Distributed by
20th Century Fox Home Entertainment
Prison Break Series 3: Prison Break Series 1-3:
Cert:
Cat.no: 3810601000
Running time: 546 minutes
Year: 2008
Pressing: 2008
Region(s): 2, PAL
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Languages: English
Subtitles: English Hard of Hearing
Widescreen: 1.78:1
16:9-Enhanced: Yes
Macrovision: Yes
Disc Format: 4 * DVD 9
Price: £39.99
Extras:
Breakout episode; Making of episode 1 “Orientación”; 13 Director’s takes;
Between takes
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Directors:
Kevin Hooks, Greg Yaitanes, Michael Switzer
Writers:
Paul Scheuring, Matt Olmstead, Zack Estrin, Nick Santora, Karyn Usher, Seth Hoffman
Executive Producers:
Matt Olmstead, Paul Scheuring, Kevin Hooks, Marty Adelstein, Dawn Parouse, Neal Moritz, Brett Ratner
Cast:
Michael Scofield: Wentworth Miller
Lincoln Burrows: Dominic Purcell
Alex Mahone: William Fichtner
Brad Bellick: Wade Williams
Theodore ‘T-Bag’ Bagwell: Robert Knepper
Sara Tancredi: Sarah Wayne Callies
Fernando Sucre: Amaury Nolasco
LJ: Marshall Allman
James Whistler: Chris Vance
Lechero: Robert Wisdom
Susan B Anthony: Jodi Lyn O’Keefe
Sofia: Danay Garcia
Shaking up the formula and racking up the tension once again, Prison Break Season 3
may be shorter – thanks to the writers’ strike – but is it sweeter? For the
viewer, perhaps. For the incarcerated characters, absolutely not.
Season 1 had our protagonists surviving and planning their break out from Fox River
State Penitentiary. Season 2 had the boys on the run while being pursued. Only the
strongest and wiliest survived. Now for the third season they’re in a prison
that makes Fox River look like luxury.
Welcome to the hell that is Sona Federal Penitentiary in Panama. This is a
place with no guards inside – they just man the perimeter and it’s kill-or-be-killed
in a Lord of the Flies set-up on the inside. Gladiatorial fights inside mean
the only prisoners who ever leave Sona are dead prisoners.
Based on the notorious Brazilian prison, Carandiru, where this guard-free
institution actually existed, Sona is the place of nightmares. Only this time
the roles are reversed and it’s Michael who must break out, with his brother
Linc trying to help him from the outside.
Familiar faces alongside Michael in Sona include smooth-tongued Southern Man
T-Bag, plus a beaten-down Bellick and sleep-deprived Mahone. Not a trio you
would pick as daily companions. But they are as desperate as Michael, and each
has their own knack of getting by, from flattery to servitude to plotting.
The new characters inside are troubled Aussie James Whistler (Chris Vance),
and self-styled Sona kingpin, the powerful Lechero, brilliantly played by
Robert Wisdom, all flashing teeth and threatening stance. Outside we
get glimpses of old favourites Sucre (dontcha just love him?), Michael’s love
interest Sara, and Linc’s troublesome son LJ. But they pale into insignificance
compared to newbies Sofia (Whistler’s indefatigable girl) and the deadly
Susan B Anthony, who will stop at nothing to get her way.
Layers of intrigue are soon revealed, as the brothers have their arms twisted
(and their loved ones threatened) to make them get Whistler out of Sona. And
the mysterious organisation that forces them to do this is called "The Company".
Forced into an unlikely alliance with his fellow inmates, Michael is determined
to break out to save himself and those held hostage.
With only thirteen episodes, rather than the usual 22, the action feels more condensed,
and the prison definitely more claustrophobic and threatening. It’s hot, humid,
and all the rules the inmates know have been thrown away and they constantly
live on the edge. Which makes it impossible to relax while watching.
Miller and Purcell are as intense as ever… only dropping their guard on the
boxset’s extras. Purcell is seen bonding with fans, and talks of some 140 million
Chinese who download the latest episode every Wednesday without fail. Nolasco
talks of evolving a backstory for his character, while showing us that he
relaxes by bopping along to his iPod (mainly Journey and Latin music). Vance
simply picks up his guitar and heads wisely for the one air-conditioned room
between takes.
One warning, however: don’t watch the director’s takes before the episodes as they
give away the plot!
Does Prison Break still cut the mustard? Does it still surprise? I guess the
answer lies in the fact that it’s still hard to look away. The characters continue to
evolve, so the narrative can suddenly veer in an unexpected direction. And while
characters like Sucre, Linc and Michael and the compelling Lechero exist to draw
us into the plot and make our hearts beat faster, then long may Prison Break
will continue…
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
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
Prison Break Series 3: 
