Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 27, 2011
• Run Time: 360 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B005ELEN26
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,950 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Looks can be deceiving. Often compared to Mad Men, Abi Morgan's stylish, smoke-filled series plays more like a cross between the BBC's State of Play and Broadcast News. Instead of an ad agency, the 1956 debut of a Panorama-like show called The Hour provides the hub around which the action revolves. Working-class Freddie (Bright Star's Ben Whishaw, wiry and intense), the journalist, prefers hard news to society fluff, and enjoys a snappy rapport with comely producer Bel (Atonement's Romola Garai, looking much like a Hitchcock heroine), but her heart belongs to Hector (The Wire's Dominic West), the well-connected anchor, who doesn't let his marriage to Oona Chaplin's socialite stand in his way. When a friend informs Freddie that there's more to a subway murder than meets the eye, he becomes as obsessed with the case as with his new job. As Freddie's inquiry catches the attention of MI-6, other characters come to light, like an anxious actor (Sherlock's Andrew Scott), a weasely watchdog (Julian Rhind-Tutt), and a shady translator (Torchwood's Burn Gorman, chilling). While the battle for Egypt becomes the top story, two more Londoners die under mysterious circumstances. These seemingly disparate developments will converge in the surprising finale. In the featurette, Morgan describes the show as a look at the decline of the British Empire. Adds West, "There's a nice sort of chemistry between us all." It comes across onscreen, and Anton Lesser and Anna Chancellor, who play two of his colleagues, also deserve praise for their stellar support. With its Saul Bass-inspired credits, finger-snapping theme, and amazing outfits, The Hour feels like Masterpiece Theatre by way of Ian Fleming. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

Product Description

Romola Garai, Dominic West and Ben Whishaw star in The Hour, a thrilling six-part drama set in 1950s London when the BBC is about to launch an entirely new way of presenting the news. The dynamic Bel (Garai) is chosen to produce the new program, to be called The Hour,' with handsome and well connected Hector (West) set to become the anchor, much to the annoyance of Freddie (Whishaw), a brilliant and outspoken journalist, whose passion continually lands him in trouble. Over the six episodes, the interplay of intense ambitions between our rising news team play out against the backdrop of a mysterious murder and Freddie's controversial and dangerous investigation.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

33 of 34 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Six Episodes Of Government Intrigue And Workplace Politics--A Slow Burn Drama About The BBC By The BBC August 25, 2011

By K. Harris HALL OF FAMETOP 10 REVIEWER

Format:Blu-ray

With its methodical pacing and intricate narrative, BBC's "The Hour" has the general allure of a good book unfolding. While its six episode arc is, to say the least, what one might consider on a slow burn--there is enough of a payoff for viewers patient enough to appreciate the show's numerous charms. So much hyperbole and advertising have insisted we view "The Hour" as some sort of cousin to "Mad Men," but the two shows have little in common aside from being period piece dramas bolstered by an easy social atmosphere of drinking and smoking. It seems to me that a better comparison would be the more contemporary news drama "State of Play," but with a considerably less frenetic appeal. Ultimately, I don't think that the program is for everyone--but I quite liked this mix of government espionage with workplace intrigue.

The series kicks off in 1956 with the launch of a different breed of television news programming. The Hour is to be a uniquely formatted news magazine show that tackles the real issues of the day in a more substantial way. The principle cast include Romola Garai as the producer, Ben Whishaw as the reporter and Dominic West as the anchor. The first episode deals primarily with character introduction and getting everyone at place on The Hour. But amidst all the workplace shenanigans, an old friend of Whishaw meets with an untimely death--and this will have unforeseen repercussions as the narrative advances. After the new show struggles upon its inception, the intrepid crew goes after a high profile story and find themselves embroiled in conspiracies and government intrigue. As the Suez Crisis ramps up, further complications ensue and The Hour and its principles are thrust into the middle of an international scandal.

Despite a stage on world politics, "The Hour" consistently balances the larger drama with more intimate character work. This is not just about grand espionage plots (filtered through the lens of modern sensibilities, unfortunately), it is about the machinations required to be a success in the professional world of that era. West is an oily charmer, Garai has an understated appeal, and the unconventional Whishaw steals much of the show with a nervous drive. The supporting cast is filled in with a number of big names and familiar faces and the performances are uniformly excellent. The show is far from perfect--at times the narrative can be puzzling or implausible and, as I said, the central mysteries are adjudged by contemporary moral standards. But, all in all, it's hard not to recommend "The Hour" to patient viewers who aren't searching for an immediate action payoff. KGHarris, 8/11.

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Hour September 9, 2011

By Dr Mike C

Format:DVD

The Hour is currently being shown on BBC America, and the important thing I wanted to let people know about is that if you are not very happy with what you have seen on BBC America, don't blame it on the drama. In the UK, the length of each episode (without commercials) is 60 minutes. On BBC America, the episode WITH COMMERCIALS is squeezed into a 60-minute time slot. If you feel that you are missing something (approximately 10 minutes?) while watching it on BBC America, YOU ARE, and the drama suffers accordingly. The good news is that this DVD contains the full episodes.

I enjoyed watching this mystery (the full episodes). The drama unfolds well, and the cast is excellent. I can't say enough about the cast. I would watch any show with only one of the following actors: Ramola Garai, Anna Chancellor, Jamie Parker (Scripps from The History Boys), Juliet Stevenson, Tim Pigott-Smith, or Julian Rhind-Tutt. Lucky for me that they all are in this series. There are many other recognizable and talented actors (aka Masterpiece alumni): Dominic West, john Bowe, Andrew Scott and Nicholas Woodeson. While I was not familiar with the Ben Whishaw's work, I will now add him to my list of must view actors.

My engagement in the drama grew throughout the six hours. By the end, I had to know how it was going to turn out. My only criticism is that it leaves a lot of loose ends on what happens to the people involved in the drama. Presumably, this allows more freedom for the second series, which has been approved by the BBC, but it bothered me. Still, I gave it five stars. I did like the mystery and its solution.

I guess I can't blame BBC America for thinking that it can cut 10 minutes or so out of each hour. PBS does it with Masterpiece, and I was shocked to read that the Torchwood: Miracle Day is 60 minutes in the UK and only 50 minutes on Starz. That really upsets me. At least PBS' Masterpiece is free. I pay a lot of money each month to watch truncated shows on Starz? What is this world coming to? So much for the free market and capitalism.

19 of 21 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Behind the Machinations of BBC: A Debut Series from the Brits August 18, 2011

By Grady Harp HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

Summer seems to be test time for new series for the television audience and so far the shows that are coming out of Britain look the most promising. First we had the abbreviated 3 episode appetizer ZEN which in its short run got progressively more interesting and promising and now come THE HOUR from BBC America. The series just debuted in what appeared to be prolonged trailer for the long series that hopefully will continue: the title refers to a television news broadcast that is created before our eyes, the final scenes being a toast to this new venture acting as an overture to what is to come.

Overtures to operas usually introduce themes that will appear in the opera that follows once the curtain opens and that is how THE HOUR comes across. This is a time piece set in the 1950s when Cold War-era England was awash in the news of the Suez crisis, one of Britain's sharpest intimations of loss, with a more intimate look at sex, ambition and espionage in the workplace along with the world wide speculation of JFK as a vice presidential candidate in the US. It's a time of unsettling change, except at the BBC, where even driven reporters are assigned to do feel-good newsreels about debutante balls and royal visits. The series opener, written by Bafta Award-winning Abi Morgan, takes us behind the scenes of the launch of a topical news program in London 1956, and introduces a highly competitive, sharp-witted and passionate love triangle at the heart of the series through the lives of enigmatic producer Bel Rowley (Romola Garai) and her rivals, journalist Freddie Lyon (Ben Wishaw) and anchorman Hector Madden (Dominic West): we will begin to see the decade on the threshold of change - from the ruthless sexual politics behind the polite social façade of the Fifties to the revelations that redefined the world for a new generation. Aside from the behind the scenes views and devious workings of the BBC we also see the beginning of a crime element in which the victim is touted as being part of a robbery while the ever-suspicious and career climbing Freddie sees it as a murder to be investigated. There are 1950s reminders of Debutante Balls, the universal cigarette smoking habits, the 'gentlemen only clubs' where women are not allowed (secondary citizens, you know!), and all the clothes and hats that reek of the 50s.

The cast is rich in fine British actors (Juliet Stevenson and Tim Pigott-Smith appear briefly in roles that will likely be expanded, Anna Chancellor is the acid tongued foreign correspondent, Burn Gorman is the suspicious, hatted man, etc), but if were only Ben Wishaw and Romola Garai and Domenic West every week the show would sail. There is a lot of style and sophistication and just the right amount of British intrigue and humor that almost sure that this series will fly. Grady Harp, August 11