Brother Cadfael, Set 1 (One Corpse Too Many / The Sanctuary Sparrow / The Leper of St. Giles / Monk's Hood)
by Graham Theakston, Sebastian Graham Jones
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Derek Jacobi, Julian Firth, Mark Charnock, Michael Culver, Terrence HardimanDirector: Graham Theakston, Sebastian Graham Jones
Brand: Acorn
Producer: Neville C. Thompson
Producer: Stephen Smallwood
Producer: Ted Childs
Writer: Edith Pargeter
Writer: Paul Pender
Writer: Russell Lewis
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 300 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-01-06
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
Movie Reviews of Brother Cadfael, Set 1 (One Corpse Too Many / The Sanctuary Sparrow / The Leper of St. Giles / Monk's Hood)
Movie Review: Sir Derek and the Chronicles of a Truly Rare Benedictine.
Summary: 5 Stars
When the decision was made to produce for TV several episodes from her mystery series about Brother Cadfael, that 12th century crusader turned monk turned detective who has been, ever since his creation, one of the most compassionate and unusual sleuths of literary history, novelist Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) was not entirely happy. In fact, as the series' star, Sir Derek Jacobi, explains in the extra footage provided on the now-released DVDs, Ms. Peters had very mixed feelings about giving up her brain child and entrusting it to other people who went about cutting and adjusting everything, from the storylines themselves to the way the protagonists speak and even the Chronicles' sequence, to the necessities and limitations set by the new medium. But she eventually acquiesced and at one point promised that "the next one I write, I'll make sure it's easier for you all to film."
While the thirteen episodes that were eventually produced are, thus, not entirely true to the individual Chronicles they are based on, they are closer than many other movie or TV versions of famous works of literature. Most importantly, they maintain not only the core story lines but also the historical authenticity, atmosphere and spirit set by Ms. Peters's books in a marvelous fashion. And Sir Derek Jacobi brings both the wealth of his experience and skill and all of his own shrewdness, intelligence, sense of humor and empathy to the role of the medieval Benedictine sleuth and thus truly becomes Cadfael -- for the thousands of new fans who are discovering the series through its enactment for TV just as much as for us who loved the books before they were ever transposed to a visual medium. A tremendous cast of supporting actors rounds out an overall excellent production; to mention just a few, Julian Firth as the ambitious and narrow-minded Brother Jerome, Terrence Hardiman as Abbot Radolfus and Sean Pertwee (and later Eoin McCarthy) as Under-Sheriff Hugh Beringar, who joins Cadfael in his investigations whenever, as is so often the case, these transcend the world of monastic life and require the administration of secular justice as well as clerical insight. Several episodes also feature noted guest stars.
The episodes are not entirely in the same order as the books; however, as most of the cross-references between the books have been eliminated in the screen versions, this is no great harm (although the lacking cross-references are probably one of the things avid readers of the books will find missing). The DVDs also provide background information on Ellis Peters, Sir Derek Jacobi and a number of the individual episodes' other actors.
Summary of the episodes contained in this set:
"One Corpse Too Many" (the second Chronicle): King Stephen lays siege to Shrewsbury Castle and, finally victorious, orders the surviving defenders to be executed. But then there's an extra corpse, who clearly wasn't executed. Whodunnit -- and why?
"Monk's Hood" (the third Chronicle): Cadfael's and Shrewsbury Abbey's honor is at stake when a guest is found poisoned by Cadfael's own potions ... and the sheriff's sergeant over-eagerly jumps to the wrong conclusions.
"The Leper of St. Giles" (the fifth Chronicle): A leper's grim fate is unexpectedly intertwined with the story of an orphaned heiress, due to be wedded for money's sake to a despicable old baron, and her lover; who is everybody's favorite suspect when the groom turns up dead.
"The Sanctuary Sparrow" (the seventh Chronicle): A young singer is accused of robbery and murder and, hunted by a mob, seeks shelter in the Abbey.
Second Set:
"St. Peter's Fair" (the fourth Chronicle);
"The Virgin in the Ice" (the sixth Chronicle);
"The Devil's Novice" (the eighth Chronicle).
Third Set:
"A Morbid Taste for Bones" (the first Chronicle);
"The Raven in the Foregate" (the twelfth Chronicle);
"The Rose Rent" (the thirteenth Chronicle).
Fourth Set:
"The Pilgrim of Hate" (the tenth Chronicle);
"The Potter's Field" (the seventeenth Chronicle);
"The Holy Thief" (the nineteenth Chronicle).
Also recommended:
A Rare Benedictine
A Morbid Taste for Bones: The First Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
One Corpse Too Many: The Second Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
Monk's Hood: The Third Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
Leper of Saint Giles (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
The Virgin in the Ice (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
Brother Cadfael's Penance (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
The Cadfael Collection
A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury
More Brother Cadfael, Set 1 (One Corpse Too Many / The Sanctuary Sparrow / The Leper of St. Giles / Monk's Hood) reviews:
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Summary of Brother Cadfael, Set 1 (One Corpse Too Many / The Sanctuary Sparrow / The Leper of St. Giles / Monk's Hood)
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