House of Cards Trilogy, DVD

Features

Closed Caption; Andrew Davies discusses the controversy surrounding To Play the King with Sue Lawley on the BBC's Biteback; Cast and crew biographies

Full Product Details

Scene Index

Side #1 -- House of Cards
1. Opening Titles [1:18]
2. A Loyal Servant [3:51]
3. Election Night [5:40]
4. Charlie [5:09]
5. No Changes [6:03]
6. Mattie Storin [7:50]
7. Leadership Crisis [2:50]
8. Naughty Habits [4:06]
9. Question Time [5:08]
10. Leaks [3:20]
11. Scandal [5:41]
12. A Liability [4:44]
1. Opening Titles [2:09]
2. Going, Going, Gone [3:12]
3. Man of Straw [5:19]
4. A Small Delivery Job [3:37]
5. Cocaine in the Morning [5:25]
6. Patrick Wood [4:22]
7. A Real Conversation [6:10]
8. Cocktail Party [4:59]
9. A Personal Attack [5:57]
10. Pique and Panic [4:06]
11. Inside Information [4:35]
12. Allegations and Proof [7:07]
1. Opening Titles [1:32]
2. A Short Statement [2:44]
3. A Proper Sendoff [6:17]
4. Daddy [5:49]
5. Interesting Times [5:01]
6. Just a Back Room Boy [2:26]
7. Visiting Charlie [5:55]
8. A Threat [5:36]
9. Trust [4:09]
10. Conspiracy Theories [5:41]
11. A Great Surprise [4:08]
12. Penny Talks [7:18]
1. Opening Titles [1:33]
2. 4:00 in the Afternoon [3:29]
3. Rent Boy [4:53]
4. Everybody's Daddy [6:24]
5. In Congress [6:19]
6. Trust Me [2:43]
7. Sir Roger O'Neill [6:29]
8. Act of Mercy [3:59]
9. The Laughing Ghost [3:37]
10. Two Days More [5:20]
11. 0-7-0-3 [6:31]
12. The Roof Garden [6:04]
Side #2 -- To Play the King
1. Opening Titles [1:06]
2. God Save the King [4:18]
3. A Good Man [4:31]
4. A Short Sharp Shock [3:23]
5. Using Him [4:28]
6. Mrs. Harding [7:29]
7. Regal Insurance [4:35]
8. Disappointed [4:48]
9. No Home to Go To [6:50]
10. Surgical Emasculation [3:49]
11. As Written [5:39]
12. Bring Him Down [2:40]
1. Opening Titles [1:52]
2. General Election [4:29]
3. Stamper [2:51]
4. At Buckingham Palace [3:59]
5. Poll Results [7:47]
6. Indecent Exposure [3:49]
7. Soup [5:00]
8. Car Bomb [5:03]
9. Strong Leadership [6:42]
10. Bullying [3:37]
11. Who Is Mattie Storin? [6:47]
12. A Bit of Mischief [1:43]
1. Opening Titles [1:48]
2. Visit to the Palace [6:01]
3. The King's Broadcast [3:08]
4. 10 Downing Street [4:05]
5. Nothing Lasts Forever [4:56]
6. Listening In [5:51]
7. No Rest for the Wicked [4:06]
8. Staines [5:07]
9. Private Lives [4:57]
10. John Krajewski [3:17]
11. Sensation of the Century! [6:46]
12. Glass Palaces [4:26]
1. Opening Titles [1:50]
2. To Fight a King [3:56]
3. Events [4:07]
4. David Mycroft [6:29]
5. Kidnapping [4:20]
6. The Nationwide Tour [3:54]
7. Interview [5:58]
8. Six Days to Go [6:03]
9. Street Theatre [2:48]
10. Betrayal [4:35]
11. Election Day [4:23]
12. The Monarchy [7:06]
Side #3 -- The Final Cut
1. Opening Titles [1:36]
2. State Funeral [4:32]
3. Poor Betsy [4:48]
4. Cyprus [4:57]
5. The Urquhart Trust [4:30]
6. Tom and Claire [4:48]
7. Self Defense [4:21]
8. Hospital [4:15]
9. Death or Retirement [5:06]
10. Happy Birthday [3:49]
11. Birthday Party [3:14]
12. Claire Carlsen [4:19]
1. Opening Titles [:42]
2. Memorial [5:37]
3. Stock Tips and Adultery [5:18]
4. Private Secretary [5:14]
5. The Safe Thing [2:26]
6. Let This Cool Off [4:37]
7. Pension Plan [5:04]
8. Betraying Tom [4:06]
9. Fear [2:58]
10. Unfinished Business [4:22]
11. One Language [6:09]
12. The Last Straw [4:58]
1. Opening Titles [:57]
2. Bad Dreams [3:01]
3. One for the Road [7:24]
4. Savage Him [4:04]
5. Disappointing News [5:44]
6. A Murderer [6:06]
7. Man to Man [2:36]
8. One Big Puddle [5:31]
9. These Things Happen [4:19]
10. All the Way [3:37]
11. Goodbye Tom [4:28]
12. Our Falklands [4:11]
1. Opening Titles [1:00]
2. Act of Aggression [3:39]
3. A Small War [5:01]
4. Building Bridges [7:04]
5. Swindled [3:22]
6. Above Spilia Village [4:25]
7. Abducted [6:11]
8. By Any Means Necessary [4:07]
9. The Death of a Child [5:06]
10. Rule of Law [4:59]
11. They Were Mine [3:27]
12. Margaret Thatcher Day [3:36]

Scene Index

Editorial Reviews

A modern-day Richard III leaves a trail of corpses in his never-ending quest for power in the House of Cards trilogy, three top-notch tales adapted by the BBC from Michael Dobbs's bestselling novels. The first and best of the series is House of Cards, a sophisticated political thriller that follows the rise to power of Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson), a conservative chief whip who uses a secret liaison with Mattie Storin (Susannah Harker), an attractive young journalist, to help him become prime minister in post-Thatcher 1990s England. Richardson turns in a masterful performance, often speaking directly to the camera as he conjures a larger-than-life politician whose brilliance is matched only by his glee at the public manipulations, private subterfuge -- and murder -- involved in his Machiavellian ambitions. The second series, To Play the King, finds Urquhart comfortably in power, bedding another young and beautiful prot�g�e (Kitty Aldridge) but clashing with the newly crowned king (a thinly veiled caricature of the current Prince of Wales). And The Final Cut finds Urquhart more than a decade into his stewardship of the realm, sparking a Falklands-style conflict in Cyprus to hold on to his job, even as he's dogged by some decades-old skeletons. While To Play the King and The Final Cut veer a bit toward melodrama instead of cloak-and-dagger thrills, the force of Richardson's Mephistophelean presence remains undiminished. Richardson's Urquhart is an archetypal seducer, and while the father/daughter relationship in House of Cards is the most intriguing (in bed, Mattie calls Urquhart "Daddy"), each of the two sequels involves a similar sexual conquests. Politically, screenwriter Andrew Davies's liberalism makes the entire series significantly less sympathetic to the Tory agenda than were the novels of the conservative Dobbs. But political agendas ultimately take a backseat to the rampant political wheeling and dealing -- and to that titillating, incestuous mix of business and pleasure. The result is an utterly engrossing walk down rat-infested subterranean corridors of power -- part Shakespeare, part Woodward and Bernstein, and devilish fun through and through. Gregory Baird, Barnes & Noble

Customer Reviews

Viewer Rating:
Ratings: 5Reviews: 4
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Ruthless, Delightfully Evilby Iain010100

Reader Rating:
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October 13, 2008: "House of Cards" is about a ruthless politician who is a master of manipulation. Devoid of conscience and morals, Francis Urquhart destroys everyone in his path as he meets his political goals. Wickedly entertaining.

Wonderful treacheryby Anonymous

Reader Rating:
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August 06, 2008: I'm only halfway through the series and wouldn't dare miss the remainder. It's viewing has occupied my viewing time, usurping such favorites as Deadliest Catch, CSI: Whatever, and the assorted sitcoms and cartoons I cling to for entertainment. Instead, going into it with little to no knowledge of the British government, I've become wrapped up in the whole devious tangle of Francis Urquhart. Every drop of verbal poison, political revenge, cunning slander and debasement he offers his rivals, public, private, or even the monarch - it's enthralling. I know he's going to expire, and it's very much a question of when, not if, he's going to get it. Yet I find myself strangely routing for him to continue his slithering success, even as I yearn for his opponents to undermine and vanquish him. The latter appears fruitless, the former seems constant and unstoppable. It all makes for a wonderful black and bleak style of humor, and also a tragedy demonstrating an almost uniform corruption of morality across the board, friend and foe alike. And the most intriguing part, which is not prevalent or even existent in the original novel, is Ian Richardson's breaking of the fourth wall. The viewer is either admitted into his circle as a conspirator, savoring his cruel victories, or as a witness to his horrors and a victim yourself to his satisfied smirk. His talent is such that it's really a matter for the viewer. He doesn't judge, but he does relish it. Very, very wonderful and so frustrating.

More Customer Reviews

Barnes & Noble

A modern-day Richard III leaves a trail of corpses in his never-ending quest for power in the House of Cards trilogy, three top-notch tales adapted by the BBC from Michael Dobbs's bestselling novels. The first and best of the series is House of Cards, a sophisticated political thriller that follows the rise to power of Francis Urquhart (Ian Richardson), a conservative chief whip who uses a secret liaison with Mattie Storin (Susannah Harker), an attractive young journalist, to help him become prime minister in post-Thatcher 1990s England. Richardson turns in a masterful performance, often speaking directly to the camera as he conjures a larger-than-life politician whose brilliance is matched only by his glee at the public manipulations, private subterfuge -- and murder -- involved in his Machiavellian ambitions. The second series, To Play the King, finds Urquhart comfortably in power, bedding another young and beautiful prot�g�e (Kitty Aldridge) but clashing with the newly crowned king (a thinly veiled caricature of the current Prince of Wales). And The Final Cut finds Urquhart more than a decade into his stewardship of the realm, sparking a Falklands-style conflict in Cyprus to hold on to his job, even as he's dogged by some decades-old skeletons. While To Play the King and The Final Cut veer a bit toward melodrama instead of cloak-and-dagger thrills, the force of Richardson's Mephistophelean presence remains undiminished. Richardson's Urquhart is an archetypal seducer, and while the father/daughter relationship in House of Cards is the most intriguing (in bed, Mattie calls Urquhart "Daddy"), each of the two sequels involves a similar sexual conquests. Politically, screenwriter Andrew Davies's liberalism makes the entire series significantly less sympathetic to the Tory agenda than were the novels of the conservative Dobbs. But political agendas ultimately take a backseat to the rampant political wheeling and dealing -- and to that titillating, incestuous mix of business and pleasure. The result is an utterly engrossing walk down rat-infested subterranean corridors of power -- part Shakespeare, part Woodward and Bernstein, and devilish fun through and through. Gregory Baird

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UPC: 794051176523
Source: BBC WARNER
Region Code: 1
Aspect Ratio: Pre-1954 Standard (1.33.1)
Sound: monaural
Language: English
Time: 10:40:00
Sales Rank: 2,192

This set contains DVDs which may be available separately:

House of Cards
To Play the King
House of Cards 3: The Final Cut

Features:

Closed Caption; Andrew Davies discusses the controversy surrounding To Play the King with Sue Lawley on the BBC's Biteback; Cast and crew biographies

Scene Index

Side #1 -- House of Cards
1. Opening Titles [1:18]
2. A Loyal Servant [3:51]
3. Election Night [5:40]
4. Charlie [5:09]
5. No Changes [6:03]
6. Mattie Storin [7:50]
7. Leadership Crisis [2:50]
8. Naughty Habits [4:06]
9. Question Time [5:08]
10. Leaks [3:20]
11. Scandal [5:41]
12. A Liability [4:44]
1. Opening Titles [2:09]
2. Going, Going, Gone [3:12]
3. Man of Straw [5:19]
4. A Small Delivery Job [3:37]
5. Cocaine in the Morning [5:25]
6. Patrick Wood [4:22]
7. A Real Conversation [6:10]
8. Cocktail Party [4:59]
9. A Personal Attack [5:57]
10. Pique and Panic [4:06]
11. Inside Information [4:35]
12. Allegations and Proof [7:07]
1. Opening Titles [1:32]
2. A Short Statement [2:44]
3. A Proper Sendoff [6:17]
4. Daddy [5:49]
5. Interesting Times [5:01]
6. Just a Back Room Boy [2:26]
7. Visiting Charlie [5:55]
8. A Threat [5:36]
9. Trust [4:09]
10. Conspiracy Theories [5:41]
11. A Great Surprise [4:08]
12. Penny Talks [7:18]
1. Opening Titles [1:33]
2. 4:00 in the Afternoon [3:29]
3. Rent Boy [4:53]
4. Everybody's Daddy [6:24]
5. In Congress [6:19]
6. Trust Me [2:43]
7. Sir Roger O'Neill [6:29]
8. Act of Mercy [3:59]
9. The Laughing Ghost [3:37]
10. Two Days More [5:20]
11. 0-7-0-3 [6:31]
12. The Roof Garden [6:04]
Side #2 -- To Play the King
1. Opening Titles [1:06]
2. God Save the King [4:18]
3. A Good Man [4:31]
4. A Short Sharp Shock [3:23]
5. Using Him [4:28]
6. Mrs. Harding [7:29]
7. Regal Insurance [4:35]
8. Disappointed [4:48]
9. No Home to Go To [6:50]
10. Surgical Emasculation [3:49]
11. As Written [5:39]
12. Bring Him Down [2:40]
1. Opening Titles [1:52]
2. General Election [4:29]
3. Stamper [2:51]
4. At Buckingham Palace [3:59]
5. Poll Results [7:47]
6. Indecent Exposure [3:49]
7. Soup [5:00]
8. Car Bomb [5:03]
9. Strong Leadership [6:42]
10. Bullying [3:37]
11. Who Is Mattie Storin? [6:47]
12. A Bit of Mischief [1:43]
1. Opening Titles [1:48]
2. Visit to the Palace [6:01]
3. The King's Broadcast [3:08]
4. 10 Downing Street [4:05]
5. Nothing Lasts Forever [4:56]
6. Listening In [5:51]
7. No Rest for the Wicked [4:06]
8. Staines [5:07]
9. Private Lives [4:57]
10. John Krajewski [3:17]
11. Sensation of the Century! [6:46]
12. Glass Palaces [4:26]
1. Opening Titles [1:50]
2. To Fight a King [3:56]
3. Events [4:07]
4. David Mycroft [6:29]
5. Kidnapping [4:20]
6. The Nationwide Tour [3:54]
7. Interview [5:58]
8. Six Days to Go [6:03]
9. Street Theatre [2:48]
10. Betrayal [4:35]
11. Election Day [4:23]
12. The Monarchy [7:06]
Side #3 -- The Final Cut
1. Opening Titles [1:36]
2. State Funeral [4:32]
3. Poor Betsy [4:48]
4. Cyprus [4:57]
5. The Urquhart Trust [4:30]
6. Tom and Claire [4:48]
7. Self Defense [4:21]
8. Hospital [4:15]
9. Death or Retirement [5:06]
10. Happy Birthday [3:49]
11. Birthday Party [3:14]
12. Claire Carlsen [4:19]
1. Opening Titles [:42]
2. Memorial [5:37]
3. Stock Tips and Adultery [5:18]
4. Private Secretary [5:14]
5. The Safe Thing [2:26]
6. Let This Cool Off [4:37]
7. Pension Plan [5:04]
8. Betraying Tom [4:06]
9. Fear [2:58]
10. Unfinished Business [4:22]
11. One Language [6:09]
12. The Last Straw [4:58]
1. Opening Titles [:57]
2. Bad Dreams [3:01]
3. One for the Road [7:24]
4. Savage Him [4:04]
5. Disappointing News [5:44]
6. A Murderer [6:06]
7. Man to Man [2:36]
8. One Big Puddle [5:31]
9. These Things Happen [4:19]
10. All the Way [3:37]
11. Goodbye Tom [4:28]
12. Our Falklands [4:11]
1. Opening Titles [1:00]
2. Act of Aggression [3:39]
3. A Small War [5:01]
4. Building Bridges [7:04]
5. Swindled [3:22]
6. Above Spilia Village [4:25]
7. Abducted [6:11]
8. By Any Means Necessary [4:07]
9. The Death of a Child [5:06]
10. Rule of Law [4:59]
11. They Were Mine [3:27]
12. Margaret Thatcher Day [3:36]

DVD MENU

Side #1 -- House of Cards
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Biographies
   Ian Richardson (Francis Urquhart)
   Susannah Harker (Mattie Storin)
   Miles Anderson (Roger O'Neill)
   David Lyon (Henry Collingridge)
   Alphonsia Emmanuel (Penny Guy)
   James Villiers (Charles Collingridge)
   Nicholas Selby (Lord Billsborough)
   Diane Fletcher (Elizabeth Urquhart)
   Paul Seed (Director)
   Andrew Davies (Screenplay)
   Michael Dobbs (Novel)
Episode: One
   Play Episode
   Chapter Index
Episode: Two
   Play Episode
   Chapter Index
Episode: Three
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   Chapter Index
Episode: Four
   Play Episode
   Chapter Index
Side #2 -- To Play the King
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Special Features
   Biteback
   Cast Biographies
      Ian Richardson (Francis Urquhart)
      Michael Kitchen (The King)
      Kitty Aldridge (Sarah Harding)
      Colin Jeavons (Tim Stamper)
      Diane Fletcher (Elizabeth Urquhart)
      Nicholas Farrell (David Mycroft)
      Nick Brimble (Corder)
      Paul Seed (Director)
      Andrew Davies (Screenplay)
      Michael Dobbs (Novel)
Episodes: One
   Play Episode
   Chapter Index
Episodes: Two
   Play Episode
   Chapter Index
Episodes: Three
   Play Episode
   Chapter Index
Episodes: Four
   Play Episode
   Chapter Index
Side #3 -- The Final Cut
Play All
Biographies
   Ian Richardson (Francis Urquhart)
   Diane Fletcher (Elizabeth Urquhart)
   Isla Blair (Claire Carlsen)
   Paul Freeman (Tom Makepeace)
   Yolanda Vazquez (Maria Passolides)
   Nick Brimble (Corder)
   Nickloas Grace (Geoffrey Booza Pitt)
   Mike Vardy (Director)
   Andrew Davies (Screenplay)
Episode: One
   Play Episode
   Chapter Index
Episode: Two
   Play Episode
   Chapter Index
Episode: Three
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   Chapter Index
Episode: Four
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   Chapter Index