Product Details

• Actors: Derek Jacobi, Michael Culver, Julian Firth, Terrence Hardiman, Mark Charnock
• Directors: Sebastian Graham Jones
• Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: January 7, 2003
• Run Time: 225 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000075B7N
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #54,935 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Brother Cadfael: Set 4 (The Pilgrim of Hate / The Potter's Field / The Holy Thief)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

CADFAEL COLLECTION SET 4 3CPK - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I love these stories!, February 3, 2006

By 

T. Hollingsworth (United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Brother Cadfael: Set 4 (The Pilgrim of Hate / The Potter's Field / The Holy Thief) (DVD)

I had never read the books or of this series when I bought the videos. Maybe because of this I really enjoyed the videos. I am a fan of Sir Derek Jacobi too as I have seen him in one other program and loved his acting. He seems to be perfect in this role. If you want a unique take on detective work, these can't be beat.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sir Derek and the Chronicles of a Truly Rare Benedictine., September 8, 2006

By 

Themis-Athena (from somewhere between California and Germany) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brother Cadfael: Set 4 (The Pilgrim of Hate / The Potter's Field / The Holy Thief) (DVD)

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:

"The Pilgrim of Hate" (the tenth Chronicle): A cripple, his sister and two brothers on a painful pilgrimage meet at the Abbey during the annual feast of St. Winifred. Soon, the question arises whether religion is primarily penance or faith in God's love of mankind.

"The Potter's Field" (the seventeenth Chronicle): The discovery of the bones of a woman in a field once belonging to a potter turned monk leads Cadfael to unveil a harrowing tale of love, loss and a deadly wager.

"The Holy Thief" (the nineteenth Chronicle): Competitors for the possession of St. Winifred's relics show up in Shrewsbury! Then the holy bones disappear, a monk is found murdered -- and a tonsured troubadour finds his lady love.

Episodes contained in other sets:

First set:
"One Corpse Too Many" (the second Chronicle).
"Monk's Hood" (the third Chronicle).
"The Leper of St. Giles" (the fifth Chronicle).
"The Sanctuary Sparrow" (the seventh Chronicle).

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).

Also recommended:
A Rare Benedictine
A Morbid Taste for Bones: The First Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
One Corpse Too Many: The Second Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
Monk's Hood: The Third Chronicle of Brother Cadfael
Leper of Saint Giles (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
The Virgin in the Ice (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
Brother Cadfael's Penance (Brother Cadfael Mysteries)
The Cadfael Collection
A Bloody Field by Shrewsbury

12 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars brother cadfael IV collection, December 24, 2000

By 

charlene small (WASHINGTON, DC United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Brother Cadfael, Set 4 (The Pilgrim of Hate / The Holy Thief / The Potter's Field) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

All Brother Cadfael fans trust me, do not waste your money on collection IV. I bought it and could not get through any of the three tapes. I would have to agree with another reviewer who said that the episodes in collection IV seem to be more gruesom than the others. The characters have changed drastically. It seems that they have become less holy and even Brother Cadfael doesn't seem quite like himself. I can't really put my finger on it but Cadfael fans, just treasure the enjoyment you received from the previous episodes and forget about collection IV.