Nonureva Really Surprised!

SpecialsTarget Disturbing yet enthralling

2freensel I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

anniebrodie This could have been a good drama - but it was spoiled by the truly dreadful and intrusive incidental music and the over indulgent wallowing in the mores and manners of the 1950s BBC.

bluegoldhighlander I sincerely hope this show gets another season as I really enjoyed it's debut. The Hour was a real "don't miss" for me with it's mixture of suspense, drama, romance and occasionally a laugh. *Caution, spoilers.* The show's setting in such a fascinating political time added to it's appeal, and coupled with a subtle exposure of the abuses of power as demonstrated by Britain's MI6 made for a very intriguing mixture.I enjoy British TV and film, as it seems to rely less on slapstick, sex, toilet humour and car chases. This is an intelligent series that made me want to refresh my memory on the history of the era, with Suez, the Hungarian Uprising and British spy scandals.I thought the entire cast did a great job, with special nods for: * Ben Whishaw's nervous intellectual * Romola Garai's professional woman trying to walk the line between career and personal life * Anton Lesser's subtly menacing manager * Dominic West's upper class, prep school type working to be accepted as a part of the mostly working class teamI thought the show demonstrated a skillful blending of personal interest with political events. And the tone and scene was very well set, with the BBC's offices slightly darkened atmosphere and wonderful period feel.Applause, and please give us more.

rhysmann2008 The Hour is an intriguing new drama, created and written by Abi Morgan, that spans several genres and weaves them together cleverly and effectively. There is espionage, murder and suspense on the one hand; romance on another hand; comedy on yet another hand; and political drama on the final hand. The central emphasis is on the characters, however, of Bel Rowley (producer of The Hour), Hector Madden (its presenter), and one of the best characters of recent years, the funny and confident Freddie Lyon, one of the show's journalists.The acting is uniformly excellent; Romola Garai ('Atonement'; 'The Crimson Petal and the White') and Ben Whishaw ('Perfume'; 'Criminal Justice I') especially shine as Bel and Freddie. There are other superb performances from the seedy Julian Rhind-Tutt ('Green Wing') and the suave Dominic West ('The Wire'), along with my personal favourite Anna Chancellor ('Four Weddings and a Funeral') as Lix, an acid-tongued feminist in the newsroom. The story does start off a little slowly, but prepare for a roller-coaster ride later on, particularly in the extremely tense final episode, where the drama is perfectly pitched. The loose ends are nicely tied up, and the conclusion is suitably ambiguous, ready for the second series which has been commissioned. The only quibble is the sometimes anachronistic dialogue; but one tends not to notice this as everything else is so good.So, overall this is an intriguing, intelligent drama with plenty of strands, twists and turns, and fantastic acting all round. I await series two eagerly.

16mm-3 this is one of the most boring, poorly written and self-indulgently directed shows ever. if you don't fall asleep you must be on crystal meth, or really used to watching bbc period drama productions.there are several superb actors. among other factors, what lets the side down is the plodding, pretentious pace of development and the seriously anachronistic lashings of political correctness. the latter is lethal to any sense of verisimilitude.anarchic humour --the office, monty python, shameless-- is what the brits do better than Americans, not to mention also 'youf' shows like skins and the inbetweeners. but because the bbc is above all a preachy, paternalistic and politicized monolith, it cannot do TELEVISION.the British are incapable of six feet under, sopranos, true blood etc etc --just as the Americans are ludicrously incapable of shameless or the office. and here they prove they are incapable of mad men --every British reviewer leeching onto this comparison.needless to say, brit newspaper reviewers have rallied around the flag, though few enthusiastically.the reality is that this show would never have been produced, must less broadcast anywhere in the world where the government does not extort an annual television fee, and where viewer response has no impact whatsoever upon the commissioning editors.