I saw the ads on TV for this mini-series and I remember thinking it was a great cast. I also remember smacking myself when I realized I had forgotten to tape it. Thanks to Warner Home Video I can enjoy this mini-series with all the bells and whistles that DVD brings.
"Uprising" tells the story of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising by Polish Jews in 1943. Instead of being led off to their deaths, a group of people decided it was better to die fighting. They lasted longer then the Polish army, fighting with homemade bombs and rifles stolen from the Germans. Hank Azaria portrays Mordechai Anielewicz, one of the leaders of the uprising. Hank shows that he's more then a voice on the Simpsons, and is joined by David Schwimmer, Jon Voight, Donald Sutherland, Cary Elwes and Leelee Sobieski. The story starts with the occupation of Poland by the Germans and the establishment of the Warsaw Ghetto separating the Polish Jews from the rest of the population. Mordechai realizes it's better to die fighting than to board a train for a death camp and he forms an underground resistance along with Yitzhak Zuckerman (Schwimmer) and a fe others. This group grows in number as they have success in repelling the German's from the Warsaw Ghetto.
I was shocked to find that the entire set was created for the movie and that real buildings weren't used. The level of detail in the streets and buildings is simply amazing. This part of the production is briefly covered on one of the documentaries on the second disc.
Video
Uprising was broadcast in 1.78:1 widescreen on TV and is shown in 1.78:1 animorphic widescreen on this release. The picture is beautiful with hardly any dust and nice, crisp detail in the picture. Shot in a documentary style that works well with the material, the presentation on the DVD shows how much work went into the production. Some of the material was shot using filters and others were desaturated to enhance the emotional feel of the movie. There are no signs of edge enhancement in the video and besides some minor dust it's flawless. Subtitles occasionally flash on the screen with important information and events. Exceptional job!
Audio
I was very surprised while listening to the 5.1 track on "Uprising". I'm not used to having really active rear channels in TV product. Most of the movie is relatively "normal" with the dialog coming from the center channel, some panning effects and music coming mainly from the front speakers. It's not until you get about half way through the movie that the rears get a workout. When the uprising goes full-tilt there are explosions, and bullets that wiz past you. This isn't "Saving Private Ryan", but it's exceptional for a TV mini-series. Every once and awhile the dialog is drowned out by other effects so I turned on the subtitles (English, French and Spanish are available) so I didn't miss anything.
2 Commentary Tracks
There are two tracks found on the disc. Recorded shortly after the September 11th attacks, the cast (Hank Azaria, David Schwimmer, Jon Voight and Leelee Sobieski) talk about their involvement with the production while Jon Avnet talks about writing and directing the feature on another track. There are quite a few gaps in the commentary and Leelee was recorded separately from her co-stars. Both tracks are informative, and if you have a few hours to kill I'd suggest listening to them.
Breaking Down the Walls
The shorter of the two documentaries found on disc two covers the production of the mini-series. Jon Avent and others talk about the problems with doing the show and we get a behind-the-scenes look at the creation of the sets. There are also interviews with the cast as they talk about their characters. This documentary lasts 18:21.
Resistance
This documentary goes into depth about the events depicted in the film and has a runtime of 28:49. Along with the cast and crew interviews are ones with survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising. I found this documentary interesting to watch because it gave a bit more information about the events and presented them in a different manor than the movie.
Promo
A short (3:20) promo piece on the movie.
Cast & Crew
Filmographies for 6 actors (Leelee Sobieski, David Schwimmer, Hank Azaria, Donald Sutherland, Stephen Moyer and Mili Avital), Paul Brickman (screenplay) and Jon Avent (director).
Summary
It's rare to find a TV movie or mini-series which actually has substance to it. The feature drags on a bit in places and moves too quickly in others, but overall it moves at a good pace. It's not something to put in when you need a pick-me-up, but as a historical piece it's very good. With a 3 hour feature, 2 feature-length commentaries and 2 documentaries you'd be hard-pressed to find better value. It's also surprising that this DVD came out roughly a month after the network premiere. If only all TV product came out that quickly!!
