Studio: Lions Gate Home Ent. Release Date: 07/01/2008 Run time: 616 minutes Rating: Nr
Welcome to a world where Monday has a three drink minimum. Mad Men exists here and it's a fabulous place to visit, back before Betty Friedan's Feminine Mystique really made much of an impact and before the Surgeon General put warning labels on cigarettes. It was an America on the brink of social explosion and Mad Men, which tells the story of a group of Madison Avenue advertising executives in the early 1960s, captures that surface stillness perfectly, complete with the growing tension barely contained below the surface.
The show succeeds on every level. HBO famously passed on Mad Men, created by former Sopranos executive producer and writer Matthew Weiner. AMC picked it up, and thank goodness they did. From the first episode, Season One becomes an essential, utterly addictive television- watching experience. Beautifully filmed and masterfully written, the show manages to present the period honestly but with little nostalgia, and as soon as you get over the constant smoking, drinking and treatment of women as little more than "girls" who get coffee and answer the phone, the complexity of these characters (especially the dashing Jon Hamm as Creative Director Don Draper) will leave you completely captivated. Season One features clandestine office romances, shadowy pasts, a ton of adultery, closeted homosexuality and a lot more drama that seems risqué even for 2008. But again, one of the most impressive things about Mad Men is that everything is executed with absolute class, style and elegance. And bonus for the DVD viewer: Like The Sopranos, Mad Men has a ton of little moments and hints leading up to character revelations and plot twists that make watching the episodes over and over continually rewarding. --Kira Canny
Stills from Mad Men (click for larger image)
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Madmen:
This Mad Men - Season One This TV series is a hit for babyboomers or anyone wanting to relive the early 1960's...and remember how life was in the office, treatment of women at home and in the office, race relations, bigotry, furniture design and style, smoking, clothing, advertising of products long forgotton. It's nostalgia for oldtimers and a glimpse of life 50 yrs ago for youngsters. Very well acted and worthy of Emmies.
Can't wait for the next season..keep em coming!
Excellent:
First of all, I ordered mine through Amazon less than 3 weeks ago and I received it just fine.
Its got enough humor and drama to make it enthralling. I've watched some docs on life in the ideal '50s-early '60s so this fullfilled by history fix as well.
I've heard mixed reviews on the series. The conclusion seems to be that it is best to watch back to back instead of weekly. Watching it in one weekend is not difficult. I couldn't wait to jump to the next episode.
Award Winning "Best Drama" absolutly addicting!!!!:
When the show aired on TV it came on at 10:00pm and I didn't stay up that late. Then AMC had a marathon Sunday of Mad Men and I got addicted. I love the DVD because it gives you added commentaries of the actors as well as the creator Matt Weiner. The only negative is the fact that Mad Men Addicts (known on the website as "Maddicts") have to wait so long for the DVD of Season 2.
great writing, great acting:
This show is very well done. Everything from the acting, to the character development, to the sets, is incredibly well done. Season Two is also excellent. Some of the activities which happen seem a bit over the top, but this less than 40 years ago. Sure, some of it is exaggerated for television, but I feel this show does a good job of showing how far we've come in a very short period of time. That alone is worth something. Of course, the entertainment value is there. Nice twists and turns, which... more info
