dvd>Featured Categories>Boxed Sets>Drama>
Mad Men - Season One
Lionsgate Search Lionsgate by Jon Hamm Elisabeth Moss Vincent Kartheiser January Jones Christina Hendricks Search Jon Hamm Elisabeth Moss Vincent Kartheiser January Jones Christina Hendricks
 |
Released: 2008-07-01 Rating:  More Details: Mad Men - Season One Mad Men - Season One @Amazon Mad Men - Season One @aStore |
Product Description
MAD MEN - SEASON 1 (DVD MOVIE)
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:
Mad Men promises much, but falls short
I think this show is very well produced and it's premise and setting is promising, but it's not a patch on the quality of a program like 'The Sopranos', from where it's creator Matt Weiner hails as a writer. I was initially disappointed in the 'stylized' performances in Mad Men as, in the wake of the Sopranos, I found the prospect of a realistically performed collection of early sixties characters very exciting. Unfortunately, despite the darker themes of the program, it is really a series of TV performances (ie the way we imagine 1960's characters to behave via our experience of their television). Thus there is no cursing, no genuine intimacy and a strange contrivance about all involved. It's a shame, especially when you can see a film like 'Revolutionary Road' pulling off just the sort of honesty and performance style that we might hope for from Mad Men. Other than that the program suffers from strangely judgmental moments, and others cloyingly obvious and Spielberg-esque. The Sopranos was never guilty of either of these crimes.
For judging, take the 'easy' criticism of the hippie characters that Draper visits (and dowses them with the predictable 'Get a job' criticism) - actually some of their criticisms of Draper were very interesting but they were marred by obvious, cliched portrayals of hippies. If Draper had've witnessed a Dylan concert in the Village or something nearing it's quality, he might have felt very inferior indeed. As it is, he has to sit through poetry so bad, only a cynical scriptwriter could've prepared it.
For cloying, witness the awful flashbacks to Draper's childhood, portrayed with such obvious message-mongering they border on condescension of the audience. Yes, we get it, Draper's dad was a 'bad man'. The most obvious shortfall of the program is it's inability to deliver us genuinely sympathetic and involving characters. The closest are Peggy and Draper's wife - but even they are basically shallow puppets caught up in the oh so important world of advertising. The show has two big things going for it; It's early 60's style is fresh and it has learned from The Sopranos that unpredictability is a compelling way to explore an ensemble cast. Other than that, time will get the better of this program.
Aka: "Douchebags of the 60s"
After the 5th episode, I was beginning to think that I needed a drink. Maybe if I was drunk I'd give this series 5 stars. No wonder these people drank and smoked their brains out...their lives were so dull. "Madmen" is not an exciting piece of work but a nice showcase of the 60s advertising industry and how it influenced and shaped American culture and consumerism. The script, art direction, and acting are intelligently well crafted and depict the facade of the era well. Unfortunately, most of the characters are still forgettable although the character development is obvious throughout. Plus, each episode drags and the delivery couldn't get any less climactic. It took 10 episodes for me to finally get "hooked". The story material is very dense and dry at times. This series can't be easily watched in one sitting like others. There are very subtle details that I think the average viewer would have a hard time noticing, let alone appreciating. "Madmen" isn't for the average viewer of course. For me, it was like watching a college sociology thesis put on film. I found it fascinating and educational but mildly entertaining. There's enough wit in the dialog that kept me interested. Episode 9 is by far my favorite. Worth a look to feed a itching curiosity of the 60s or for those who are looking for a show that is unique and insightful.
Gift for mother in law
Birthday gift for my mother in law, she'll love this amazing series. Easy transaction, thank you.
mad men, hit sensation of the basic cable
best show ever. required viewing. excellent writing. beautiful production. incredible cast of actors. the hit sensation that does not receive enough hype.
Superb Series Let Down By DVD Transfer Problem 
A superb series but my point for writing this is the DVD transfer. Am I the only one that has noticed that Episode 7 "Red In The Face" on Disc 3 is full of dot-crawl? From the opening credits you can see the red colored titles shimmering (quite severely), just like the bad old days of VHS. In addition to the dot-crawl there also noticeably is less detail. All the other episodes are fine however. What gives? Why has this particular episode been transferred over a composite video cable? Lions Gate, please explain?!
Listmania Lists:
American Film Institute's Top 10 TV Programs of 2008
American Film Institute's Top 10 TV Programs of 2007
BEST TV SHOWS ON DVD
Watch the best TV shows on DVD!
Watch these shows!
In my opinion, the best tv series around
Best DVDs of 2008
COME SEE WHAT I TIVO
The Absolute Best TV Shows of Our Time
Redheads! Films and TV featuring those of the flaming hair..Part One.
RELATED:
 Mad Men: Season 2 |
 30 Rock: Season 2 |
 Damages: The Complete First Season |
 The Wire - The Complete Fifth Season |
 30 Rock - Season 1 |
