The Wire: Complete HBO Season 3 | 
 enlarge | Actors: Dominic West, Idris Elba, Michael K. Williams, Sonja Sohn
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: £39.99
Buy New: £12.97
You Save: £27.02 (68%)
New (17) Used (8) from £12.60
Rating:  36 reviews
Sales Rank: 89
Format: Pal
Languages: Dutch (Subtitled), English (Subtitled), Danish (Subtitled), Finnish (Subtitled), Greek (Subtitled), Hungarian (Subtitled), Norwegian (Subtitled), Swedish (Subtitled), Portuguese (Subtitled), English (Original Language)
Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Number Of Items: 5
Running Time: 780
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 7.4 x 5.4 x 0.7
EAN: 7321904825692
ASIN: B000KGGP0S
Release Date: February 5, 2007
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
Corruption is rife throughout The Wire: The Complete Third Season, which picks up the further adventures of the Baltimore Major Crimes Unit as they continue to wage war on drugs. Only as this is The Wire, that's just the beginnings of their problems. Once again, the show that's rightly being acclaimed as one of America's finest and most intelligent dramas covers the story from all areas. There's the investigating cops on one hand, their targets on the other, and the small matter of heavy political influence both with the Police Department itself, and from the Mayor's Office too.Cleverly sowing the seeds for the series that'll follow, while lacing the narrative with a wealth of challenging ideas to deal with there and then, season three isn't perhaps the finest of The Wire to date, but it sure does run things close. From its willingness to explore a solution of tolerance to the problem in hand, through to the political ambitions of one man determined to make a name for himself, and the small matter of a drugs operation riddled with in-fighting, it's compelling drama. It's also unequalled in recent times, courtesy of its outstanding writing, measured performances and willingness to take some bold gambles. Put bluntly, The Wire: The Complete Third Season is a quite brilliant piece of television drama, and easily rewards a purchase. --Simon Brew
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| Customer Reviews: Read 31 more reviews...
Three out of three, AGAIN the most sophisticated thing on TV! March 18, 2007
41 out of 43 found this review helpful
Stunningly good, again. Who'd have thought that a TV show about cops and gangs would be so subtle, 3-dimensional, funny, moving and intelligent? Everybody who wants to understand drugs, crime or America should watch it!
In this season, the makers of The Wire have expanded the universe of the show by adding a new political dimension while bringing the focus back to the drug-littered west Baltimore streets of the first season, where names like Barksdale, Omar and Prop Joe still "ring out". It's the same old "game": gangs fighting for street corners, sergeants demanding arrests and Jimmy McNulty going behind his boss's back to pull strings for a short-cut solution to his big case...
I have no wish to give away the plot, which is a humdinger, but suffice to say it the story is jolted by realism and twists just like in the first two seasons. New people join the game, others leave it, and one man thinks he may have struck on an answer to clean up the whole scene...
And the characters are so well drawn, it is hard to believe these are actors. I mean, surely the guy who plays Omar really is chillingly ruthless and charmingly eloquent? And surely the guy who plays Jay must really enjoy needling his subordinates in a gross and funny way? But actually the men behind McNulty and Stringer are both British, which shows how convincing the whole dramatic illusion is, even though it often feels like a documentary.
Please note, you must watch the first two seasons before this one (or at least you REALLY should because they are excellent and you will spoil the fun if you discover the plot backwards) and, yes, the DVDs of all three seasons have subtitles, and you will probably need them, unless you are a Baltimore drug dealer.
if there were a sixth star... May 14, 2007
34 out of 37 found this review helpful
I concur with many of the opinions below, the choice to focus on one main story line from several angles makes Season Three far superior to Season Two. I just wanted to add that this is very rewarding as we now have the back stories on all the main characters. The confrontations between some of the main characters lead to both acting and cimematograpgy of epic proportions. The showdown between Bouzone and Omar is like a modern day Spaghetti Western, although in this case the lack of music enhances the tension. Probably the greatest triumph in this show, and dare I say it... in any TV show ever made, is the subtle cat and mouse games between the main protagonists on either side of the law. The relationship between McNulty and Stringer could have been taken from a Royal Shakespeare performance, albeit on the streets of west Baltimore. Added to all this are the new layers of politics from the Mayor's office, the Media and the men with the stripes at Police HQ.
It remains for me to say that it is criminal that shows like this are not broadcast on terrestrial TV in the UK, instead we have to suffer shows with faded celebs dancing until their ultimate phone-vote related downfall. Good job I have a dvd player!
TV drama at its best - The Wire is more complex and fascinating than ever April 2, 2007
24 out of 26 found this review helpful
After an unfocused attempt to tackle twin stories for season two, season three of The Wire goes back to dealing with Baltimore's drug problem with a vengeance. This is the most complex season of The Wire yet, with the storyline taking in more layers of the war on drugs as it shows the battle from top to bottom, incorporating more politics than ever before and showing how the pressure from the Mayor's office trickles down through the police precincts and on to the crime-ridden streets. The big story this year is the plan by a police major to push the dealers and users away from their usual corners and into an abandoned area that becomes known as Hamsterdam - a 'turn a blind eye' approach of sorts that causes as many problems as it solves.
Idris Elba shines this season as drug kingpin Stringer Bell, who is desperately trying to make inroads into the legitimate business world but finds his plans complicated by his newly-paroled and entirely non-business-minded partner Avon Barksdale. Also back in the mix is the excellent Michael K Williams as psycho armed robber Omar Little, and Dominic West as detective Jimmy McNulty, who is becoming increasingly obsessed with capturing Bell.
Fans of the police procedural aspect of the show may be a little disappointed this year, as McNulty and co take smaller roles to accommodate the increased focus on the back-stabbing and double-dealing of Baltimore's politicians and high ranking police officers. For me, though, this was a fascinating approach to take to the material, partly because McNulty's stubborn self-centredness is beginning to grate, but also because The Wire has never been a typical cop show (that's what makes it so good). You have to hand it to creator David Simon for his ambition here - rather than churn out another year that retreads familiar ground, what you get instead is an expansion of the story that gives you a bigger picture of the horrible futility inherent to the war on drugs.
If you're a fan of well-written TV drama, you owe it to yourself to check this one out (make sure you watch seasons one and two first, though). This is as good as television gets and is probably the best season of The Wire to date.
Best drama series ever continues to deliver the goods. January 11, 2007
16 out of 18 found this review helpful
If you are reading this, you are probably already familiar with the previous two seasons. I believe it is the best thing ever shown on television, period. I'll keep my praise short. It's all been said, better, by others. The overriding theme I try to keep foremost in mind as a viewer is "...all the pieces matter". Often I'll see just how much those pieces matter only after repeated viewings.
I live in the US where the fourth season just finished airing, and I own the third season DVD.
The bottom line is that the third season is every bit as good as the previous two. We get several new characters, and variations on the theme of institutional reform. That doesn't sound nearly as intersting as it turns out to be, but to be any more specific would spoil all the fun. A caution: AVOID spoilers for season three. There are a couple of MAJOR events in this season that are all over the internet.
I don't want to take anything away from season three, but be advised that the fourth season is now being pronounced the best so far by nearly every fan I know personally (and I know quite a few).
Bottom line... Is season three of The Wire worth owning? Oh, Indeed!
Back up on the wire... February 15, 2007
9 out of 10 found this review helpful
America's best cop show returns with a scorching third season and a lot has happened since the last wire tap.
West Baltimore is still rife with drugs and crime. The notorious towers may have been demolished but Avon Barksdale's crew are still going to deal, they just need to take some of the nearby street corners back from rival gangs. Meanwhile, Detective McNulty is looking into the possibility that D'Angelo Barksdale didn't commit suicide in prison but that he was murdered because he was on the verge of talking to the police to cut his twenty year sentence. Stringer Bell, who gave the order to kill D'Angelo has been running the organization whilst Avon is locked up. Stringer has been making lots of legitimate money in real estate and is moving away from the gangster lifestyle. Downtown, pressure from the mayor to cut crime filters down through the ranks and a desperate major takes the drastic step of authorising drug dealing in designated areas only to move the gang bangers from residential neighbourhoods. Omar continues to rip off Barksdale stash houses until one robbery goes bad. The wire tap detail have their work cut out when they realise the gangsters have begun using disposable mobile phones, ditching them once a week. On top of all this, Avon is up for parole and could be coming home....
Season 3 is mesmerising. After the opening episode I was hooked. A lot happens in these 12 episodes including two regular characters (one major one) getting killed. The Wire is up there with The Shield as far as great cop shows go but I would say the Wire is more rewarding overall. It is so well written and involving, a lot of time obviously goes into making each episode as realistic as possible. It can be a bit difficult to follow at times, especially the technical aspects of the police investigation and also trying to follow the slang the gangsters use. That said, there is still enough action and drama to keep you hooked.
Brilliant.
Like This? Try: The Wire: Seasons 1 & 2
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