Product Details

• Actors: Aidan Gillen, Craig Kelly, Charlie Hunnam, Denise Black, Jason Merrells
• Format: Box set, PAL
• Region: Region 2 (Read more about DVD formats.)
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: NC-17
• Run Time: 255 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 8388602241
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #150,182 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Please note that this is a PAL, Region 2 DVD Set and requires PAL or multi-system capable DVD players. It will not play on standard North American DVD players. Please read the item technical description carefully. ----------------------------------- Synopsis: Here's where it all started. Stuart (Aidan Gillen) has everything he's rich, handsome, and always at the centre of attention. Although he's quite arrogant, he also seems to be quite perfect. His best mate Vince (Craig Kelly) is funny, good-looking, and endearing, but unlike Stuart he has no confidence in himself. Vince, of course, carries a torch for Stuart, but nothing romantic has happened between them. They're both in their late-20s, hitting Canal Street every night and just starting to think about where their lives may be going. Suddenly, along comes Nathan (Charlie Hunnam), a young man who has recently come out and parties with a vengeance. Soon Nathan has wedged himself into the lives of Stuart and Vince changing everything.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

85 of 87 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Go Ahead. Buy it., May 23, 2001

By 

Stephen McLeod (New York, NY USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Queer as Folk: Series 1 (DVD)

This DVD contains the first series - 4 hours on two discs - of *Queer as Folk* as it was originally seen on television in the U.K. I hesitated for awhile, wondering whether it was worth the rather steep price for two discs. (Actually, I didn't know how many discs there were -- search as you might, I dare you to find that information here). Plus, I wasn't crazy about the what I saw of the U.S. version. Finally, I'm always scared by films and television from the U.K. because the regional accents are often indecipherable to my Yankee ear. Anyway, I bought it and I'm glad I did.

First, I had no problem with the accents or the regional idioms. All the "shagging" and "wanking" wore off on me a bit, actually. ("Do you think ov'im when you av'a wank? No? Then ee's your Boyfriend alright.") The teleplay is flawless. Other reviewers are better at synopsis than I am. The point is, it's how the story's told that really sells this.

The ensemble cast, led by Aiden Gillen, Craig Kelly, and Charlie Hunnam is terrific. Where the U.S. show had guys who really looked good but weren't very interesting, this show has more or less normal, but still good looking guys who look better and better as you get to know them. As Stuart, Aiden Gillen, for example, plays a character who "doesn't even have to work for it." But it's not so much that he's a god, physically, it's rather his attitude, which is so much more complicated than the voracious party boy he pretends to be. Craig Kelly broke my heart as Vince, Stuart's best friend, who apparently has been smitten by Stuart since they were both 12. And Charlie Hunnam swipes every scene he's in as Nathan, the 15 year old who starts out as a victim-waiting-to-happen, and ends up a hero, both to himself and to his adopted community. The setting is realistic too: straight people who run the gamut from insane homophobes to fellow-travelers; and gay people who have carved for themselves a community, but who have also found out that the world isn't "Will and Grace" and liberation is an inside job.

This show never panders to those who want easy or politically correct answers, or who want everything to be tied up nicely in a bow. Instead, it overflows with insight. Inthe U.S. version, this seems mere melodrama. Here, it works on so many dramatic levels. One of the best things to be said about it is that it truly is "made for t.v." Which is to say that it totally exploits and expands the medium. I could no more imagine this on the big screen than on the stage. It does, in other words, everything that T.V. should do and none of the things it shouldn't.

There's a lot of sex in the show, some of it more steamy than most U.S. viewers have ever seen on the tube (not counting HBO), but it's never played for shock value. It propels the story. It's honest. And yes, it's erotic.

So the bottom line is, this is a very fine show, and you're not likely to see it if you don't buy it. So if you *can* afford it, you probably should.

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Refreshing Original, December 20, 2001

By 

Ian D. Smith (Bangor, ME United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Queer as Folk: Series 1 (DVD)

I had seen 'Queer As Folk' in its original cut in the U.K., and I was dutifully impressed by how realistic, breezily fun and uncompromising this series was. As sexy, glitzy and prettily-cast the American version is, it doesn't have the heart or depth of the British original.
One of the most obvious things the U.K. version develops better is its characters. The non-chalant and irresponsible Stuart is not as cut and dry as his American counterpart (though I personally find the American Brian to be more attractive), and the multi-dimensional character is served by a more interesting actor. The hapless character of Vince, with his babbling unease, obsession with 'Doctor Who' and endearing modesty is never hard to watch, and he is played with absolute earnest by Craig Kelly. Nathan, as played by Charlie Hunnam (late of Fox's 'Undeclared') is a fresh-faced and honest character with a well developed transformation from innocent boy to more worldly young man.
Without the need to stretch stories out for whole seasons at a time, this miniseries is able to spend just enough time on all the fun and serious moments which comprise the plots of these 8 episodes. While this series isn't as graphic or as dependent on sex as the Showtime version, it certainly has more than its fair share of controversial situations and characters, and as a result it is a far more daring and relevant production.
The DVDs are a bare-bones presentation of the series, condensing all 8 episodes into 4, and editing some scenes while severely altering the soundtrack into basically a series of generic (read: cheap) dance tracks. While the original score is left largely untouched, there is no 'Sexy Boy' or 'It's Raining Men' for instance in the C1 version, which is disappointing to say the least, as the songs chosen for the original soundtrack added so much. There are no extra features of any kind on the DVD - a scene selection menu and subtitles would have been in order at least.
In the end, this is a must-see miniseries, a triumph for television and a tribute not only to the gay lifestyle, but to good old-fashioned smart dialogue and honest characterization. The skeleton DVD and the annoying C1 edits may diminish things slightly, but not to those who have never seen it before - it's such a compelling and sincerely fun series. Gritty, frank and unapologetic, the British 'Queer As Folk' is a testament to truth and realism, obscuring nothing but serving to open many eyes.

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Drama without the beauty, August 11, 2002

By 

Matt Graham (Birmingham, England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Queer as Folk (British TV Series) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

I watched the first series of QAF when it aired in the UK and it was pretty ground breaking stuff over here. This was mainly due to the gritty storylines and its 'no holes barred' approach. I loved the series as it was refreshing to see gay storylines that weren't all about HIV and queer bashing (which is all you got previously on british TV). I disagree with some of the other reviewers as I thought it was really well acted and the casting was fantastic.
The american QAF has just started to be aired on cable over here and I found it a little disappointing though still enjoyable. Me and many of my mates were really excited when we heard HBO were releasing an american version. Even Russell T Davies (the writer of britsh QAF) hailed it as fantastic. Yes the actors are much more attractive and there's more nudity and better sex scenes, but if thats all you want from a series, go and get some porn. If you can't watch TV without needing to be titilated the brish series is probably not for you. I personally prefer the series because its not so 'fluffy' and makes you question your own opinions and ideas of gay life. It had to be rougher cause thats life in the UK - no one here would of been able to relate to the beauty of QAF USA. Maybe a british audience expect different things to an american audience. It also appealed to a huge sraight following here because it wasn't incredibly homo-erotic.
If you enjoy good, gritty drama as opposed to lighter, sweeter, more attractive TV, I think you'll like the series a lot. QAF USA is good and has its place but in my mind doesn't equal this series.