Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2534 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-12-10
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Number of discs: 14
• Running time: 2650 minutes

Synopsis
Features the complete four series of influential action-packed police drama THE SWEENEY.

Customer Reviews

What's included?
Disc 1: Ringer, Jackpot, Thin Ice, Queen's Pawn
Disc 2: Jigsaw, Night Out, The Placer, Cover Story
Disc 3: Golden Boy, Stoppo Driver, Big Spender, Contact Breaker
Disc 4: Abduction, Chalk and Cheese, Faces, Supersnout
Disc 5: Big Brother, Hit and Run, Trap, Golden Fleece
Disc 6: Poppy, Stay Lucky Eh?, Thou Shalt Not Kill, I Want The Man
Disc 7: Country Boy, Trojan Bus, Selected Target, In From The Cold
Disc 8: Visiting Fireman (Full uncut Version), Tomorrow Man, Taste of Fear (Full uncut version), Bad Apple
Disc 9: May, Sweet Smell of Succession, Down To You Brother, Pay Off
Disc 10: Loving Arms, Lady Luck, On The Run, Messenger of the Gods
Disc 11: Hard Men, Drag Act, Trust Red, Nightmare
Disc 12: Money Money Money, Bait, The Bigger They Are, Feet of Clay
Disc 13: One of Your Own, Hearts and Minds, Latin Lady, Victims
Disc 14: Jack or Knave

Brilliant TV crime drama, neatly packaged
The Sweeney is by far the best TV series about British policing ever screened. It's gritty, hard-hitting (literally); packed with strong characters and tight plots; blessed with one of our great TV actors, and it set a very high bar for subsequent series to try to reach.
The Sweeney has very little of the gloss of American cops-n-robbers series. Instead it's set in the very grubby, very cheap offices of London's Flying Squad with rogue copper Jack Regan (John Thaw) and his regular crew. They break the rules, they beat up the bad guys, they take a pounding themselves. And they drive truly cool cars form the 1970s in some of the most unlikely chase scenes -- nearly always on the edge of losing control... much like Regan himself.

The early episodes of the first couple of series are the ones to treasure. If you're in any way offended by violent, bad-tempered behaviour, naked girlies and angry shouting, then don't watch. If you're gripped by the desperate situations that Regan gets himself in to, and compelled to see whether the Sweeney will come out on top this time (they don't always get their man, in fact they often fail when Regan cuts corners), then buy this set and sit back and enjoy. It's remarkable how much the writers could cram into 50 minutes, and how well it reflects the criminal underbelly of London at the time.
A whole genre of TV and film owes its birth to the Sweeney. Without this series there never would have been 'Lock, Stock...' or Layer Cake, never mind Life on Mars. The Sweeney set the tone and it has not been bettered.
The film-making of the 1970s has been massively surpassed in recent years, but the characters and plots of the Sweeney will reveal that even the best of current TV drama is pretty limp by comparison. OK, the series loses the plot somewhat in the last series, with flippant episodes which Thaw and Waterman almost play for laughs -- but when it's good, the Sweeney is unbeatable. And this set just about covers the ground (although you should try to catch the movies, too).
After all, it gave us grown men calling each other 'guv'nor' and 'skipper', driving old Jags and yelling 'SHUT IT'. That's a brilliant night in, innit?

Great fun to revisit
A lot of the memories from your childhood/teens don't really stand up too well on revisitation, but having bought The Sweeney Box set for myself for Christmas, I've been watching a few episodes (I also picked up the pilot, Reagan, which is great too).

From the opening bars of the theme tune - Surely one of TV's best ever - the Sweeney on DVD is every bit as great as when I watched it as an impressionable teenager.

The scenes of London (the run-down, disused docklands in Reagan is a real eye-opener for anyone who knows the area now!) are great nostalgia and the wobbly suspensioned Granadas are fun too (so are the Austin 1100 panda cars), but the scripts, editing and pace are all excellent - Nothing flags in the 50 minutes of each episode (none of your stretch it out to 3 hour slots so beloved of today's TV cop shows) and there's always a resolution (of sorts).

Another great part of watching the Sweeney is to see so many well known (or just familiar) actors (TV and film) playing small parts (eg Villains, grasses, girlfriends). A few of the actors ham horribly, though, it must be said!

If you liked the Sweeney when it was out originally, you'll find it still stands up well to revisitation (even if the mid 70s were a crime against fashion and hairstyles!)and if you just enjoy TV cop shows, the Sweeney is a great example of how to keep it tight and taut and realistic, even today.