Distributed by
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Cert:
Cat.no: 3216201000
Running time: 575 minutes
Year: 2006
Pressing: 2006
Region(s): 2, PAL
Discs: 4
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: Danish, English, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish
Widescreen: 1.78:1
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: 4*DVD 9
Price: £39.99
Extras:
Audio Commentaries, Tour Of Duty Filming Over There Featurette,
Weapons Debriefing Featurette
Directors:
Chris Gerolmo, Greg Yaitaines, Nelson McCormick etc.
Executive Producer:
Steven Bochco
Cast:
Sgt. Chris 'Scream' Silas: Erik Palladino
Pvt. Frank 'Dim' Dumphy: Luke MacFarlane
Maurice 'Smoke' Williams: Kirk 'Sticky Fingaz' Jones
Pvt. Avery 'Angel' King: Keith Robinson
Pfc. Bo Rider: Josh Henderson
Brenda 'Mrs B': Mitchell Nicki Aycox
Tariq Nassiri: Omid Abtahi
Pfc. Esmeralda 'Doublewide' Del Rio: Lizette Carrion
Sergio Del Rio: Lombardo Boyar
Vanessa Dunphy: Brigid Brannagh
Terry Ryder: Sprague Grayden
One of the best things about the DVD format, is how itıs making entire TV
series available to be consumed as a whole.
Box-sets that collect the likes
of brilliant and highly recommended HBO shows The Wire or even 24 give
them fresh life. More like reading a novel or getting to grips with the
complete Godfather Trilogy, perhaps, and giving an added intensity to the viewing
experience. And thatıs certainly the case with this gripping, marathon
13-part Iraq War drama, Over There.
Executive produced by Steven Bochco, of Hill Street Blues and NYPD Blue
fame, and co-created, written and part-directed by Chris Gerolmo (who also
sings the main theme song), this kicked up a bit of a storm in the States
when originally screened on FX. Some right-wing commentators immediately
dismissed it as anti-war and inaccurate, but you'd be advised to put aside
any preconceptions, because above all, this is a hugely-involving snapshot
of what young servicemen and women are experiencing right this minute. No
value judgments are made, but the bravado, fear and helplessness of these
twentysomethings against a backdrop of the confusion of war is a potent mix.
The core of the story concerns a diverse group of soldiers thrown together
when theyıre posted to Iraq for their first tour of duty, under the command
of Sergeant Scream, played by the outstanding Erik Palladino, of ER fame.
From heroic quarterback Bo, intellectual Dim, revved-up Smoke, believer
Angel and idealist Tariq, to the gritty female combatants, Mrs B and
Doublewide, these rookies forge a tight unit.
They have to confront
understandably inhospitable villagers, seek out insurgents, tackle tricky
situations and just survive on a daily basis. Not to mention attempting to
rescue an embedded journalist who is compromised and then kidnapped. And
once you identify with these central characters, youıll be hooked.
Meanwhile the second, parallel narrative takes place back home where the
soldiersı loved ones are shown as variously dysfunctional, drunk,
unfaithful, lost, lonely and ill but all trying to struggle through. More
soap opera in its style, this deliberately provides a sharp contrast to the
buzzed-up adrenaline rush experienced by the soldiers as the story shifts
back and forth. These domestic scenes take place in supermarkets, schools,
bars and all-American living rooms. Will a bad mother find redemption? Will
temptation lure a spouse into adultery? Can a marriage survive after the
heroic husband has his leg blown off?
No political agenda is at work here, just an attempt to show what itıs like
to be a stranger in the midst of moral ambiguity in a strange land, and
still do your job. Bochco and particularly Gerolmo, who also wrote the
powerful movie Mississippi Burning, both deserve plaudits for getting
underneath the skin of the conflict and revealing what the news channels
rarely show.
It might make you feel uncomfortable and occasionally shocked,
but you definitely get to feel like youıre walking a mile or two in the
combatants' standard issue boots.
As for the extras, well it's worth checking out the three separate
commentaries on specific episodes by crew and cast, which are variously
insightful and entertaining.
And make time to watch the 80-minute
documentary on the making of Over There, if only to see how a dusty
Californian ranch doubled for the Iraqi desert, and to hear Chris Gerolmo
honestly describe how the crew worked miracles on their "rinky-dink cable
budget".
As of April 2009, Blu-rays and DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TH-37PX80B
37" Plasma TV with a Sony BDP-1500 Blu-ray player and played through a Yamaha DSP-AX820 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Jan 2011: Intel Quad Core Dell XPS 8100, i7 CPU 860 @ 2.80Ghz, 8Gb RAM, nVidia GeForce GTS 240, Windows 7
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
