Oz - HBO Prison Drama

[HugoMorse]

Does any one know if and when this will be released in the UK (and if it will be cut). The US ones seem expensive to import and eBay is full of Chinese mass produced bootlegs. I would love to see this.

Thanks.

[SIMON ADEBISI]

Haven't heard anything so far about R2. Probably won't be cut though there is an ep in S4 that shows in detail how to make prison shivs and that would probably be the most likely candidate for the snip.

[DavidO]

I very much doubt they'd be released on R2 at this point. Even if eventually they were, judging by the prices of previous HBO products over here, I don't think the difference in cost could justify the wait. I think the cheapest price for Season 1 is £27 at PlayUSA (http://www.thedvdforums.com/jump2.php?url=http://playcom.at/thedvdforums?DURL=http://www.playusa.com/DVD/Region_1/3-/100880/-/Product.html).

[Space Duck]

You save about £20 buying all five seasons from Amazon, it's a bit too expensive for one purchase though on my measly wage :(

[HugoMorse]

Thanks, at around £135 plus customs fees is it worth buying all series or just testing the water with the first. I love hard-core prison films with Blood In, Blood Out being amazing and Animal Factory running close second. How does this compare?

I was a bit dissapointed by Prison Break as seems a rather weak example of what prison life is actually like in the US.

[gareth101]

OZ was awesome. Prison Break is attempting something completely different, it's far more mainstream and in my opinion rather enthralling. Oz will never come out on R2 I guess, I don't think it was very watched much over here although it got a fair few mentions in the Guardians TV page. Still waiting for season 6 on dvd, surely they will release it?

[Steve Jackson]

OZ was awesome.
Yes it was excellent.

Apart from the aging pills of course.

Oh, and priests rising from the dead.

And a few other implausible plots towards the end.

Don't let me put you off though. It's still compelling viewing.

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

Looks like it's coming out on Region 4 Australian DVD, and at a farily decent price. £14 each at DVDCrave, though only the first 2 seasons are available for pre-order right now. You have to search for "oz:" with the colon, because a 2-letter title is too short for the search system!

[SIMON ADEBISI]

I love hard-core prison films with Blood In, Blood Out being amazing and Animal Factory running close second.

Have you seen American Me?

[HugoMorse]

Have you seen American Me?

I bought it, but only got half way through before turning it off. I should really give it another chance.

I will check out the R4's of Oz. :)

[SIMON ADEBISI]

I bought it, but only got half way through before turning it off. I should really give it another chance.

Why? Did you find it boring or did a certain scene get too much for you?

[HugoMorse]

Why? Did you find it boring or did a certain scene get too much for you?

The former.

[HugoMorse]

I see that American Me now has a UK release. Will this be cut? I can't seem to find any info.

[Locky]

Looks like it's coming out on Region 4 Australian DVD, and at a farily decent price. £14 each at DVDCrave, though only the first 2 seasons are available for pre-order right now. You have to search for "oz:" with the colon, because a 2-letter title is too short for the search system!

Cool, cheers for that. Will I need a multi-region DVD player if I want to watch this? :?:

[SIMON ADEBISI]

I see that American Me now has a UK release. Will this be cut? I can't seem to find any info.

Its uncut. I don't think it was ever cut.

[HugoMorse]

Its uncut. I don't think it was ever cut.

Decided to check the BBFC before checking on here, which lists a release in 1992 at 126m 20s and the next two releases (inc. 2005 release) at 120m 40s.

http://www.bbfc.co.uk/website/Classified.nsf/0/35B13A0E1D9FB20780257022002B9C45?OpenDocument

No cuts, but perhaps the first is a Director's cut?

[HugoMorse]

Cool, cheers for that. Will I need a multi-region DVD player if I want to watch this? :?:

Australian DVD's are R4 but most are dual encoded for R2, and they are in PAL, so probably not.

[SIMON ADEBISI]

Australian DVD's are R4 but most are dual encoded for R2, and they are in PAL, so probably not.

Michaeldvd should have some info on this as well.

[lurker452]

Oz Is a fantastic, gripping, gritty, prison drama. Unbelievably this was scheduled for during the night viewing for most of the early seasons. Talk about a hidden gem. Not surprisingly when Channel 4 finally gave it an 11 o'clock showing it was unsuccessful in the ratings, which is not surprising since virtually nobody has heard of this series. While I enjoy Prison Break but it is a whole different kettle of fish from the bleak reality of Oz. If there was ever a prison drama made to to scare the crap out of you at the thought of going to prison then this is it. Rape , beatings, drug-abuse, murder, racism , riots and just about everything else in between.

I must admit surprise that they haven't released this on DVD in the UK as once the word gets out sales are bound to follow. Kind of like the success of Firefly.

[Space Duck]

Only eight eps per seasons?!?!

Although I also noticed Charmed S1 on the site for £16!!!!

[Steve Jackson]

Only eight eps per seasons?!?!

Seasons 1, 2, 3, 5, and 6 all had 8 episodes, season 4 was 16 episodes, although that had a six months break in the middle so you could argue there were actually 7x8 episode seasons. I have no idea why it wasn't counted as such.

[Space Duck]

Hmmm I always thought they had more episodes in a season, My sister used to watch this as well... Maybe the gap in Season 4 was the time when Moreno went to the west end to play Norma Desmond in Sunset Blvd.... hmmmmmmmmm

[SIMON ADEBISI]

HBO made S4 a 2 part season because the Sopranos had just finished and they didn't have any new series for later that year. I remember reading a Tom Fontana interview about it.

[Steve Jackson]

Given that the first half was the usual 8 episodes, then it took six months off, I still can't understand why the second half wasn't labelled season 5. Ah well, it hardly matters anyway. Point is Oz was a great show, and remains essential viewing.

HBO, what a channel. I'd love to see a UK version launch, assuming they can afford the rights to their own programming that is. That is one thing I can never understand, how Sky for instance gets BSG and the Stargates, instead of Sci-fi.

[lurker452]

HBO, what a channel. I'd love to see a UK version launch, assuming they can afford the rights to their own programming that is. That is one thing I can never understand, how Sky for instance gets BSG and the Stargates, instead of Sci-fi.

the Sci-fi Channel is a small channel with limited resources for new programming which is why most of their schedule consists of programmes which have been shown elsewhere first or shows that Sky have no interest in showing. Apart from Sky having much more money and bargaining power to buy the biggest American imports. Series like Battlestar Galactica and the recently defunct Threshold were part financed by Sky. Giving them exclusive rights in the UK to the shows in question.

[Steve Jackson]

the Sci-fi Channel is a small channel with limited resources for new programming which is why most of their schedule consists of programmes which have been shown elsewhere first or shows that Sky have no interest in showing. Apart from Sky having much more money and bargaining power to buy the biggest American imports. Series like Battlestar Galactica and the recently defunct Threshold were part financed by Sky. Giving them exclusive rights in the UK to the shows in question.
Ok, BSG with the Sky funding was a bad example, and I get what you are saying, but it still seems mad that a UK channel often doesn't get to broadcast shows made by it's US parent.

[cockbongo]

the Sci-fi Channel is a small channel with limited resources for new programming which is why most of their schedule consists of programmes which have been shown elsewhere first or shows that Sky have no interest in showing. Apart from Sky having much more money and bargaining power to buy the biggest American imports. Series like Battlestar Galactica and the recently defunct Threshold were part financed by Sky. Giving them exclusive rights in the UK to the shows in question.

Yeah, its funny how it works. NBC owns the Sci-Fi channel, dont' they? So they must part fund some of its original programming - hence the recent rumours about them taking BSG from SciFi and putting it on their main network.

Sky and Fox are owned by Mr Murdoch, of course, so you'd expect the US Fox stuff to turn up on Sky (24, Bones, Simpsons) but lots of it turns up elsewhere - Prison Break, House, Arrested Development, The OC. It's a bidding war, i suppose, but doesn't it mean that Sky get first refusal on these shows? Can't believe they'd have rejected Prison Break and House so that Five could show it.....

[LeftHandedGuitarist]

If there was ever a prison drama made to to scare the crap out of you at the thought of going to prison then this is it. Rape , beatings, drug-abuse, murder, racism , riots and just about everything else in between.

Indeed, shortly after a viewing of season 1 over the course of a week, I had nightmares about being in Em City!

[Deano]

I think the two halves of season 4 were filmed and produced in one block, hence the labelling.

[JonLaidlow]

BTW - UK Scifi Channel no longer has any connection with the US Scifi channel - its just a brand name that the UK owners have licensed to use.

J

[cliff homewood]

Question for you Oz fans out there, of which I am one, have never watched Homicide Life on the Streets nor St Elsewhere, are they as good as Oz? How do they compare? Obviously not the violence, but it was the intelligent interesting storylines that I lvoed it for. GReat characters that change with time.

[HugoMorse]

Does any one know when the R4 series is being released? I pre-ordered S1 and S2 but do not know when they are coming out and may cave in for the ultra expensive R1 and import duties just to satisfy my coriousity over the show.

[EDIT]According to HMV Aus, it was released on 15 March 06 but no signs of stock with them or the other retailers!

[Locky]

Does any one know when the R4 series is being released? I pre-ordered S1 and S2 but do not know when they are coming out and may cave in for the ultra expensive R1 and import duties just to satisfy my coriousity over the show.

[EDIT]According to HMV Aus, it was released on 15 March 06 but no signs of stock with them or the other retailers!

That's freaky - I was going to ask this same question! I was planning on preordering from DVDCrave (http://www.dvdcrave.com) but the release date just says "N/A". Will ask Daniel in the DVDCrave supplier thread to see if he knows.

[HugoMorse]

That's freaky - I was going to ask this same question! I was planning on preordering from DVDCrave (http://www.dvdcrave.com) but the release date just says "N/A". Will ask Daniel in the DVDCrave supplier thread to see if he knows.

I have already e-mailed them, not good news I'm afraid:

"Sorry but we have no official release date as yet. Rumours are sometime in May."

[Locky]

I have already e-mailed them, not good news I'm afraid:

"Sorry but we have no official release date as yet. Rumours are sometime in May."

Cheers, that's a bit annoying. Might hold off preordering until there's a firm date.

[SIMON ADEBISI]

Any news on S6 yet? I want to finish my collection.

[Locky]

I emailed DVDCrave about the R4 boxsets and have just got this reply:

"No set release date as yet but it is rumoured to be sometime in June."

:(