrongfully convicted for assassinating the Vice President's brother. Lincoln's brother Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), whojust happen...
Postage & Packaging: free Super Saver Delivery Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours...
Most men would do anything to get out of Fox River Penitentiary, but Michael Scofield ... more
(Wentworth Miller) will do anything to get in. His brother Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) has been sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit, and the only way to save...
Most men would do anything to get out of prison... But Michael Scofield would do anything ... more
he can to get in. Created written and executive produced by Paul Scheuring (A Man Apart) Prison Break also features considerable input from Hollywood action di...
Postage & Packaging: £0.00 Availability: 3-5 working days
![Prison Break - The Complete 1st Season [Box Set]-DVD](http://picnica.ciao.com/uk/98622334.jpg "Prison Break - The Complete 1st Season [Box Set]-DVD")
![Prison Break - Season 1 - Complete [2005] [DVD]](http://picnicb.ciao.com/uk/78471963.jpg "Prison Break - Season 1 - Complete [2005] [DVD]")
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