Cadfael - St. Peter's Fair
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Movie Reviews of Cadfael - St. Peter's Fair
Movie Review: Would the REAL Hugh Beringar please come forward?
Summary: 4 Stars
Everything about this episode was done well, with one exception (and I can almost see their reasoning behind the change). To take a 200+ page book and coherently squash it into 75 minutes is not easy, and the producers of Cadfael have always done a remarkable job. Of the ones I've seen, I would give them all, except this, five stars. First the good points - Emma was portrayed well and accurately, and with sympathy; the plot moved along nicely; the 'bad guy' wasn't nearly so obvious as he was in the book; the atmosphere of the fair was precisely perfect; and although we lament the lack of Aline and Brother Mark, Brother Oswin is sweet and endearing enough to pull it off and manages to get in some great moments. And of course, as always, Sir Derek Jacobi is brilliant, flawless, as Brother Cadfael.
But WHAT have they done with Hugh?? I really preferred Sean Pertwee in this role (sigh), but I think McCarthy does the best he can with what's given him. This Hugh is NOTHING like the Hugh of the books - not the same character in any way. The Hugh we know and love (dearly) from the books is inveterately good-natured, good-humored, a lover of justice and grace, with a strong affection and respect for Cadfael. Even in disagreements, they would never share harsh words. Furthermore, Hugh was only 'the king's man' as a technicality - basically he was much more loyal to justice and right than he ever was to King Stephen. The Hugh of this episode is, rather, the Gilbert Prestcote of the books. But Cadfael and Sir Gilbert never became friends, nor would they, and the end result is very incongruous with both their personalities.
(Also, it seems kind of odd to call somebody an 'old friend' when you've only known him for a year.)
However, the dramatic tension between the two did add some excitement, and I suppose that was their reason for doing it. But the book was exciting enough without it.
Movie Review: My first Cadfael
Summary: 3 Stars
I have not read any of the Cadfael books nor seen any of the other productions of this series---it was all new to me. Also I am dreadfully ignorant of English history and I don't have the mind for mysteries. So take my review with a grain of salt.
I loved the setting and the fine characterization of Cadfael by Derek Jacobi. He was interesting to watch throughout. I admit that I became confused about the characters early on and didn't have enough interest to rewind to figure them out.
As charming as Cadfael was, the heroine, Emma, was lacking in anything to commend her, as far as I could see. The supporting cast was filled with handsome actors with terrific voices....too bad I couldn't remember who was Fowler and who was Glover and then there was Thomas and Hugh and....??? I wasn't sorry when the film was over although some reviewers made me curious to see if others of this series might be better.
Anglophiles and mystery lovers will probably love this. For the rest of us, well, I'm not sure.
Movie Review: Mixed feelings!
Summary: 3 Stars
Perhaps if I had not read the book first, I wouldn't have been a little disappointed. Sir Derek Jacobi is wonderful as always as Cadfael, but I didn't like the lack of rapport between Hugh Beringar and Cadfael, the almost adversarial stance between them. I also didn't like the guy playing Hugh as well as I would have expected. They also took more liberties with the story than I liked. I really liked the book of this name, and so I was a little disappointed with it's treatment in film. It's still good and worth seeing, but it left out the romance, which is always a sweet little aspect of the novels, and didn't have as dramatic a climax to the story as the novel did. See this episode before you read the book, and you'll probably like it just fine.It has a complex plot that keeps you guessing, starting with a dispute between the town and the abbey, and leading right into a whole series of murders, with a series of suspects that keep you guessing too. A fine story overall!
Movie Review: Yikes!!!! What happened?
Summary: 3 Stars
I enjoyed the ending of the book- I didn't enjoy the ending of the movie-
Cadfael (though well acted) does not have to be the hero ALL the time!
I also missed the real Hugh and his wife-
Read the book!
Movie Review: Cadfael on Acorn Media a "bummer."
Summary: 2 Stars
The video and audio qualities of this DVD are appalling! Yes, the main menu is crisp and compelling, but what follows will send you scrambling for your home-taped VHS copy of the production. I have noticed similar lapses of quality in other DVD copies of great British productions (e.g., Sherlock Holmes w/Jeremy Brett). A great performance deserves at the very least a good technical effort. (Note: The A&E issues of Poirot are excellent.)