ReelCheese 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.

Spanna11 I watched this a year ago. Thinking not another thing on Iraq. But i was surprised it was amazing. I watched the first 10minutes and was hooked on the series.The fact this had a great story to it and acted brilliantly was good. This mini series helps you have a insight to the mind of Saddam. It helps you have a more of understanding to his madness in Iraq. With the lives of the former dictator on his people. the influence of terror and violence would play out. It also helps you have a understanding to why the collision forces invaded Iraq. It helps in showing Sadams rise and fall of power leading to his capture my the collision forces.This series just does not show Saddam's life but also the life of his family and his relationship with his sons and his western wife.If you are fascinated by history i highly recommended this it is super!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

arashrafiq house of Saddam is a short series on the life of Saddam Hussein and his family and the friends near him. for people interested in the life oh Saddam and the happenings in Iraq during his regime its a must watch. well shot and directed. i will give it a 9 out of 10. nothing has been made like it before.the film starts from his regime in 1979. how he took over the Iraq presidential seat. it follows through the gulf war and later Kuwait incidents and finally his bringing down. it sheds light on how it was a jungles law out there for his family. the actors have done justice to their rules especially noar has pulled a great performance. all in all a good series to watch especially for the people who have been there in his regime. they can feel it for sure

Peter Hayes The rise and fall of the Iraq dictator Saddam Hussein.What a big project this must have been. Trying to distil the best bits of Saddam's twenty four years in power in to four hours and not losing those not steeped in Middle Eat politics would appear impossible to some - but my word, they have pulled it off! Here you have it all: Power, sex, family, violence, politics, war, madness, you name it. The complete drama play box. Yet this is a personal drama that is more interested in family and politics than needless bloodshed. Not that it isn't very gory at times. This is not for children.You also have a fantastic lead performance from Yigal Naor. Utterly mesmerising: Deluded, multi-faced, sometimes charming and yet ruling by fear. Trusting nobody - and certainly not his friends or family. Hitler meets Idi Amin in a country with rich oil fields and - therefore - "important" to the West.Pick of the highly convincing support cast is Philip Arditti as "first son" Uday. The mad-as-a-hatter "heir". The camera lingers/glaces on him for no reason at council and cabinet meetings, sneering or (inappropriately) looking unconcerned. He even makes Saddam look straight!Yes, it had loads of things to crib and copy from: The Sopranos and the Godfather Trilogy among them, but it is amazing how the format fits around a story that is almost entirely true. In its major facts at least.If there is a better mini-series played on TV this year I would be very surprised. You'll want to watch it more than once - I know I did.