La casa de Saddam

Next to Hitler or Stalin, no modern figure has been as vilified as Saddam Hussein. And with the Iraqi despot's atrocities so well known and oft-repeated, it becomes easy to forget that there was a flesh-and-bones man behind the monster.

What makes HOUSE OF SADDAM so compelling is its humanization of the title character. Yigal Naor delivers a subdued brilliance as Saddam, developing the character over a 27-year elapsed period that begins with his ascension to power and ends with his hanging. Naor brings Saddam to the screen without bias. He's as convincing with Saddam the caring family man as he is with Saddam the cold-hearted executioner.

Producers of this four-hour miniseries faced the same challenge as those who have brought other notable world figures to film: what hits the screen and what stays on the cutting room floor? The choice here was to shed light on a quartet of important eras in Saddam's life: his rise to power, his war with Iran, his invasion of Kuwait and his evasion of US forces after the fall of his government. This approach is not perfect - it would have been fascinating to see the final chapter focus more on the process that led to Saddam's fall - but it works well nevertheless.

A rich back story, with emphasis on unstable sons Uday (an amazing Philip Arditti) and Qusay (Mounir Margoum), helps flesh out the story of a complex man in a complex situation. At times the film feels like THE SOPRANOS, with loyalties constantly questioned and bullets planted in the heads of recusants. Given that there is so much about Saddam we will never know, some dramatic license was taken, but none of it screams of pure fiction.

HOUSE OF SADDAM sheds important light on a man whose impact on the world was as devastating as it was profound. With no political agenda, it makes for irresistible viewing.

If viewers are expecting a factual summary of Saddam Hussein's life, they will be disappointed. I'm sure there are better documentaries on the subject. But for pure casting pleasure, I would heartily recommend HoS. Director Jim O'Hanlon has assembled a truly international cast, including celebrated Iranian actress Shohreh Aghdashloo (so marvelous in "House of Sand & Fog"), Indian actress Shivani Ghai, and Palestinian actor Makram Khoury (great as Tariq Aziz).

Most impressive is celebrated actor Yigal Naor as Saddam. He exudes the perfect combination of ruthlessness and charm that propelled the tyrant into power. That Hussein is portrayed by a Jew-- and Israeli-born Jew-- is probably sending the old goat into cartwheels. Pure poetic justice!

"House of Saddam" is an excellent dramatisation of Saddam's rule, starting in 1979. With high production standards, excellent performances and truly blood chilling scenes, this is unmissable television.

This four part drama series provides an insight into the world of the Husseins and looks at Saddam's relationships with family, friends, allies and enemies. It appears to be a well researched piece and, despite dramatic licence, you feel you're watching actual events unfold.

9 out of 10. Excellent.

The first episode of this drama series could have fallen into all the traps that recreations of modern history, and ancient history for that matter, fall into: Glib unrealistic portrayals of character; ridiculous over simplification; and sloppy historical inaccuracies. Alex Holmes with his production team and a brilliant cast avoided this brilliantly in the light of one over-riding handicap they had - All of us have our preconceptions and our own sketchy 'take' on the Saddam sagas presented by the media and by governments over the last 25 years in various forms of uneven levels of factual integrity, political expediency and rigor. Amazingly, despite this, I was able to accept the inevitable economies of scale limiting Holmes and his ingenious team, and was spellbound by the simple exposition of Saddam's corrupt, and corrupting modus operandi. The family dynamic was cleverly integrated with the political backdrop and viewers more interested in the subtext will not be disappointed. A grisly reminder that we have lived through an era when monsters exist within the human race and our world seems to be reluctant to learn from history and be more alert to their ability to operate, and cause tragedy and mayhem while we too often watch and allow them. Great telly too on a straightforward entertainment level.

in fact , am watching this drama and writing in the same time. i couldn't wait me and my husband for this to start , we are iraqi and we lived most of our lives under Saddam's regime , this is a good drama about Saddam , it starts when he came to power in 79 , so scary , so unpredictable as he always used to be , we watched him on TV , lived in a country ruled by him , and in this series i am remembering my childhood , and my life in Iraq, i believe this drama is so real offcourse except for the language which is Arabic in reality ,all characters resemble the real ones , with the music and all.

i'll give it 9 starts.