Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries (The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection - Strong Poison / Have His Carcass / Gaudy Night)
by Christopher Hodson, Michael Simpson
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Carol MacReady, Edward Petherbridge, Harriet Walter, Richard Morant, Sheila BurrellDirector: Christopher Hodson, Michael Simpson
Brand: Warner Brothers
Cinematographer: Elmer Cossey
Producer: Michael Chapman
Producer: Rebecca Eaton
Writer: Dorothy L. Sayers
Writer: Philip Broadley
Writer: Rosemary Anne Sisson
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 500 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2002-05-14
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: BBC Video
Movie Reviews of Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries (The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection - Strong Poison / Have His Carcass / Gaudy Night)
Movie Review: A FINE ACHIEVEMENT WHICH STANDS ON ITS OWN FEET
Summary: 5 Stars
Yes, yet another review is to add to the glut in the market but I do exercise my right to cheer on the team that made this series. All three show the mark of a high degree of professionalism in television technique, all three are most enjoyable. To some degree, I found Gaudy Night special due to the characterization of the faculty and some of the students of an experiment in British elite education, an Oxford college for women staffed by faculty women. While there was no time allowed for elaborate characterizations, the script and the actresses made the most of the time they had to draw an interesting portrait.
Two more general comments: when one makes a film, TV play or stage production one is bound by the demands of these media and not of the book from which one may be drawing. Reading material and viewing material are vastly different in inherent qualities; to expect a television play to be true to a book is to set an unreal goal which should not be met. No better example can be offered than what Hitchcock did with John Buchan's classic adventure story, The 39 Steps. Make the comparison yourself. Both are still living documents. I feel the same with regard to different productions relating to the same characters. There is no way to try to make an Ian Carmichael production without Ian Carmichael. Happily, the two leads here were not asked to duplicate past performances of Lord Peter or Harriet Vane. (Among others were Haunted Honeymoon (U.S. title) with Robert Montgomery and Constance Cummings which I liked because Robert Montgomery could do no wrong in my book but, apparently, and with justice, Sayers could not stand.)
So, overall, I will cast my vote with those who found the series a first rate entertainment.
More Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries (The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection - Strong Poison / Have His Carcass / Gaudy Night) reviews:
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Summary of Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries (The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection - Strong Poison / Have His Carcass / Gaudy Night)
Three elegant murder mysteries adapted from the crime novels of Dorothy L. Sayers which chronicle the relationship of amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane unfolds in a realm of romance and intrigue. Includes the mysteries: "Strong Poison," "Have His Carcass" and "Gaudy Night."Three Dorothy L. Sayers mysteries involving amateur sleuth extraordinaire Lord Peter Wimsey and the lovely Harriet Vane are realized to perfection in these 1987 BBC adaptations. In Strong Poison, Harriet (Harriet Walter) is on trial for murder. Lord Peter (Edward Petherbridge) becomes enchanted by her and decides she cannot possibly be guilty. What follows are the twin stories of Lord Peter's search to find the real killer and his romantic pursuit of Harriet. Both are charming. As always, Sayers has plotted her story brilliantly, with a satisfying mystery and a sly comic touch (a gentle poke at the spiritualist movement is particularly fun). The period atmosphere is pulled off naturally and with close attention to detail, and the adaptation has a careful reverence for Sayers's novel. The performances are all remarkably strong. Petherbridge is perfect as Wimsey, revealing his brilliance and allowing him to be hopelessly in love without ever damaging his dignity. Walter plays Harriet with rich nuance, saying as much with her silences as she does with her lines, and Richard Morant is quietly fantastic as the remarkable Bunting.
Harriet, fresh from the trial, tries to get away from it all and ends up stumbling over a recently killed body in Have His Carcass. Unable to resist a crime (or, for that matter, Harriet), Lord Peter is soon on the case. In Gaudy Night, Lord Peter is still proposing at frequent intervals, and Harriet, though unable to say yes, is also unable to send Lord Peter entirely away. But enough with the romance. As Wimsey heads off for some foreign service work, Harriet visits her Oxford alma mater and lands smack in the middle of a poison-pen scandal. Harriet's status as a mystery writer, naturally, means she's the one who should investigate. Sayers clearly had fun writing this one, using Harriet to gently tweak her own profession, at the same time both parodying and defending the cloistered life at a women's college. --Ali Davis
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