House of Saddam

2008

Seasons & Episodes

  • 1
7.5| 0h30m| TV-MA| en| More Info
Released: 30 July 2008 Ended
Producted By: BBC
Country: United States of America
Budget: 0
Revenue: 0
Official Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00cwkqy
Synopsis

The intimate world of Saddam Hussein and his closest inner circle is in this gripping four-part drama that charts the rise and fall of one of the most significant political figures in recent history.

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Reviews

YouHeart I gave it a 7.5 out of 10
Dirtylogy It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.
Kodie Bird True to its essence, the characters remain on the same line and manage to entertain the viewer, each highlighting their own distinctive qualities or touches.
Edwin The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.
goldenshuttle Pros: Philip Arditti plays his role very well and has similar physical looks. Start of how Saddam terrorized Iraq goes well with truth. Cons:Shohreh Aghdashloo (who plays Saddam wife) does not match the role; Sheher has some graceful looks; while the real Sajida Saddam was a chubby, Bedouin woman who struggled all her life to remove her trademark of no style and no taste(see her on google image and judge by yourself). Movie hides two turning points in Saddam life: One is after 1990 (liberation of Kuwait by US); Saddam committed mass graves burring about 400,000 Shiite Muslims, most of them buried alive. So far only 250 000 corpse found and they keep finding. Second missing fact that Uday; the playboy son of Saddam was shot by opposition on 1996 causing him to lose ability to walk; and lost his manhood(his Johnson was cut by a bullet). This caused a lot of problems inside Saddam family due to jealousy the grew against his young brother Qusay; who was being groomed to succeed his father. The film also draws a totally opposite picture of Saddam wife(Sajida) real character. She hated high class women (due to her low class family) and destroyed many of the well known Baghdad families. She was not the helpless abused wife and the movie shows.She was a gem hunter; touring the world buying diamonds and jewellery. Film misrepresented the real character of Saddam son in law (Hussein Kamel) who escaped to Jordan. Hussein Kamel was known in Iraq as being blood thirsty; low rank policeman who did everything to prove to Saddam that he was a ruthless aide to rely on. Part 3 did not reveal the truth why US reinstalled Saddam after liberating Kuwait in 1990 although he lost control of 15 provinces out of 18 in Iraq. A real writer should make 8 or 10 episodes about Saddam showing the shocking facts starting from the 50's when he was a student & agent of CIA in Cairo; until they helped him takeover in 1968. To show some facts and hide others is misguiding.
thornsthorns I'm no fan of Saddam, but the level of propaganda and lies in this program stops it from being anything but complete fiction.He is shown like a cross between an Hitler, godfather and a coward.The film really seems to serve no purpose other than as a propaganda tool.Again i am no fan of the guy, but history and programs pretending to historical or based on history, should remain factually true, or at the very least spiritually true to the events.This program is neither, but nonetheless is entertaining enough i suppose. But if you want that kind of entertainment your better off watching sopranos or the original godfather trilogy.
life_imitation "House of Saddam" is a simply splendid miniseries. I have a cursory knowledge of Iraq and Saddam but this series confirmed what I knew and also illustrated new facts. The acting was amazing from everyone, particularly the actors who played Saddam and Uday - very scary and extremely convincing.The only complaint I would have is that the last two episodes, particularly the very last one, dragged a little bit (I honestly became uninterested in Saddam after he was removed from power), though I appreciated that the series wanted to be timely and show the American invasion of Iraq. Also, I felt that each of the four parts jumped around a little bit too much and that I was more interested in the story of Saddam's immediate family rather than the story of Saddam's sons-in-law (though I'm sure their story was important).All in all, this was an amazingly well-done mini-series on a fascinating topic. I will definitely be watching these actors and seeing where all they go in the future.
Theo Robertson Imagine a a miniseries where you know the ending . Wouldn't that mean there's a lack of suspense ? You know the ending therefore there's little reason to watch . We all know what happened to Saddam Hussain so it says a lot that within a few short minutes of watching this show I was totally intrigued and hooked by it The production team knows the audience will know the ultimate outcome of this chronicle so concentrate on the dramatic aspects of Saddam's time in power . The first episode concentrates on his ascent to power by liquidating his rivals on trumped up charges of " counter revolutionary activities " and waging a war against his Persian neighbours . The second episode introduces his two sons who were every bit as bad as him if not worst and shows the results of his doomed escapade in Kuwait . The third episode shows his genius of brinkmanship and political machinations while the final episode shows the dictator as a fugitive on the run Some critics have expressed disappointment in that some aspects are skated over too quickly while others say the ordinary sufferings of the ordinary Iraqi people are ignored . There's some truth to this but again the the producers have quite rightly ignored scope and concentrated on well written drama superbly acted by an unknown cast . I've never heard of Yigal Naor or Philip Arditti but they both give superb performances and I look forward to this series picking up a few awards at the more prestigious award ceremonis

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