Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #245 in DVD
• Released on: 2008-04-07
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 183 minutes

Amazon.co.uk review
The hugely acclaimed series from Sky makes its way to DVD, and if you haven't checked in with it already, then this is the ideal opportunity to see what the fuss surrounding Ross Kemp in Afghanistan is all about.

Kemp, of course, is still primarily known for playing Grant Mitchell in EastEnders. But here there's no fiction: Ross Kemp in Afghanistan sees him joining his father's old regiment - 1 Royal Anglian - to get first hand experience of the work of the British Army in the fight against the Taliban.

What differentiates Ross Kemp in Aghanistan from the news reports and documentaries that have also tackled similar subject matter is the sheer candidness of it. There's no hiding the brutality of war, or the intensity of the fighting here. Some of the footage is quite extraordinary and frequently shocking. And you can hardly accuse Kemp of shirking the action: he's often slap-bang in the midst of it.

A superb piece of work, and a very enlightening one, Ross Kemp in Afghanistan was richly rewarded with plaudits when it was first broadcast, and rightly so. It's a towering piece of television, whatever your position on the war itself, and one that simply must piece be seen. Superb. --Jon Foster

Synopsis
In this critically acclaimed series Ross Kemp joins his father's old regiment, 1 Royal Anglian, and travels to Britain's frontline in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, to experience for himself the British Army's fight against the Taliban.

Filmed during the summer of 2007, Ross dodges the bullets to witness and endure the worst fighting British troops have suffered for over fifty years.

Candid and brutally honest, this series is the first on UK television to show in detail what our soldiers are doing to win peace in this war torn land. Extraordinary battle scenes show us in close up the brutality of war. Off the battlefield we find out what a soldier's life is like and why they continue to fight this fanatical enemy. And with exclusive footage, we tell the stories of those who made the ultimate sacrifice, along with powerful and moving interviews from relatives bereaving the loss of their sons.

This hard hitting and thought provoking series of 5 programmes is Ross' most difficult assignment to date.

Customer Reviews

Excellent for all audiences
Certainly one of the best accounts from the infantryman's point of view. Great for training too, at least in terms of putting people in the picture. The case specifies that subtitles are available. Why then is it impossible to activate this most useful feature?

Excellent close-up view of what war is truly like
On almost all DVDs on war the commentator is comfortably sitting in a studio 1000's kms from the action. Ross Kemp does not employ this accepted method. Rather he accompanies the soldiers of the 1st Royal Anglian regiment on their patrols & offensives against the Taliban. The result is that one obtains excellent close-up views of the reality of war. At no stage does one get the feeling that Ross Kemp is pulling any punches when depicting the grim realities of war.

Maybe similar views are available on local British TV, but for a South African they provide one with the first close-up views of this conflict.

What is surprising is that the British army does not yet deploy mine protected vehicles as part of their equipment. In both Iraq & Afghanistan, IEDs ie Improvised Explosive Devices wreak havoc on unprotected vehicles. When South Africa converted to using Mine Protected Vehicles during their bush war, casualties were reduced to zero from the scourge of mines.

The only time when Ross Kemp appears less than convincing was when he gave what is in my view were naïve answers to questions by local Afghanis.

For all those wanting an insight into this war, purchase this DVD.

Finally someone has made what I've been waiting for.
Whilst many know Ross Kemp as "that bloke off the telly", here he really shines as a great narrator to a most extraordinary series.

Kemp seems to slide into the extremely guarded world of the military with relative ease, however you are always aware that he never quite fits in and nor, it appears, does he attempt to. Instead he narrates the goings on of the Royal Anglican with great empathy and if you have ever disrespected the military before thinking your argument through (as I myself have done in the past) this series will shake a few of your supposed morals. There are some real heart breaking moments in this series, along with great moments of pride. No matter what your standing on war, this is a series not to be missed if you want to know more about the reality of modern conflict.

This series deserves a 5 just for the balls shown by everyone involved for allowing such a series to be made, and to such a great standard.