Customer Reviews

Oz: The Complete Seasons 1-6

5 star:		(40)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

About the show:

Wow. From the first episode you feel as if you are hooked in, although I dont want to dive too much into the show itself (just skim it) you find that this show, apart from its hard hitting grit and honesty (maybe it is? I dont know, ive never been to prison) dealing with drugs, ethnic grouping, racist attacks, homosexuality, violence and spiritual guidance, this show has something for everyone to walk away with and contemplate as it does dictate a lot of what our soceity is like, even if we have to look at a test subject that is criminal and locked up.

Few warnings though:

Not for the faint hearted: If you are conservative in nature, I would not suggest watching this show, as some of what happens is REALLY harsh (especially as seasons go on)

Not for children: I personally dont believe that people who are under the age of 17 should be watching this show, as it contains graphic sexual scenes and nudity.

Dont watch this if you are a devote prison break fan: This show just makes it look like a joke! Although only the first season of the show was in prison, the realism (if they even tried for that) just doesnt compare to how hard up prisoners really have it, which i feel OZ may convey much better. Tea bag? More like hand bag! Compared to characters like Shillinger and Ada Beisi he is TAME.


On the continual arguments with pricing and dvd quality:

Despite claims in these previous reviews, I have yet to find a problem with this six season set.

Although, I have to admit, the menu's are seemingly primative and quite long in loading up (panning through computer graphics etc which gets annoying) but the quality is still great.

I also dont see how this boxset is seen as expensive. At the time fo this review (28/7/07) the entire show in this offer costs $208, If you look to buy all seasons seperatly, it will cost you an extra $8 dollars, which you could just spend on getting a better delivery service.

When I bought this show (about 4 months ago) I payed about $170. So at this point in time I do find it a bit pricey and would suggest watching it since prices go up and down. I personally feel though even at 208 USD, its still worth it.

Not always easy to watch, but always worth it. I agree with a reviewer above, this show is addictive! The story isn't as great as Six Feet Under. There are no Tony Sopranos or Paulie Walnuts to keep you entertained, but Oz is great in it's own way. Every character has flaws, but they also all have some quality that you can sympathize with. It makes it really hard to choose who to root for.

The plot line is always evolving and the violence gets even more raw as you move through the series. I do feel like there are some plot holes in this show and some of the things that happen don't seem like they really could happen in real life, but hey... it's fiction. There is a lot of great acting in this show and it keeps you on your seat waiting to see what is going to happen next. The show can drag a little bit when the prisoners are in counseling and the scenes with the prison staff don't captivate me as much as the stories about the prisoners, but everything is related in the story and it becomes difficult to separate the prison staff from the prisoners themselves.

This show is excellent and complex. It is worth watching again so you can catch some of the things you may have missied the first time around. Therefore, I think this is a series that is worth owning. I give it 4 out of 5 stars only because there are some things that happen that don't seem very realistic.

5 Stars isn't enough of a rating for a series that could pull down 5 Stars a minute.

For anyone who fantasizes about what life would be like living in a Prison, or...
For anyone studying what real-life is in a Prison, or...
For anyone who enjoys watching muscular men flexing, or...
For anyone who craves "bare knuckle" living, or...
Superlative writing and...
Strongly performed characterizations and...
Rita Moreno and...
A completely naked Christopher Meloni in the showers (gulp, I'm choking on my own drool).

The intricate plotline and the many sub-plots keeps your attention at all times. The fast-paced action will keep you on the edge of your seat. The Series took over my social life. I HAD to watch the episodes in lieu of doing anything else. I have rewatched the entire Series several times and find plenty that I hadn't seen during previous viewings.

Did I like "OZ?" Nahhhhhhh... I LOVED IT!!!

I absolutely LOVE this show! This show is gritty, edgy, & serious as a heart attack. Oz explores the life of characters inside a seriously hard-core prison--that's PRISON, not some County lock-up--characters ranging from the nun, brilliantly played by Rita Moreno, to guards, administrators, and, of course, prisoners. The tremendous ensemble cast includes: Ernie Hudson, Harold Perrineau (recently of LOST & The Unusuals), J.K. Simmons (currently of The Closer), Dean Winters, Eamonn Walker, B.D. Wong, Kirk Acevedo (most recently of Fringe), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (also of LOST), Luis Guzman, Luke Perry (yes, of 90210 fame), & Edie Falco (formerly of The Sopranos & currently of Nurse Jackie).

If your favorite shows are epitomized by such network fare as Prison Break, House, & 24, then this show might not be for you; however, if you also or mostly enjoy serious drama found on Premium cable networks (i.e. HBO, SHO, or Starz), shows like The Sopranos, The Wire, Spartacus, True Blood, The Tudors, or Rome, then you will definitely enjoy Oz! Oz is a no-holds-barred look at life in a hard core prison. Not your ordinary prison, mind you, but a prison that is opening an experimental housing unit where every cell on the block is made completely of clear plexi walls & no part of prison life is secret. The prison is Oswald Penitentiary, or Oz, & the experimental unit is called Emerald City. Some of the hardest inmates inhabit Emerald City: the neo-Nazi played by JK Simmons, the Nation of Islam Imam played by Eamonn Walker, & the intelligent (omniscient narrator) in a wheel chair played by Harold Perrineau. Each character brings something to the show, some already hard & others made hard by their time inside Emerald City (i.e. the lawyer who's made and example of played by Lee Tergesen.

As you would expect from a hard-core prison, there is violence, nudity (mostly male nudity as it is largely about male inmates in a glass prison), & what some would likely consider mild porn (though it certainly isn't porn as there is no real sexual acts being performed on camera). This certainly isn't gay porn, as many of the sex acts depicted are acts of male-on-male rape, but there are those relationships where an inmate "chooses" to become a willing sexual partner (or a "bitch") to receive protection from an inmate in a position of power. Basically, this show is an unadulterated look at life inside a prison, which includes the kinds of violence that one would expect the kinds of inmates housed here to commit. If this bothers you, don't waste your money. However, if you're secure in your sexuality or are unafraid to confront the sex & violence depicted by this show, then don't turn away from this incredible look at the dark side of humanity, wondering if something like this could be our future should society every break down for whatever reason. It's definitely a worthwhile philosophical exercise for the intellect, challenging one to identify literary archetypes & find meaning within the stories, lessons that teach us about the parts of the human psyche civilized people should be seriously afraid to explore within themselves.

What more could you ask for? Considering it's not a secret that HBO charges an arm and a leg for their season DVDs, this set is truly worth the money. Thanks to netflix I rented season 1 of this and just kept going episode after episode. Never have I been so into a television show like I was with this. The writing is incredible to say the least, back stories are explained with extreme detail, continuation is nothing less than amazing, casting is great(especially the special guest stars i.e. Jon Seda, LL Cool J, Luke Perry, etc...) This show brought out the best in a lot of actors you had no idea were capable of such drama. Everything about this show is entertaining, hard hitting, emotional, shocking, and just fun. I've said this 100 times and I'll say it again, OZ is truly the best show that television had. It's a shame it had to end but these DVDs will prove how important and incredible this show was and it's potential. Only season that is somewhat sub par is 3.Couldve finished better. Where as the season finale had a lot of unexplained questions as well, the special features includes the finale uncut with an extra 45 minutes! Basically a movie.

I purchased the whole set and although scenes are sometimes lengthy and boring the series does get the message across that prison is not the place to be. Surprising display of violence, nudity and male emotion dominates much of the story. If you are looking for a man-to-man video I would recommend this purchase. If you are looking for scenes of violence and blood like you find in the Hostel and Saw movies this one is not quite up to that level.

I'm totally obsessed with this show... it's a good thing I bought them all together! Although I wish I had waited because now the price is lower. Stick it out, it might drop even more.

Oh, and one little complaint. For the hard of hearing, there aren't subtitles in the first 2 (or maybe it's just the first) seasons. If your TV has its own subtitles, then you can use those. I'm not deaf, but I like to catch every little detail so subtitles are important to me.

Otherwise, I happy with the purchase!

I had seen most of this series on TV, and it was one of the few that I was hanging out to own. It is quite intense and not for the faint hearted, but it is without doubt one of the best pieces of TV I've ever seen. The writing (apart from the scene where Tim finds out Diane is staying in Enlgand!) is fantastic, as is the acting; it is a veritable who's who of great actors who moved on to star in other mainstream series. If you want drama, thrller, action, deep character development as well as TV that actually makes you think, and proves that there really is no black and white in life, then Oz is for you.

Oz - The Complete Seasons 1-6
I have not watched all the episodes yet.
I don't understand why anyone would buy the whole set together for $135 or so, when you can buy them individually from Amazon for $95 including free shipping. It doesn't make sense to me!

J-LO"this show is addictive! The story isn't as great as Six Feet Under. There are no Tony Sopranos or Paulie Walnuts to keep you entertained" What have you even seen Oz!!!!! Adabisi Schllinger Toby Ryan are all much deeper chacters and as far as story goes the Sopranos might be almost as good as Oz but six feet under please OZ isnt like any other show because its confined this show is the most realistic hbo has made besides Deadwood and The Wire but please Six Feet Under dont even put it on the same shelf with these titles Thats like saying The show Weeds has a deeper plot then Dexter c'mon