Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5252 in DVD
• Released on: 2007-02-05
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Formats: PAL, Colour
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 432 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
HBO's violent men-behind-bars drama is an addictive, testosterone-driven soap opera for guys. The eight episodes of the first season set the style for the show: a massive cast of a vivid characters on both sides of the bars, four or five stories unleashed at a breakneck pace and framed by angry, oddball introductions, and a soaring casualty rate. Created by Homicide producer Tom Fontana, this drama quickly earned its rightful reputation as the most brutal show on TV. It's simple chemistry: combine volatile ingredients in a confined space, shut tight, and shake.

The yellow brick road of the Oswald Correctional Facility (affectionately known as "Oz" among the inmates) leads to "Emerald City," an antiseptic cellblock of cement and glass overseen by prison-reform advocate Tim McManus (Terry Kinney). The first episode introduces its two most compelling inmates: meek lawyer Beecher (Lee Terguson), who transforms from a vulnerable lamb to a fearless, drug-addicted wildcat, and Muslim activist Kareem Said (Eamonn Walker), a fiercely non-violent leader whose campaign for reform explodes in a season-climaxing riot. The stunning first-season cast also features Ernie Hudson (the warden), Rita Moreno (a worldly drug-counseling nun), and Edie Falco (who jumped from her role as a single-mother prison guard to mob wife in The Sopranos). It carries no rating, but the drug use, nudity, and brutal violence make this highly inappropriate for young viewers and unsuited to the squeamish. Oz pulls no punches in its portrayal of prison violence and predatory abuse. --Sean Axmaker

Synopsis
The Oswald Maximum Security Correctional Facility has opened an experimental new ward, Emerald City, reserved for especially dangerous criminals. Inside the walls of this rehabilitation unit, is a world that's even more corrupt and dangerous than the mean streets the inmates left behind. Survival is dependent on two sets of rules; those laid down by the warden and those understood by the racially divided prisoners. Gritty and violent, OZ deftly handles sensitive issues concerning the American justice system. This release contains every compelling episode from the first series.

Customer Reviews

5 Stars for the show- not the DVD presentation
It's taken five years but at last Oz has been released on Region 2 DVD. But has it been worth the wait? Yes... and no. Don't get me wrong- Oz is a fantastic show: great stories, well told. My only grievance is with the complete absence of any extras. The Region 1 DVD contains two audio commentaries by series creator Tom Fontana and star Lee Tergesen, biographies, deleted scenes, a featurette and a music video. So why is this not the case with the Region 2 DVD? If you have a multi-region DVD player, my advice would be to invest in the Region 1 version. Die-hard fans will probably be disappointed by the lack of bonus material to complement the series. According to the inside flyer, Season 2 is released on Region 2 DVD in May 2007, followed by season 3 in November 2007.

Not for the faint of heart
If you like your drama to be compelling and uncomfortable in equal measures, then Oz is for you. Quite simply this is one of the best things HBO ever did. It's raw and explicit at times, but it is filled with brilliant performances and amazing writing. Highly addictive.

If you've enjoyed other HBO series such as Six Feet Under or the Sopranos, chances are you'll love this.

Waiting for this since years
I've been waiting for this show to appear on Region2 for years now!!! I know i was blown away by it when it was aired on Belgian TV years ago. Year after year, there were these new shows comming out combining the best of "soaps, action, suspense and quality" (think in the likes of Sopranos, The Wire, The Shield). They all get great respect and almost unanomous positive reviews and all the time i was thinking: "Doesn't anybody remember OZ??!!"

So, the summarize: in my opinion a true founder of an immensly popular genre that a lot of people seem to have forgotten. Hope it won't outdated, be definitely a must-see!