Homicide Life on the Street - The Complete Seasons 1 & 2
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Homicide-Life on the StreetDirector: n/a
Brand: A&E
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 650 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2003-05-27
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: A&E HOME VIDEO
Movie Reviews of Homicide Life on the Street - The Complete Seasons 1 & 2
Movie Review: Some great television. Too bad it couldn't last
Summary: 4 Stars
The first season of this show is almost a direct adaptation of Homicide: A Year On The Killing Streets complete with some of the more interesting cases including the woman that poisoned most of her relatives, the little girl left in an alleyway, the white trash killing where everyone talks but no one says anything and the shooting where the main suspect is a cop. Reading the book and watching the show right afterwards is great television.
Even better, the show doesn't follow the rules that you find in most detective shows. The murder isn't always solved. The cops aren't consumed by a passion to SOLVE THE CASE (with one exception) and the stories aren't "ripped from the headlines". No gun play. No car chases.
Some of the episodes are downright experiemental. It's amazing how compelling a show about a broken air conditioner can be, but in the episode where the cops are there all night, arguing with wives, complaining about the air conditioner, trying to solve the mystery of who keeps lighting the candle and other minor details, you cannot help but watch it. I had just watched the entire run of Torchwood - The Complete First Season and even though it's an unfair comparison, I found more compelling drama in that one episode than in the entire alien invasion-polysexuality-deep thoughts billage that was Torchwood. And of course, the episode in an interrogation room is all the more awesome for the results that don't come. This is a show that knows the conventions and plays with them just enough to let you know that they aren't going to use them.
Sadly, the show was fated to die a slow death as a ratings drain on NBC. In its death throes it would become just another version of Law & Order - The First Year full of speechifying and SERIOUS ISSUES being thrown into your face. The first season is happily free of this garbage for the most part, but the second season would see four episodes that would begin the reconfiguration. The Robin Williams episode saved the show from cancelation but at what price? The episode has Robin Williams in full on Good Will Hunting mode as the grieving husband and almost EVERY scene requires Robin Williams to stop and say how hard it is to be the grieving husband. Halfway through the episode, I am hoping for Robin Williams to turn out to be the killer even if that's a Ripped From the Headlines cliche but no such luck.
Still, this is a great DVD set and should be owned by all David Simon fans.
Summary of Homicide Life on the Street - The Complete Seasons 1 & 2
One of the most critically acclaimed shows in TV history, Homicide: Life on the Street reinvigorated a tired genre by focusing on the grueling work of solving murders instead of an endless succession of bloody crimes and car chases. Inspired by David Simon's Edgar Award-winning account of Baltimore homicide detectives and brought to television by writer Paul Attanasio (Gideon's Crossing) and director Barry Levinson (Analyze This, The Perfect Storm, Oz), Homicide boasted a powerhouse ensemble cast featuring Ned Beatty (Network, Deliverance), Yaphet Kotto (Alien, Midnight Run), Richard Belzer (Law & Order: SVU), and breakout star Andre Braugher (Frequency, Gideon's Crossing). Now this Emmy and Peabody Award winner debuts on DVD with this collector's set featuring all 13 episodes from the first two seasons of Homicide: Life on the Street.Homicide: Life on the Street was always ahead of its time. As this collection of the first two seasons proves--it still is. Crime dramas that have thrived on cable, like The Sopranos, have benefited from the ground Homicide broke--and inherited many of the talents (like Edie Falco) that made it great. To NBC's credit, particularly then-president and fan Warren Littlefield, it supported the show for seven years, despite several cast changes and lukewarm ratings. Fortunately, critics were enthusiastic from the start and fans were loyal. Awards would roll in, too, culminating in a richly deserved Emmy for Andre Braugher (Frank Pembleton).
Homicide was based on the book by David Simon and created by Paul Attanasio (Quiz Show), Tom Fontana (Oz), and Barry Levinson (Diner). It was filmed in Levinson's beloved Charm City and he directed several episodes, including "Gone for Goode," which introduced the case of Adena Watson (and won another Emmy). It would haunt Tim Bayliss (the underrated Kyle Secor) for the rest of the series. The authentic Maryland locations, unusual cases (many based on real-life incidents), groundbreaking camera work, edgy--often humorous--dialogue, and seemingly improvised acting set Homicide apart from everything on TV. Then there were the directors, like Nick Gomez ("Son of a Gun") and Alan Taylor ("A Dog and Pony Show"), and guest stars, like Gwen Verdon ("A Ghost of a Chance") and Robin Williams ("Bop Gun"). Could this really be network TV? Most times, it didn't feel like it. These 13 episodes present the main characters: Lieutenant Al "Gee" Giardello (Yaphet Kotto), Kay Howard (Melissa Leo), Meldrick Lewis (Clark Johnson), and John Munch (Richard Melzer), whose character would segue to Law & Order: SVU. Ned Beatty, Daniel Baldwin, and Jon Polito also make vivid impressions, but would not remain for the long haul. --Kathleen C. Fennessy
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