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Amazon.co.uk Review
Edge of Darkness (1985) begins routinely enough. Emma Craven (Joanne Whalley in her first staring role, a year before The Singing Detective in 1986) is a young environmental activist killed in mysterious circumstances. Emma's father, Ron Craven, (Bob Peck in a star-making performance) will not be silenced and, as a police detective, is uniquely positioned to pursue his own unofficial investigation. He moves from grief to a determination to find the truth, all the while advised and/or comforted by Emma, but is she a ghost or a manifestation of his haunted psyche? Craven digs deeper, uncovering labyrinthine conspiracy in the nuclear industry and, as the body-count rises, encounters the garrulous CIA agent Darius Jedburgh (a superb Joe Don Baker) with a mysterious agenda of his own. Accompanied by a haunting musical score by Michael Kamen and Eric Clapton, Edge of Darkness builds on the legacy of Tinker Tailor, Soldier Spy and Smiley's People to become quite simply the best television thriller ever. Originally shown in six, 50-minute episodes, this tape presents the first half of the groundbreaking environmental-espionage shocker, tightening the ratchets of suspense to levels which would have turned Hitchcock himself green ... with envy. --Gary S. Dalkin
Product Description
United Kingdom released, PAL/Region 2.4 DVD: LANGUAGES: English ( Mono ), English ( Subtitles ), SPECIAL FEATURES: 2-DVD Set, Cast/Crew Interview(s), Interactive Menu, SYNOPSIS: The British government's nuclear policy is in for a royal drubbing in the tense BBC-TV miniseries Edge of Darkness. Bob Peck stars as London police detective Ron Craven, whose political-activist daughter is murdered right before his eyes. Meticulously following the trail of clues, Craven uncovers a dark conspiracy involving the government and the powerful American CEO of a nuclear power plant. Joe Don Baker and a young Joanne Whaley-Kilmer co-star. The six-part series became a cult favorite in England, where it originally aired in November and December of 1985. All 307 minutes of Edge of Darkness are currently available on video. SCREENED/AWARDED AT: BAFTA Awards, ...Edge of Darkness
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
225 of 234 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Must-watch TV becomes Must-own DVD,
By DocMartin (Somerset,UK) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Edge Of Darkness - The Complete Series [1985] [DVD] (DVD)
Time has not been desperately kind to this classic from the days when the BBC was not afraid of political controversy and was able to commission serious drama for an audience whose attention span could run for fifty minutes a time over six weeks. It is ironic that the thing that made it so compelling at the time - its cutting edge, up-to-the-moment topicality - now lends it a slight air of antiquity. Having said that, this thriller (and the term is used accurately here) has a cast that could have graced any Academy Awards Ceremony (Bob Peck, Joanne Whalley, Jo Don Baker, Tim McInnery and a cast of other actors who have since become familiar BBC stalwarts) and their skills are utilised to the full by the slow-burn, screw-turning script of Troy Kennedy-Martin, brilliantly interpreted and paced by director Martin Campbell and underpinned by Kamens' and Clapton's haunting, iconic soundtrack.The action is often deliberately slow-paced, but the shocking start hooks you in to events and watching the jigsaw pieces fit slowly into place to join past, present and future is compulsive. Bob Peck's performance is spellbinding, Joanne Whalley is captivating and Jo Don Baker's larger than life Texan, Jedburg, steals every scene. This series contends with "The Forsythe Saga" and "I, Claudius" as the best drama the BBC ever produced; it undoubtedly remains the best thriller. At last we have edge-of-the-seat, must-watch TV converted (third time lucky) into must-own DVD.
48 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
This IS the version to get,
This review is from: Edge Of Darkness - The Complete Series [1985] [DVD] (DVD)
Check which DVD you are buying! Many of the other reviews here are about the "old" 2001 DVD from Meridian Entertainment. The BBC Worldwide version from 2003 (which we are meant to be discussing) is much, much better, so do yourself a favour and ignore the comments that were made before this DVD was actually released - for some reason Amazon had managed to get some reviews of the other version mixed up in here.
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Highly Recommended!,
By
This review is from: Edge Of Darkness - The Complete Series [1985] [DVD] (DVD)
I only saw the fifth part when it was first screened in 1985 (where Craven & Jedburgh entered the Northmoor mine) and I sat on the edge of my seat the whole time. I'm delighted that THIS DVD version has been done PROPERLY and the sound & video quality are well up to standard.For those who don't know about this political mini-series, the plot concerns a police detective who is drawn into a web of political mire by the murder of his daughter Emma who was a member of an anti-nuclear lobby (GAIA) and stumbles on the clandestine manufacture and storage of weapons-grade plutonium in an abandoned mine in Northmoor, and has to endure the subsequent political "fall-out" that results. I only have one small criticsm: and that is that to begin with, the viewer feels very much an intruder into a very private death and subsequent period of grief. But stick with it, because underneath the plot simmers menacingly for a long time (rather like milk heating up in a saucepan on the stove) and then suddenly boils up... and does so with a-vengeance! As I hinted at earlier, the section where Craven & Jedburgh enter the mine and locate the plutonium is just gripping! And the music provided by Eric Clapton & Michael Kamen (now sadly passed away) very much enhances the sinister atmosphere. There are some worthwhile extras on the two DVDs which have been adequately covered in other reviews. The six episodes have been transcribed just as they were broadcast - complete with beginning & ending titles. If you like political thrillers, just buy this - you won't regret it! I'd give it more than five stars, but that's all we're allowed in an Amazon review!!
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