DVDs: Derek Jacobi

Of course if you just concentrate on Russell Crowe, you will miss many other great actors, the least of which is Derek Jacobi as Senator Gracchus. You can see him again as Brother Cadfael in "A Morbid Taste for Bones".
Although there is quite a substantial amount of displayed hemoglobin, this is not the main purpose of the movie. And I guarantee that you will be glued to the set with out even realizing it.

"We have this moment for good or ill"
The Rose rent is a great mystery and in the course of being solved leads people to evaluate what has worth in life. A young widow must now face the fact that she may have killed her husband and also plan the rest of her life.
I was going to print the quote from the back cover; yet as usual the person who wrote the blurb could not have seen the film or have read the book.
Of course people die and Brother Cadfael uses forensics to determine who the murderer/s are and the motive/s. You get more then sufficient clues on the way.
My favorite quote is in the morning as they are ringing the morning bell; someone asks Cadfael, "Are you awake?" and Cadfael staggering "No. But I am out of bed."
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A Morbid Taste for Bones

"A man may step out of his nature"

A monk has the ability of sight. While he is being bleed he gets a vision. With the help of Jerome he realizes that it is St. Winifred whose body is lost in Wales and wants to be here so people can visit. A retrieval expedition is launched against Cadfael judgment.

This is one of the best Father Cadfaels as it has meaning and story on many levels. True the ending is not exactly the book ending. But the feel is still there. The point that I like best is that the language is common but the cultures as dissimilar.

Although there is no Hugh Beringar (Sean Pertwee), this film contains one of my favorite actors John Hallam who plays the lord Richard. He has been in many popular movies including "4.50 from Paddington" where he gets to play a similar character as Cedric Crackenthorpe.

I leave you with this thought:
"Those that seek to lay hands on St. Winifred are apt to perish."
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The Raven in the Foregate

"Truth and justice are often at odds."

It is said, "All that evil needs to flourish is for good men to nothing." And this film has a few good men that do nothing. So once again it is up to Brother Cadfael to sort out the mystery and if separate mysteries are related. I will not go thought the story blow by blow, as that is part of the intrigue in watching these films.
A part of the back cover paraphrased:
Father Ailnoth, the new parish priest in Shrewsbury, earns the scorn of his entire parishioners. After refusing to absolver a parishioner for carrying an illegitimate child, the priest is found dead in the river. There are plenty of suspects but a shortage of clues.
Too bad back covers are not clear and strait forward however the story is more complex and the acting is superior.

Diese DVD ist jedoch leider sehr lieblos produziert:
- Am grösstes Ärgernis fällt auf, dass der ganze Film von einem 50-Hertz-Brummen begleitet wird, so als hätte man das Ohr die ganze Zeit an einem Transformator. Besonders an leisen Stellen ist das sehr störend. Hier wurde offensichtlich beim Überspielen des Films geschlampt.
- Das Bonusmaterial enttäuscht: Eine Trailershow auf Englisch und Schauspielerbiographien zum Lesen.
- Auf der DVD-Hülle findet sich kein einziger Hinweis auf das Dreh-Jahr des Films. Im Innerern gibt es keinerlei weitere Informationen, bis auf die DVD ist die Hülle leer.

Guter Film, schlecht verpackt      4 von 5 Punkten
Enigma ist ein äußerst gelunger Film: sehr spannend ( von Anfang bis Ende), interessante Story und auch die
realistische Darstellung der Zeit ist gelungen. Besonders gut
hat mir Martin Sheen gefallen. Meiner Meinung nach ist es sein
bester Film.
Die DVD ist ihr Geld wert, auch wenn die Bonusmaterialien
enttäuschen!

Your prayers are enough

Once again many things are not what they seem and it is up to Brother Cadfael to bring then to light. If you do not compare to the book it is a good film and well balanced. (Do not forget that the first two chapters of the book are revealed in detail in "A Morbid Taste for Bones" and "One Corpse Too Many")This story takes place years later.
From the back cover:
Cripples Day at Shrewsbury brings a hoard of disabled pilgrims to the abbey. Within a short while, a body is found in a leather sack amongst the visitors. Cadfael boils down the man's body to inspect the bones and uncovers two possible explanations for his death.
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The Potter's Field
Guilt is something we have to live with,

So much mystery, so many solutions, and you guest wrong. Yet Brother Cadfael stays with it until all is revealed. In the process we all must think and learn something of our selves.
From the back cover:
A woman's skeleton is discovered in a local potter's field, since the potter Ruald, left his family to answer a calling form God, everyone concludes that the body belongs to his wife, and that Ruald murdered her when she tried to prevent him from taking the tonsure.
This may not be the book but the film has depth in its own right.

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The Holy Thief
Everyone belongs in the house of God

This Cadfael story are said to be darker in character and not as much as lighter earlier mysteries. This is not my favorite Hugh Beringar (Anthony Green.) I prefer Eoin McCarthy. However he works well in this Cadfael. In The Holy Thief while most people were using trial by water to catch the guilty, Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) uses forensics to track down the murder.

The abbey in Ramsey is bunt down by rebel soldiers. You may recall the time of the civil war between King Stephen and Queen Maude. As is the custom they clam the loan of St. Winifred's holy relics, to help build their monastery. You may also recall in "A Morbid Taste for Bones" the trouble Shrewsbury had obtaining St. Winifred. So in stead Brother Cadfael and Abbot Radulfus offer precious gems.

A stormy night comes up and in the disarray Winifred is pinched. In the process there is a murder. Only the balance and counter balance of Cadfael and Beringar can solve this, if any one can.

We deal with what is

As complex as any of the Cadfael series, this one tells the story of how Master Hugh Beringar becomes sheriff. Also as Cadfael states, "By my reckoning there is one corps too many."
From the back Jacket:
When a Novice Monk arrives at Shrewsbury Abbey and turns out to be a young girl in disguise, Cadfael decides she is in need of a friend. But when he discovers his Novice's true identity, Cadfael finds himself caught in the Crossfire of the Civil war between King Stephen and the Empress Maud.
He is called upon to bury 94 rebel soldiers executed on the King's orders after the fall of Shrewsbury Castle. But when Cadfael counts up the dead bodies and finds one corps too many, it sets him on a murder trail. His investigations lead him to suspect the shadowy Hugh Beringar - a man who appears to have recently pledged his allegiance to King Steven...
This time will Cadfaels tuition, forensics, and logic. Prove the case?

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The Sanctuary Sparrow

Under the certainty of Heaven nothing is certain.

This is film is part of:
Brother Cadfael Series 1 Box Set: "The Sanctuary Sparrow, One Corpse Too Many, Monk's Hood and The Leper of St. Giles" (1995)
From the back cover: When the town's goldsmith is robbed and left for dead, the finger of suspicion is pointed at young juggler who was performing at the wedding feast of the goldsmith's son.

Pursued by the mob, the young entertainer stumbles through the town to the Abby where he seeks the sanctuary of the Alter. Cadfael is given the job of keeping an eye on the youngster while the authorities investigate. But his discrete inquiries are cut short when the goldsmith's neighbor is found dead floating in the river...

Once again the box does not convey the complexity or the beauty in the film as father Cadfael along with my favorite Hugh Beringar (Sean Pertwee) search for truth and justice using forensics, intuition and logic.

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The Leper of St. Giles

There is always hope by God's grace and man's efforts.

The back cover is fairly accurate:
A great wedding is to take place at the Abby of Shrewsbury between the powerful Baron Huon De Domville and the young and beautiful Iveta De Masssard. But this is no love match. The old, fat Baron is only interested in Iveta's lands and estates. The orphaned Iveta lives another.
All of Shrewsbury turns out to see the Baron and his bride-to-be ride into town and their differences are immediately noticeable. While the kind-hearted Iveta throws money to the lepers at the side of the road, the Barron strikes out at them with his whip. On the eve of the wedding, the Barron mysteriously rides off alone into the night, and that's the last time he's seen alive. Cadfael sets out to investigate his disappearance.
Naturally the description of this film is simplified and for readers of Ellis Peters' works the film is simplified from the story.
You have to take your hat off to Creeping Gromwell for helping Cadfael solve the mystery.

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Monk's Hood

We learn more of Cadfael's past

"No man is measured by the love he gives to others, but how he is loved by others."

A wealthy land owner Geravase Gurney wills his land to the abbey in exchange for a small home and to have the Abby supply the meals. His stepson is cut out of his inheritance this way. The mother is caught in-between and tries to reconcile them both. Before the deal is done he is poisoned. Yep too many people had access to the meal so it is up to Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) to figure out who did it and why. If you have a pre3ty good idea you are wrong.

Of occurs to add a little spice the toe story when Cadfael discovers a little something of his past that makes it imperative he find the answer.

This is the time that Abbot Herribert (Peter Copley) is replaced by Abbot Radulfus (Terrence Hardiman) see him in a different light as Walter Fane in "Miss Marple: Sleeping Murder"