Summary Saddam, frustrated step-son of a sadistic peasant, was the deputy of the Iraqi president, number two in a revolutionary regime that modernized the former British-protected kingdom. When his faction of the ruling Baath Party opposes the president's plan for a union with neighbor Syria, Saddam is able to seize power, and immediately proceeds to unprecedented purges, practicing blatant nepotism -especially Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti as security chief- and a reign of terror based on waves of executions of the 'guilty', the lukewarm and some others thrown in for good measure, so as to instill utter fear and devotion to his absolutist person. Furthermore, he decides the threat of Islamic fundamentalism -of the Shiah branch, majority in Iraq- personified by Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini must be controlled before it's too late, even if that requires war, for which the West, especially America, will eagerly provide arms and other support.
Directed : Unknown
Written : Unknown
Stars : Igal Naor Makram Khoury Shohreh Aghdashloo Philip Arditti
Genres : Drama History War Biography
Release date : Jul 29, 2008
Countries of origin : United States United Kingdom
Official sites : HBO Site
Language : English Arabic
Filming locations : Tunisia
Production companies : British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) HBO Films
Summary Saddam, frustrated step-son of a sadistic peasant, was the deputy of the Iraqi president, number two in a revolutionary regime that modernized the former British-protected kingdom. When his faction of the ruling Baath Party opposes the president's plan for a union with neighbor Syria, Saddam is able to seize power, and immediately proceeds to unprecedented purges, practicing blatant nepotism -especially Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti as security chief- and a reign of terror based on waves of executions of the 'guilty', the lukewarm and some others thrown in for good measure, so as to instill utter fear and devotion to his absolutist person. Furthermore, he decides the threat of Islamic fundamentalism -of the Shiah branch, majority in Iraq- personified by Iran's revolutionary leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini must be controlled before it's too late, even if that requires war, for which the West, especially America, will eagerly provide arms and other support.
Genres : Drama History War Biography
Release date : Jul 29, 2008
Countries of origin : United States United Kingdom
Official sites : HBO Site
Language : English Arabic
Filming locations : Tunisia
Production companies : British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) HBO Films