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Cadfael - The Complete Series 1 [DVD] [1994]
 
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Cadfael - The Complete Series 1 [DVD] [1994]

DVD ~ Derek Jacobi
4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
RRP: £15.99
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Frequently Bought Together

Cadfael - The Complete Series 1 [DVD] [1994] + Cadfael - The Complete Series 2 [DVD] [1995] + Cadfael - The Complete Series 4 [DVD] [1997]
Total RRP: £47.97
Price For All Three: £30.21

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What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Cadfael - The Complete Collection - Series 1 To 4 [DVD] [1994]
43% buy
Cadfael - The Complete Collection - Series 1 To 4 [DVD] [1994] 4.5 out of 5 stars (28)
£10.28
Cadfael - The Complete Series 1 [DVD] [1994]
40% buy the item featured on this page:
Cadfael - The Complete Series 1 [DVD] [1994] 4.7 out of 5 stars (3)
£13.77
Cadfael - The Complete Series 2 [DVD] [1995]
9% buy
Cadfael - The Complete Series 2 [DVD] [1995] 5.0 out of 5 stars (4)
£8.37
Cadfael - The Complete Series 3 [DVD] [1996]
5% buy
Cadfael - The Complete Series 3 [DVD] [1996] 5.0 out of 5 stars (2)
£12.77
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Reviews

Amazon.co.uk Review
Brother Cadfael, the medieval mystery-solving monk, is a fascinating detective, at once a man of God, of science, and even of action. Derek Jacobi stars as the former "soldier, sailor, sinner, and Crusader" who has his faith tested by crimes of royal intrigue and baffling murders that seem to plague 12th-century Shrewsbury. You'll find few Benedictine monks so skilled at using a quarterstaff, but beware never to tell him your theory of how a crime "must" have been committed. "We must always be wary of 'must'," he states. "Nothing is certain." And so attest these divine mysteries based on the books by Ellis Peters. Each feature-length episode is self-contained but plays against the backdrop of England's civil war between forces loyal to King Stephen and those to Empress Maud. Eoin McCarthy costars as local Under-Sheriff Hugh Beringar, who relies on Cadfael when murder subverts his efforts to keep the peace. --Donald Liebenson

Synopsis
Based on Ellis Peter's CADFAEL series of novels, this popular television series stars Derek Jacobi as the eponymous clergyman. It follows Cadfael, a monk who, in his youth, was a crusader, sailor, and adventurer, but who has now settled down at Shrewsbury Abbey as its resident gardener, botanist, and herbalist. However, from time to time, there are mysteries to be solved around the Abbey, forcing Cadfael to put his startling sleuthing skills into use. This set contains every episode from the first series of the show: THE LEPER OF ST. GILES, MONK'S HOOD, ONE CORPSE TOO MANY, and THE SANCTUARY SPARROW.

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Cadfael - The Complete Collection - Series 1 To 4 [DVD] [1994]

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4.7 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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35 of 35 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Deserves Higher Profile, 19 Mar 2004
This excellent adaptation of Ellis Peters' novels was unfairly overlooked by audiences when first broadcast, but stands the test of time very well. This first series was probably the best, getting off to a flying start with "One Corpse Too Many", which cleverly sets a relatively intimate murder off against the historical tragedy of the massacre of the garrison of Shrewsbury Castle. Other episodes bring different aspects of Middle Ages culture - such a the merchant class in "The Sanctuary Sparrow" - brilliantly to life, showing how, as in any time and place, it had its horrors and its joys. The production values are, at least by standards of British television, excellent. Sir Derek Jacobi emphasises the humanity of Brother Cadfael - where others whose names came up in the original casting, notably Sir Anthony Hopkins and Sir Ian Holm, might have made more of the darker side. In the end, the choice of the versatile Jacobi was probably the right option - his Cadfael is easy company, the sort of holy but humane counsellor from whom most of us would benefit. The supporting cast is also fine, much of the fun coming from spotting now familiar faces in early roles, including Sean Pertwee as the first - and possibly best - Hugh Berengar, and Hugh Bonneville, billed here as Richard. Extras include filmographies of the principal stars and entertaining audio interviews with Sir Derek. Overall, this adaptation is, unusually, superior to the original books - which did tend to telegraph the villain - and its tolerant but moral sense of values raises it head and shoulders above the vast heap of contemporary crime dramas and thrillers that all seem so much the same these days.
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Sir Derek and the Chronicles of a Truly Rare Benedictine., 7 Sep 2006
By Themis-Athena (from somewhere between California and Germany) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   
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" (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" (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" (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" (seventh Chronicle): A young singer is accused of robbery and murder and, hunted by a mob, seeks shelter in the Abbey.

Episodes contained in other sets:

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 Pilgrim of Hate" (the tenth Chronicle)
"The Holy Thief" (the nineteenth Chronicle)
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Brother Cadfael, Set 2, 10 Aug 2007
By bernie "xyzzy" (Arlington, Texas) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)      
The Virgin in the Ice

"Between friends there is no owing."
Once again there is a mystery with many threads overlapping. Father Cadfael uses intuition and a great deal of forensics to sort out what really happened.
You guest it; Sister Hilaria is found in the ice and the last time she was seen was with Brother Oswain of who is delirious from an encounter with bandits. Two kids are missing and a mysterious woodsman (with a sward) is creeping around. Things only get more complicated. In the process of sorting this out Father Cadfael leaves words of wisdom as "There is no shame in tears when they are worth shedding."
The identity of the mysterious woodsman holds great significance.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Devil's Novice
"Even in the worst deed there is some good."
You know this is going to be a good one when it starts out with a bloody face staring at you. Later there is the bragging priest and you know if he is not the one to die that he should be. And what is with the soon to be bride playing on both sides of the fence?
A new novice that speaks strangely in his sleep, a missing king's chaplain who should have staid in the cars or rather not go out alone, and a mystery wild man is just the right mix for a murder mystery.
Once again Cadfael uses forensics, logic and intuition (with a little last minute information) to smoke out the truth and bring the culprit/s to justice.
You will suspect everyone up to the end.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
St. Peter's Fair

In the final reckoning we are all traitors to our hearts.

There is to be the annual St. Peter's Fair in which vendors from all over come to hawk their wears. The town merchants are required by law to close for this time. Not satisfied with this law the merchants threaten Abbot Radulfus (Terrence Hardiman) and get told that he has no choice in the matter.
This leads to a scuffle between the merchants and the visiting vendors. In the morning a wine merchant's body seems to be watered down with a hole and no tong. Abbot Radulfus charges Cadfael to find out if it was the Abbots fault for refusing to share with the towns people.
Naturally things get complex. There are crosses and double crosses, beautiful girls and suspicious sheriffs. This may even lead to a rift between the Sheriff Hugh Beringar and Cadfael (old friends.)Cadfael uses forensics, intrusion and logic to help solve the mystery.

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