Customer Reviews

Blood Sport [VHS]

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3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(2)

 

 

For fans of Dick Francis, ignore his books and just take the videos for what they are. McShane is simply gorgeous, and he does well in this horsie romp and David Cleveland, an investigator/security expert with Patrick McNee as his boss. They are in Canada, and McNee introduces Cleveland to a man and his daughter. He is the owner of a priced racing stud that mysteriously disappeared. No attempt at ransom, the horse never found alive or dead. After an attempt is made on the man's life, Cleveland steps in to track down what happened to the horse. There is the femme fatal, new wife that resented the time and money spent on the horses, a competitor stud that was failing and might possibly benefited in some manner by the horses disappearance.

It is a good mystery, well acted. Film quality suffers since this is a Irish-Canadian made for telly effort, but they are still very enjoyable....and McShane is so easy on the eyes!! A definite for his fans (however you might check out the DVD choice you can get this movie and 2 other David Clevelands in the same package.

These were show on PBS in US, are Canada-Ireland joint effort and are filmed in both countries. My sister thinks McShane is the cat's meow...just does not give the same thrill for this long legged New Orleans lad!! Still the mysteries are nifty, well acted and lots of lovely ladies for the males! McShane is his usual strong self!

Nice package of all three David Cleveland films. Dick Francis buffs forget it - just watch for McShane and forget they are based on Francis' character.

A great set of videos. I watched them, my brother borrowed them and loved them and my Mom thought they were excellent too! I wish there were more of them made and available!

I bought the boxset thinking I would be watching stories by Dick Francis... well, beside some superficial similarities there is not much DF here.

Still, these are relatively enjoyable episodes, made for TV mysteries. If you have your heart set on capturing the spirit of the novels you will be disappointed. However, if you just want some nice TV mysteries to watch you will enjoy these very much.

All 3 videos are heart-stoppers. Dick Francis at his best. END

Koch Vision and Lance Studios present - "Dick Francis Mysteries" (In The Frame/ Blood Sport/ Twice Shy) (1994) - Ian McShane - (287 mins/Color) (Dolby Digital) --- Author Dick Francis OBE (born October 31, 1920) is a British jockey and author ... He was born Richard Stanley Francis in Lawrenny, South Wales. The son of a jockey, he had a successful career himself as a jockey, winning over 350 races ... During World War II, he served in the Royal Air Force piloting fighter and bomber aircraft including the Spitfire. He left the RAF in 1946 to become a celebrity in the world of British National Hunt racing ... From 1953 to 1957 he was jockey to Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. He was forced to retire from racing as the result of a serious fall in 1957. His most famous moment as a jockey came while riding the Queen Mother's horse, Devon Loch, in the 1956 Grand National: the horse inexplicably fell when close to winning the race --- Francis is the only three time recipient of the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award for Best Novel, winning for Forfeit in 1970, Whip Hand in 1981, and Come to Grief in 1996. Also in 1996, he was given the Grand Master Award, the highest honor bestowed by the MWA --- In 1962, he published his first thriller, Dead Cert, which was set in the world of racing. Subsequently, he regularly produced a novel a year for the next 38 years, missing only 1998 (during which year he published a short story collection). Although all his books were set against a background of horse racing, his heroes held a variety of jobs, from artist (To the Hilt) to private investigator (Odds Against).

Our of hero of Dick Francis Mysteries is DAVID CLEVELAND (played by Ian McShane), is the chief investigator for the British Jockey Club --- was a major TV Movie in a series that was based on many of Francis books --- Cleveland was a continuing character who was always on the side of right versus wrong when it came to horses and their racing --- many weave horse racing within action packed full of suspense, romance and a twist of danger just around the bend of a steeplechase run.

First up "IN THE FRAME" (1989) (97 mins/Color) --- Under Wigbert Wicker (Director), Mathias Wittich (Producer), Denis E. Doty and Jacky Stoller (Executive Producers), Andrew Payne (Teleplay) ----- the cast includes Ian McShane as David Cleveland, Lyman Ward, Amadeus August, Peter Sattmann, Patrick Cauderlier, Rainer Grenkowitz, Cedric Smith, Joseph Ziegler, Laura Dickson, Hans-Peter Korff, Jack Duffy, Liliane Clune, Karin Rasenack, Barbara Rudnik . . . . .the story thus far, will Cleveland (Ian McShane) be able to clear his old friend of of stealing fine wines and art ... is there a deeper secret behind all of the skullduggery ... tune in and find the answer.

Second we have "BLOODSPORT" (1989) (97 mins/Color) --- Under Harvey Hart (Director),Jonathan Hackett (Producer), Dennis E. Doty and Jacky Stoller (Executive Producers), Andrew Payne (Teleplay) ----- the cast includes Ian McShane as David Cleveland, Heath Lamberts, Lloyd Bochner, Kenneth Welsh, Patrick Macnee, Carolyn Dunn, Jennifer Dale, Timothy Webber, Laurie Paton, Cameron Graham, Barbara Franklin, R.D. Reid, Louis Tripp . . . . . our story is of a missing race horse that may still be alive and being switched with another stable of race horses ... Patrick Macnee as McShane's boss is a trip, with Ian finding everything he volunteers him too very boring or not worth his time ... let's see if McShane can make something out of this mystery.

Final and third is "TWICE SHY" (1989) (97 mins/Color) --- Under Deirdre Friel (Director)W. Paterson Ferns (Producer)Dennis E. Doty and Jacky Stoller (Executives Producer), Miles Henderson (Teleplay) ----- the cast includes Ian McShane as David Cleveland, Kate McKenzie, Karl Hayden, Dearbhla Molloy, Niall Toibin, Conor Mullen, David Herlihy, Stephen Brennan, John Keegan, Oliver Maguire, Pat Leavy, Patrick Macnee, Geraldine Fitzgerald, Jim Reid, Deirdre O'Kane . . . . . the plot line has betting services over illegal computers, will the death of McShane's friend bring him full force into the mystery that Francis has contrived ... this one is a puzzlement for Ian, will he be able to find all the pieces and put them together before the final reel.

BIOS:
1. Ian McShane
Date of birth: 29 September 1942 - Blackburn, Lancashire, England, UK
Date of death: Still Living
2. Dick Francis (Author)
Date of birth: 31 October 1920 - Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK
Date of death: Still Living

Great job by Koch Vision for releasing "Dick Francis Mysteries" (In The Frame/ Blood Sport/ Twice Shy) (1994) - Ian McShane, the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the foreign film market --- order your copy now from Amazon or Koch Vision where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch drama mixed with an outstanding cast and director --- gotta love it!

Total Time: 287 mins on DVD ~ Koch Vision KOCV #6651 ~ (5/02/2006)

very nicely done mystery, with action, good characters, abit of humor.

I haven't seen this video. I'm hesitant because as a fan of Dick Francis' books I'm aware that David Cleveland was not in any of these three. His character appeared in Slay Ride. These three stories had star characters that varied widely - an artist - secret investigator - physicist and I can't imagine how they could all be rolled into one character in all three stories.

Unfortunately, the originals were this bad, I remember their original airings on PBS. I bought this set and then returned them, that's how bad they are. (Also, Ian McShane is just WRONG for a Dick Francis hero, but that's a personal opinion.)