Kirpianuscus to define this film is only a problem of choice. to select the historical accuracy or the artistic virtues. because are two different aspects. and this is not real surprising. to give a good show, the sacrifice of truth, with its not comfortable aspects about earl years of Hussein regime must be ignored. for give a seductive story, the perfect model is the historical plays of Shakespeare. to impose a great show, to use the white and black impose to ignore the nuances. result - a film about power and about corruption, crimes and comfortable personal life - with few small storms - of a dictator. a chronicle of family who could be more a parable than a docudrama.

Marwan Qaqaa I have seen this series, but as a citizen from a neighbor country that had a mass interaction with Iraq and it's history, i see that this drama looks like the history that written by winners of wars, they exaggerate faults and kill the beautiful points in a long dramatic story that we lived.Saddam as a character in this series is too different from the real person, he is more calm, some how polite with others, nice one when you talk with him, he was beloved from more than 200 million Arabic due to his good character, but in this movies he looks like a monster that don't know any thing about his real situation..... you have killed the memory of nations, at least for me as a viewer.

Theo Robertson Imagine a a miniseries where you know the ending . Wouldn't that mean there's a lack of suspense ? You know the ending therefore there's little reason to watch . We all know what happened to Saddam Hussain so it says a lot that within a few short minutes of watching this show I was totally intrigued and hooked by it The production team knows the audience will know the ultimate outcome of this chronicle so concentrate on the dramatic aspects of Saddam's time in power . The first episode concentrates on his ascent to power by liquidating his rivals on trumped up charges of " counter revolutionary activities " and waging a war against his Persian neighbours . The second episode introduces his two sons who were every bit as bad as him if not worst and shows the results of his doomed escapade in Kuwait . The third episode shows his genius of brinkmanship and political machinations while the final episode shows the dictator as a fugitive on the run Some critics have expressed disappointment in that some aspects are skated over too quickly while others say the ordinary sufferings of the ordinary Iraqi people are ignored . There's some truth to this but again the the producers have quite rightly ignored scope and concentrated on well written drama superbly acted by an unknown cast . I've never heard of Yigal Naor or Philip Arditti but they both give superb performances and I look forward to this series picking up a few awards at the more prestigious award ceremonis

goreblimey77 Just having finished watching Episode 3, my previous impressions of the high caliber of this production have been confirmed and surpassed. The whole cast turns in by-now-predictably superior performances, aided in good part by the writing and cinematography - both of which are likewise outstanding. In this latest episode, however, I was especially impressed with Agni Scott's quite stunning performance as Raghad Hussein.Scott plays the loving and obedient wife of General Kamel Hussein, and the knowing daughter of her country and her father, Saddam Hussein. And Scott plays the role to perfection. Raghad's deep understanding of Iraq and of her father is a telling counterpoint to the repeatedly foolish choices of her husband -- the self-pretending pretender to the pretender who is the President.Scott (a true beauty whose resemblance to Mini Driver is quite astounding) shines here, as she has done in other venues (e.g., The Hamburg Cell). But so much of this production shines in so many ways, large and small. (Like the camera shot at (ep. 3) @ 25 minutes -- "I always knew he was a snake . . ."; like the musical score).A very bad story, told so very well. Thank you BBC and HBO. Thank you, all.