House of Cards - Season 03

+++Warning, this contains spoilers from the prior seasons, but no major season three giveaways+++ Season three of House of Cards starts with Frank having successfully maneuvered his way into the Presidency after either killing or framing and/or sabotaging anyone who could stand in his way or take him down. Doug is recovering from the blow to the head he took when Rachel knocked him out and ran off at the end of season two, and there is friction between Frank and Claire that boils over by the season's end. The big political theme this season is Frank's America Works (or "AmWorks") program, which he initiates in an effort to show that his administration is making progress in helping the American people, and Claire becomes UN ambassador trying to amass power of her own. We also see some of the potential candidates to run against Frank, whom he of course tries to undermine in one way or the other. For those who get the blu-ray set, the show looks and sounds great in HD as it always has. The packaging is still awful, using the tight pockets to store the discs in that make them extremely hard to remove. For extras, there are two behind-the-scenes features, one that is generally about the season, and the second is about Doug's particular storyline. Overall, the season is great and the series continues to be wonderful. While the acting is great all around, the standouts this season are really Michael Kelly (playing Doug Stamper) and Rachel Brosnahan (playing Rachel Posner). Their storyline is dark and crazy and they both do a great job. Robin Wright also knocks it out of the park with her ever-expanding role in the series. Of course, Spacy is a catch-22 these days. His portrayal of Frank is awesome, but it is hard to separate the allegations against him personally from his work on the show. But, if you can put that aside, his portrayal of this character is probably his best acting work ever. The series continues to be one that you hope is entirely fictional in its portrayal of the Washington political scene, but fear that more of it is true than it should be. I think it is still one of the best dramas ever, and definitely worth the time to watch.

We bought the entire season as a gift for a relative. We are hooked on this show. The writing, acting, and cinematography are excellent. Even if you don't care about politics, this is one of the best shows available. Beau Willimon is the writer and producer. He has worked for many notable politicians. This series is very much a drama but it twists and turns in ways you can't believe. Kevin Spacey and Robin Wright are made for each other in this series. Most of the set is an exact replica of the white house and all of the outdoor shots are real places. This is just the beginning of the seamless continuity of the series. Of course it is a work of fiction, but so entertaining!

Excellent series with Spacey and Wright at their best. My problem is the packaging provided by Sony. The four disc package is constructed with cheap materials, especially the glue. The first and second disc were fine, but I had to clean glue from the packaging off of disc three and four. This is a major quality issue that I wouldn't have expected from Sony. In fact I haven't had this problem before with any DVD's that I have purchased. I shouldn't have to spend a half hour cleaning disc 3 and another half and hour cleaning disc 4 and wonder if my blue ray player will be able to read the discs. Luckily everything worked fine in the end. Sony should get off their butt and at least improve their packaging methods.

This is a GREAT SERIES! If you like political intrigue, this is the vehicle for you. Seasons One and Two were outta sight and this series was just as good....EXCEPT for the very last chapter as they call them. The last chapter seemed to have been written by someone else...maybe cats on a typewriter?! It was awful. No specifics because I don't want to spoil the series for anyone but the rest of this season is great...some episodes stronger than others but all leading to what I understand is a fourth season. I love it when Frances speaks directly to the viewer, breaking the fourth wall. You feel as though you know so much more than the other characters in the show. If it were not for that last episode I would have given this series a full five stars. Even at four stars this is a must see series...but you should probably see the first two seasons as well in order to really understand what is going on. So get the snacks ready cause you won't want to leave your screen until each episode is over!

I've only watched 4 episodes so far but season 3 is just as intriguing and interesting as the first two seasons. The series keeps moving; it's not a rehash of the same situations played and replayed but instead we now see Francis and Claire Underwood placed in new situations as a result of their conniving in the first two seasons. All of it is tied together by sleazy politics, of course, but each episode is fresh and holds my interest from the opening scene. That Frank could literally get away with murder and yet become president seems on one hand to be hard to believe yet just take a look at what he have in office with our present administration and while there is perhaps no one who has literally murdered anyone, it still is pretty unbelievable what us poor citizens have to put up with as far as who governs us. While House of Cards has some pretty wild situations, it is probably no worse than reality. Its just that in watching the series we can laugh with incredulity at the behavior instead of crying at the reality in our own country. House of Cards season 3 is well-written and well-acted. The episodes have excellent pacing and I'm looking forward to watching the rest of them.

Oh, the treachery of government! It's like we're watching predictive programming!!!! Great show!

The first two season were pretty good but in my opinion it went down hill by the third

Ah, yes, the evil Underwoods are back, doing their dirty best. I still enjoyed the programs, although I think the first season was the best so far. Kevin Spacy and Robin Wright are both excellent, and so are the supporting actors. I have had to stop comparing the story lines to anything found in the British House of Cards, though. They are two very different offerings. Yes, the Underwoods are distinctly American. I LOVED the British series, and think maybe it is better than this one, but I give this one a "excellent" (despite some of the Soap Opera shenanigans they keep pulling).

Là où A La Maison Blanche nous montrait un président positif, humain, avec une équipe sympathique à laquelle il était difficile de ne pas s'attacher, House Of Cards nous révèle le côté obscur de la Force, si je peux me permettre ce rapprochement osé. Mais les personnages sont superbement campés par une équipe d'acteurs formidables - c'est d'ailleurs la présence de Kevin Spacey dans le rôle principal qui m'a attiré vers cette série, mais j'en ai découvert d'autres depuis, et pas des moindres, grâce à elle - le scénario est prenant, et l'énorme avantage d'en posséder les DVD, c'est d'abord de pouvoir en regarder autant d'épisodes que l'on veut à la suite, et ensuite, de pouvoir s'y replonger plus tard, à nouveau happé par cette aventure certes riche en zones d'ombres mais O combien passionante!

This the third season of this engrossing political drama.... The manipulative 'Francis Underwood' (Kevin Spacey) has engineered himself and his equally ambitious wife 'Clare' (Robin Wright) into the 'White House' Of course the position hadn't been acquired at the polls, 'Francis' had stood on many toes to get there, he had ruthlessly wheeled and dealt leaving many floundering in the storm, many those loyal to the 'Underwood's' had been discarded. In office he finds he has little in the way of support within his party, he will try and bypass them to get his own way, he'll even pretend that he'll not seek election in 18 months time, he's fooling no-one in truth. Quietly he's hoping his 'America Works' program will turn the tide in his favour prior to party-selection ahead of the 2016 election, despite the fact he's jeopardised funds for both emergency-relief and indeed welfare. 'Clare's ambitions stretch beyond the work , she had done for many years, she seeks an ambassador role and will exert pressure upon 'Francis' to ensure she gets it. The knives are being sharpened to bring him down he's made many enemies along the way, it is unlikely they will not seek to even the score. 'Doug Stamper' (Michael Kelly) who had helped 'Francis' get to where he has, now recovering his injuries seeks to renew his association with his long time boss, discarding 'Doug's approaches could prove costly, he surely knows far too much about the Underwoods. However, if he is ever to return to the fold he'll need to kick his drink-habit and also put closure on that which has taken over his thinking. 'Francis's' dealings with international leaders such as Russia's President 'Viktor Petrov' (Lars Mikkelsen) become somewhat shambolic, 'Clare' certainly scuppers any chance of agreement by speaking her mind when silence would have been more appropriate, which will add to the strain upon their marriage, the price of putting the talks back on the table will come at a price. Kevin Spacey is wickedly convincing as the ruthless and largely self-serving U.S President. Sadly there are so many superb must-see series being shown on the T.V Channels it is almost impossible to keep up, i myself didn't see the British-Version of this and am told i missed a brilliant series, glad to pick up on this....for me this remains a must-see drama. I understood whilst watching series two that the third would be the last, however i'm pleased to find the viewing public in the U.S are currently watching the fourth....will look forward to that for sure.

Riveting series and nice to have on the shelf

シーズン３を購入しましたが、DICS２が再生せず、返品となりました。DICS１を見る限り、シーズン１からシーズン２にいたる流れ、テンポ、緊張感 筋書きの面白さがシーズン３のDICS１を見る限り、だんだんと現実感を出しすぎ？、見ていてしんどくなる。シーズン３を買い換える気持ちが 無くなる。

Ich kann die Meinung vieler anderer Rezensenten, dass Staffel 3 gegenüber 1 und 2 stark nachgelassen hat, nicht teilen. Frank Underwood ist als Präsident in einer ganz anderen Position und steht sicher in jeder Hinsicht im Fokus des Interesses. Daher kann er nicht seine Intrigen und Komplotte so weiter spinnen, wie in Staffel 1 und 2. Jetzt ist er nicht mehr der Jäger, jetzt ist er der Gejagte und er muss mit dem Rücken zur Wand gegen zahlreiche Widerstände kämpfen, die seine Politik und vor allem seine Nominierung zum Kandidaten für die kommende Präsidentschaft torpedieren. Neue und mächtige Gegner tun sich auf, die nun nicht mehr so einfach beseitigt werden können, wie Zoe Barnes oder der im Wege stehende Peter Russo. Neben diesen Unwägbarkeiten stellen sich auch schleichend Eheprobleme zwischen Frank und Claire ein, die zunehmend mit ihrer Rolle neben Frank unzufrieden ist. Ihre eigenen Karrierepläne gehen im allgemeinen politischen Ränkespiel unter.