Product Description

Fox's Breakout Hit of the 2005-2006 Season!

Most men would do anything to get out of Fox River Penitentiary, but Michael Scofield will do anything to get in. His brother Lincoln has been sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit, and the only way to save him is from the inside out. Armed with prison blueprints and an impossibly intricate escape plan, Michael gets himself incarcerated, and the race against time is on. Now, he'll need all of the cunning, daring, and luck he can muster…along with the assistance of some of the prison's most vile and dangerous felons.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3101 in DVD
• Brand: Fox
• Released on: 2006-08-08
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Number of discs: 6
• Formats: Box set, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, French
• Dimensions: .70 pounds
• Running time: 960 minutes

Amazon.com
Season one of Prison Break is great television. Here's the set-up. Lincoln Burrows (Dominic Purcell) is framed and wrongfully convicted for assassinating the Vice President's brother. Lincoln's brother Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller), who just happens to have designed Illinois' Fox River Penitentiary where Lincoln is on death row, hatches an elaborate escape plan. Michael's plan involves getting himself incarcerated in Fox River and smuggling the prison's blueprints by having them hidden in tattoos that cover his entire torso. Once inside, Michael must form alliances with a rogue's gallery of felons with their own sometimes unsavory motives. Meanwhile, on the outside, Lincoln's lawyer and one-time girlfriend Veronica Donovan (Robin Tunney), pursued by Secret Service agents, attempts to unravel the conspiracy that sent her man to the slammer.

Prison Break is anchored by tight, suspenseful writing clearly relished by the largely little-known cast. Standouts include Robert Knepper as the murderer/pedophile T-Bag, who somehow makes such a despicable character likeable. Stacey Keach of Mike Hammer fame plays the warden-with-a-heart-of-gold, who clashes with Captain Brad Bellick (Wade Williams) over whether to rehabilitate the inmates or makes their lives more miserable. Peter Stormare, famous for his skills with a wood chipper in Fargo, turns in a deliciously menacing performance as mob boss John Abruzzi, while Amaury Nolasco's winsome Fernando Sucre shares a cell and secrets with Miller's Scofield. Watching the show one gets a sense that this is the opening salvo of Wentworth Miller's career, which will doubtless include roles as assassins, detectives, super heroes, and perhaps the champion of staring contests. Midway through the season it's explained that Scofield is a genius with an heightened sensitivity to other peoples' suffering, which sums up what makes the show so great--the mind-bendingly intricate plot is a framework for moments when people make others suffer and cope with the burden of their own suffering.

The six-disc set includes 22 addictive episodes, audio commentary on selected episodes, three featurettes, and alternate and deleted scenes. As with most TV shows on DVD, the "previously on Prison Break" intros can get tiresome, but that's what the fast forward button is for. --Ryan Boudinot

Beyond Prison Break on DVD

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Stills from Prison Break - Season One (Click for larger image)

Customer Reviews

Great first season of unusual show
With a plot that sounds like it might have come from an Alfred Hitchcock or Brian De Palma movie "Prison Break" seemed the least likely candidate for buzz and a large following on Fox. I expected the show despite the high quality writing, top notch pilot episode directed by theatrical director Brett Ratner ("X-Men: The Last Stand" and "Red Dragon") to tank with audiences.

Boy was I wrong and happy about it. The suspenseful series got the right promotional push from Fox and luckily audiences were ready for another ground breaking series using a season long story arc much like "24" and "Lost". I would have expected a show like "Prison Break" to be on HBO or Showtime (as their answer to "OZ" another ground breaking prison drama that focused less on the gimmicks of this show) not on Fox's network. Reportedly the producers planned a shelf life of "Prison Break" for two seasons recognizing the issues they had with shows such as "The X-Files". I suspect that if the show continues to be popular this will morph into something akin to "The Fugitive". The show also was clearly inspired by "The Shawshank Redemption" and the TV show "OZ" but has its own unique flavor making it much more than a simple copycat. Between top notch writing, directing and acting the show has become the only breakthrough hit from last season worth following.

If you know what this show is about skip this paragraph and go to the extras. The story for those that haven't followed the show is quite simple; Michael Scofield's brother Lincoln has been sentenced to die in the electric chair for a crime he didn't commit. Michael will do anything to get him out of prison. As the clock is ticking and its clear that legal options are limited he obtains the prison blueprints to get his brother out. How can he get them to his brother so he can use them? Simple Michael has them tattooed on his back. He then stages a bank robbery to get himself thrown into the same prison as his brother. His plans are to break out with his brother and eventually disappear. While their lawyer tries to get Lincoln out legally Michael must move forward with his plan and also negotiate a complex peace with inmate John Abruzzi (the marvelous Peter Stormare best known for "Fargo" and "Constantine") who controls many of the inmates inside the prison to achieve his goal.



"Prison Break" is presented in its original widescreen presentation and looks quite good here. There were occasional compression artifacts and edge enhancement but nothing too distracting. Overall colors are accurate with nice clarity and definition to the images. The surround tracks are used quite effectively as well evoking the atmospheric surroundings of the prison.

For those interested in the extras included with this set they are quite extensive. We get multiple commentary tracks on the pilot episode by Paul Scheuring & Dominic Purcell with a second one by director Brett Ratner & Mark Helfrich. Similarly we get multiple commentary tracks on the following episodes:
Cute Poison Commentary #1 by: Paul Scheuring, Dominic Purcell & Wade Williams
Cute Poison Commentary #2 by: Matt Olmstead and Silas Weir Mitchell
Riots, Drills and the Devil (Part 1) Commentary #1 by: Paul Scheuring, Dominic Purcell, Robert Knepper, Sarah Wayne Callies, Amaury Nolasco & Wade Williams
Riots, Drills and the Devil (Part 1) Commentary #2 by: Nick Santora & Bob Mandel. Part two of "Riots, Drills and the Devil" has a single commentary track by Paul Scheuring, Dominic Purcell, Wade Williams, Amaury Nolasco & actor Peter Stormare
We also get commentaries for Odd Man Out Commentary by: Garry Brown & Karyn Usher & Bobby Roth, Brother's Keeper Commentary by Paul Scheuring, Robert Knepper, Sarah Wayne Callies, Amaury Nolasco & Wade Williams with an alternate commentary track by Greg Yaitenes & Zach Estrin. Extras also include 2 Alternate Scenes for Cute Poison as well as three featurettes. The first "If These Walls Could Speak: Profile of the Joliet Correctional Center" takes you inside the correctional facility. "Beyond the Ink: Tattoo Featurette" focuses on the extensive "map" that plays a key role in the series tattooed on the back of Michael Scofield and one of Fox's routine " Inside Look" previews. All in all an exceptional package of extras considering the price for the series that will definitely make this set worthwhile for both new fans and ones that have been following it on the Fox network since its premiere last year. This set arrives just in time for the premiere of the second season as well.

A terrific, comprehensive set from fox "Prison Break" has been packed with commentary tracks and has three featurettes two of which vary from exceptional to very good with one so-so one recycled for this set. Overall this is a great value and is highly recommended. I suspect that the creators of the series weren't sure if the show would last more than one season and, as a result, structured the series so that it could be easily wrapped up if necessary but also allowing an out for a second story arc recognizing that fans would be frustrated if they remained within prison walls beyond the first season of the series.

My favourite new show of 2006
Most men would do anything to get out of Fox River Penitentiary, but Michael Scofield will do anything to get in. His brother Lincoln has been sentenced to die for a crime he did not commit, and the only way to save him is from the inside out. Armed with prison blueprints and an impossibly intricate escape plan, Michael gets himself incarcerated, and the race against time is on. Now, he'll need all of the cunning, daring, and luck he can muster... along with the assistance of some of the prison's most vile and dangerous felons.

Finally, the premiere season of television's greatest pleasure (IMO next to 24) is being released in a six-disc package filled with all 22 episodes and tons of extras!

* Pilot Commentary #1 by: Paul Scheuring & Dominic Purcell
* Pilot Commentary #2 by: Brett Ratner & Mark Helfrich
* Cute Poison Commentary #1 by: Paul Scheuring, Dominic Purcell & Wade Williams
* Cute Poison Commentary #2 by: Matt Olmstead and Silas Weir Mitchell
* Riots, Drills and the Devil (Part 1) Commentary #1 by: Paul Scheuring, Dominic Purcell, Robert Knepper, Sarah Wayne Callies, Amaury Nolasco & Wade Williams
* Riots, Drills and the Devil (Part 1) Commentary #2 by: Nick Santora & Bob Mandel
* Riots, Drills and the Devil (Part 2) Commentary by: Paul Scheuring, Dominic Purcell, Wade Williams, Amaury Nolasco & Peter Stormare
* Odd Man Out Commentary by: Garry Brown & Karyn Usher & Bobby Roth
* Brother's Keeper Commentary #1 by: Paul Scheuring, Robert Knepper, Sarah Wayne Callies, Amaury Nolasco & Wade Williams
* Brother's Keeper Commentary #2 by: Greg Yaitenes & Zach Estrin
* 2 Alternate Scenes for Cute Poison
* "If These Walls Could Speak: Profile of the Joliet Correctional Center"
* "Beyond the Ink: Tattoo Featurette"
* Inside Look

Episodes include:

Disc 1:
1. Pilot
2. Allen
3. Cell Test
4. Cute Poison

Disc 2:
5. English, Fitz or Percy
6. Riots, Drills and the Devil (Part 1)
7. Riots, Drills and the Devil (Part 2)
8. The Old Head

Disc 3:
9. Tweener
10. Sleight of Hand
11. And Then There Were Seven
12. Odd Man Out

Disc 4:
13. End of the Tunnel
14. The Rat
15. By The Skin & The Teeth
16. Brother's Keeper

Disc 5:
17. J-Cat
18. Bluff
19. The Key
20. Tonight

Disc 6:
21. Go
22. Flight

Pick up this set, you will not be disappointed!

Unbelievably prefabbed drama...but it's fun
Prison Break is guilty pleasure TV wrapped in a an intelligent and creative package. But within the first twenty minutes when we find that Michael Scofield (Wentworth Miller) purposely robs a bank (firing his weapon inside the building to guarantee sentencing at a State Penitentiary) and then conveniently getting incarcerated at the same prison his brother is in, we can pretty much tell this show is going to be full of improbable scenarios that will become reality.

In getting sent to the prison of his choice, Michael finds out quickly where his brother is and starts laying his groundwork from day one. He makes contacts with those who can help him move once they are on the other side of the wall. Time is short and Michael's brother, Lincoln (Dominic Purcell) is on death row soon to be executed for the murder of the Vice presidents brother. Although Lincoln was a petty criminal at times, Michael doesn't believe his brother murdered anyone and has exhausted his resources and considerable intelligence to find a way out of the prison. He even goes so far as to have the plans tattooed on his body (sounds ridiculous, although once you see it, you understand that it's the schematics hidden in a complex design).

Lincoln is being framed for killing the Vice President's brother. Lucky for him there are people outside the prison trying to exonerate him, including his ex-girlfriend. People are also dying outside the prison as well. The death of the VP's brother is attached to a conspiracy that goes very high up, so as people start looking into the details they start dropping one by one.

This show if FULL and I do mean `FULL' of manufactured drama. About 12 episodes into the series you'll be throwing your popcorn at the TV and screaming, `Oh, C'mon, that's ridiculous!' This action will be followed by putting in the next DVD to find out what happens after the last cliffhanger. By the time you stop buying the plot as anywhere NEAR realistic or relatable, you're caught up in the digital crack-pipe of addiction that moves this series along. One thing that seems out of place in this show though is the level of character complexity. This cast of misfits, and I'm including the people who are supposed to be normal, are endearing and pretty three-dimensional. I suppose you have to be in order to like people who are mobsters and a thieves. The jury is still out on liking the child killer, but at least he's a great character.