Customer Reviews

Drug Wars - The Camarena Story

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(6)

 

 

When I heard that 'Drug Wars' was being released on DVD, I was pleased. It is, in fact, one of the best American TV miniseries' ever made. However, this disc is not 'Drug Wars', but is rather a crude approximation of it. They took the 280 minute feature and edited it into a 130 minute trailer. All narrative depth is gone, and character development is non-existent. Also, it seems to have been re-edited so randomly that the plot ceases to make sense at several points. The reissue of this film was pointless, because it is not 'Drug Wars.' Why even bother releasing the film if you are going to deliberately sabotage it?

If you remember this mini-series from 90/91 and are seeking to own a copy, know that you'll be getting a watered down version of what originally aired. The DVD version comes in at 130 minutes - while I don't remember the exact running time of the tv series, it was probably in the neighborhood of 270 minutes given that it aired on three nights.

So as you can see, about 1/2 the footage was cut taking out significant character and plot development. The final product is an odd collection of edits not doing justice to either the true story or original version.

If you're looking for some of Benicio Del Toro's earlier work, this foots the bill though certainly not in a manner it could have with the unedited version.

All in all, a rather disappointing product from editing to special features (virtually none).

When I first saw this mini-series I was impressed by it's depth and it's message. A group of policemen fighting against all odds, corruption and politics. It could even be stereotyped as a plot of good against evil. That was the original series. What they have done on the DVD was to condense it so much that the message, the rhythm, all the meaning is if not lost, very hard to find. Critical scenes were cut and the plot doesn't make sense any more. If you have never seen the original, this might entertain you, but if you saw it, you will be disappointed.

The true Camarena case is a rather interesting story that deserved to be brought to the big screen but it was at least brought to the small screen as a 6 hour TV miniseries spanning 3 days in January 1990. Well I was too young to have seen it then, and I guess I missed out terribly because in 2003 a TWO HOUR (what the...?) DVD version came out. It is obviously a watered down and extremely edited version of the original but I can only assume, since I never had the chance to see the original series. What were the producers of this DVD thinking? Serious loop holes, little to no character buildup, key figures in the case are simply ommited or they were edited out, like Ernesto Fonseca, Caro Quintero's partner and accused accomplice in the torture/murder of Agent Camarena, is seen only twice (?) and doesnt speak a word? Felix Gallardo another key figure, is only but a name in the credits, he is NEVER introduced in the DVD movie (although Caro Quintero and Fonseca Carrillo are) so viewers unfamiliar with the case dont even notice him or his role in the torture/murder...also along with Camarena, his Mexican pilot was also kidnapped, Alfredo Zavala Avelar, and in this movie he is "played" by Pepe Serna of Kingpin and Scarface fame, yet he is seen for like 5 seconds, flying an airplane, and only mentioned ONCE by a US official, so people watching this movie dont even know WHO he is, or where in the movie he is? His kidnapping from Guadalajara airport is not even depicted in the movie. Why omit an important part of the story? Jacob Vargas is also in the end credits as "Jose Zavala" yet in the movie, Jacob Vargas NOR "Jose Zavala" ever come up. What gives? I just hope in the future, producers come to their senses and release the FULL miniseries in a multi-disk pack instead of a chopped up, sloppy excuse for a movie. If your gonna release a movie that many say is one of the greatest TV movies of all time, then why erase more than half of it? It makes no sense, avoid this movie if your interested in the real Camarena story and pick up a book instead, Desperados by Elaine Shannon on which this movie is based (loosely).

This film demonstrates the dangers faced by law enforcement in confronting major drug kingpins. The associated violence and corruption continues even today.

this dvd is based on a true story. lot of young people, men in many examples,think they are drug lords because of 'the money they gain'. it is independent of nationality, in this case, a mexican young man.I think this dvd will be better if artisan home entertainmente and zzy production release it again, including more 2 hours from the original.

Too many scenes were cut out from the original film. The scenes that were cut out greatly dilutes the full impact of this case and the conclusion as it relates to the consequences of those corupt individuals involved in the murder of Kiki Camerena.

Drug Wars: The Camarena Story was a 1990 TV mini-series based on Elaine Shannon's book 'Desperados' and the Time magazine article of the same name. This is a fact-based story of undercover DEA agent Enrique "Kiki" Camarena, While stationed in Guadalajara, Camarena (Bauer) uncovered a large-scale marijuana operation in a region of Northern Mexico. This discovery led to Camarena's death. His disappearance sparked a massive U.S.-led investigation, which unraveled an unsettling conspiracy involving military cover-ups, the drug mafias, and political corruption in Mexico.

Starring Steven Bauer, Craig T. Nelson, Treat Williams, and Elizabeth Pena. Executive Producer: Michael Mann.

There is just too much going on in the movie for the producers to have condensed it into the 2 hour 15 min time frame on the DVD. While this is a decent summary of the original series, there isn't enough in here to get the point of the story across.

Should have been a double disc. This abridgement of the movie doesn't justify the power of these drug cartels and the political strength they have on both sides of the border.

I SAW THE MIN-SERIES AND IT WAS GREAT. VERY INFORMATIVE. BUT I BOUGHT THE DVD AND I WAS VERY DISAPPOINTED WITH
IT. WHY WOULD YOU CUT OUT THE KEY POINTS OF THE MOVIE? I HAVE NO IDEA. I WOULD LIKE TO THE THE MINI-SERIES BUT
UNCUT. UNTIL THEN I WILL LET OTHERS THAT HAVE SEEN IT NOT TO BOTHER BUYING THE VIDEO BECAUSE YOU WILL BE DISAPPOINTED AS I WAS.