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The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season |  | Actors: Dominic West, Clark Johnson, Aidan Gillen, Clarke Peters, Wendell Pierce
Studio: Hbo Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $59.99
Buy Used: $25.00
as of 11/23/2009 01:35 CST details
You Save: $34.99 (58%)
New (40) Used (21) from $25.00
Seller: werthejl
Rating:  96 reviews
Sales Rank: 1322
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: Unrated
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number Of Discs: 4
Running Time: 630 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.7 x 5.5 x 1.3
MPN: 1000038240
UPC: 883929015368
EAN: 0883929015368
ASIN: B00123BY6S
Theatrical Release Date: January 1, 2008
Release Date: August 12, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | In the projects. On the docks. In City Hall. In the schools. And now, in the media. The places and faces have changed, but the game remains the same.Times are tough for the detail. Mayor Carcetti has slashed the departments budget to the bone. Police are operating without overtime some without cars and radios. Angered, McNulty is off the rails again and headed down a dangerous path of deception an |
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Product Description
In the projects. On the docks. In City Hall. In the schools. And now in the media. The places and faces have changed but the game remains the same. Times are tough for the detail. Mayor Carcetti has slashed the departments budget to the bone. Police are operating without overtime some without cars and radios. Angered McNulty is off the rails again and headed down a dangerous path of deception and lies that will ally him with an unscrupulous reporter. The drug trade still rules the corners all you have to do is read between the lines.Running Time: 630 min.System Requirements:Running Time: 630 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: TELEVISION/SERIES & SEQUELS UPC: 883929015368 Manufacturer No: 1000038240
Amazon.com
A barroom toast to Det. Jimmy McNulty (Dominic West), a one-man good cop/bad cop, offered in The Wire's final episode could very well serve as this series' epitaph: "When you were good, you were the best we had." Season five bears witness to this. The 10 riveting, wrenching episodes focus on yet another beleaguered Baltimore institution, The Baltimore Sun daily newspaper, whose staff, much like the police, is forced to do more with less. One editor (Clark Johnson) struggles to maintain the paper's journalistic standards in the face of declining ad revenues, employee buyouts and bureau closures. An ambitious reporter (Tom McCarthy) undermines him by taking a page out of the Stephen Glass/Jayson Blair playbook, manufacturing sensational quotes, and eventually, whole stories, while bean-counter management encourages its rising star and keeps its eye on the (Pulitzer) prize. Meanwhile, on the streets, the year-long investigation of rising drug lord Marlo Sansfield (Jamie Hector) and the 22 bodies found in "the vacants" has been discontinued and police morale is at an all-time low (the money promised to the department has been diverted to the schools). McNulty manufactures a serial killer case that will have far-reaching repercussions in the mayor's office, where Tommy Carcetti (Aidan Gillen) is mounting a run for governor a mere two years into his term. "I wonder what it would be like to work at a real police station," McNulty rages at one point. The Wire, as ever, is all about real. It's a gritty and unflinching look at life in one of roughest districts of a "broke-ass city." There is street justice for some characters, and street injustice for others. Some meet sad, sudden, or shocking ends that defy TV convention. Referring to Marlo, McNulty declares early on, "He does not get to win; we get to win." The hard-earned victories are mostly small, or come with a price. Not that The Wire does not offer glimmers of hope. Bubbles (Andre Royo) struggles to maintain his sobriety (Steve Earle portrays the leader of his 12-step program and also does the theme song honors this season), and the final episode features a cameo by Jim True-Frost as the once overwhelmed teacher, "Prez," who now seems to have the hang of the job. The ratings-strapped and criminally Emmy-snubbed The Wire has always been a critic's darling with a passionate fan base. To the show's credit, it did not make itself more accessible in its final season (consequently, its send-off did not receive near the fanfare of The Sopranos or Sex and the City). That should not dissuade newcomers to the show. It is heavy lifting, and if you're just joining The Wire, a visit to the show's official website for orientation is recommended. But buy it, watch it, and be patient. It's so worth it. From the masterful storytelling to the peerless ensemble, it just doesn't get any better than The Wire. But that's not exactly news. --Donald Liebenson
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 96
 The Wire Review November 18, 2009
Edna Y. Rivera (Orange County, CA USA)
I am definately a HUGE fan of The Wire. Like seasons 1 - 4, season 5 did not dissapoint. Upset that its over but i'm glad that I watched. Truly is the best Cop Drama i have ever seen.
So sad to say goodbye October 22, 2009
KC (Georgia)
I loved The Wire on HBO and I really hate that it ended but it ended well. Thanks Amazon for having this series at a great price with quick free shipping.
The best HBO Series September 15, 2009
Terri Callamari
The wire was the best HBO series I have seen. I have all five seasons. I wish it continued as a series.
The Best Show on TV Wraps Things Up August 29, 2009
Scott Schiefelbein (Portland, Oregon United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
HBO's "The Wire" is the crown jewel of the cable channel's deservedly famous roster. Steeped in the real Baltimore, beloved but broken home town for the show's creators Ed Burns and David Simon, "The Wire" has offered the most consistently excellent, riveting television over its first four seasons, each of which tackled a single theme of Baltimore's compelling story of a city falling apart. From the futile, noble struggle of all-too-human police against all-too-human drug dealers, to the destruction of the Baltimore docks as a pillar of the community, to civic corruption, to the collapse of the Baltimore school system, "The Wire" brought urban collapse into our homes as nothing has before.
The fifth season was advertised as the final entry before it ran, and the writers wrote it as such. As a result, the writers confronted not only this season's theme, the destruction of journalism as an institution, but also the wrapping up of the dizzying number of plot strands that kept "The Wire" so fresh. The newspaper stories ring all too true as the Baltimore Sun slashes its journalistic standards along with its payroll, mortgaging its credibility in the hopes that a young writer could win a Pulitzer even though his stories are obviously fabricated. At the same time, the police force is being torn apart from the inside due to rampant budget cuts. Everyone's favorite screw-up of a detective, Jimmy McNulty, fabricates a serial killer in order to bring attention (and therefore funds) to the PD. Marlo continues to battle to become Baltimore's drug kingpin, while Omar strives to bring Marlo down. Bubbles strives toward sobriety, and Bunk tries to save McNulty's soul.
In other words, it's just the usual stuff for "The Wire."
Perhaps the only criticism I have is that the show might go too far in wrapping up every single loose end - the series finale seems like one long epilogue/send-off. Perhaps the writers felt pressure to avoid the infamous final scene of "The Sopranos." It's not a major criticism at all - I like getting a final vision of so many characters, but given the vast canvas "The Wire" created, it does take a while!
This is the best show on TV, and I don't say that lightly. If you haven't seen this, get Season 1 and start watching - you'll be glad you did.
Welcome To The Dark Side, Jimmy McNulty August 27, 2009
Tim Brough (Springfield, PA United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The fifth and final season of The Wire funnels all the loose ends into a stream that actually ends where it begins...with the game intact. Frustrated that Marlo still running his corners with impunity and new Mayor Thomas Carcetti (Aidan Gillen), Jimmy McNulty decides to bend the rules beyond the breaking point and sets up a fake series of crimes to pull funds into the investigation. The Baltimore Sun Newspaper, facing buyouts and cuts, lets a new, young hotshot get away with falsification of stories because there's no fact checking. Soon the two are racing down a parallel track towards a dangerous end.
The spiraling storylines that The Wire is known for again keep thing racing at a breakneck pace. Bubbles is trying to come clean, as singer Steve Earle plays his drug counselor. A crooked councilman discovers he's about to get hung up in court, and one of the finest gangster characters ever lensed, Omar (Michael K. Williams, who completely owns the gay gangster with a shotgun) goes on a one man path of revenge. Just about everyone left alive shows up, and while they may complete their stories, they are by no means resolved.
That kind of storytelling, where the ends my be visible but not tidy, that made "The Wire" a series that defied most Television parameters. There are even a few moments near the end that will make you wince (Michael and Dookie in particular) that convince me that "The Wire" is mandatory watching.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 96
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