Customer Reviews

Brother Cadfael: Set 2 (The Virgin in the Ice / The Devil's Novice / St. Peter's Fair)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

... Brother Cadfael is *still* the most unique, complex, fascinating detective out there. Add to that the endlessly treacherous and intriguing setting, and you've found a winner.

The production standard is incredible; visually, it's an impressive effort and very realistic. It manages to be grand and gritty at once.

The acting is likewise superb. I could never have pictured a better Cadfael than the sterling Sir Derek Jacobi.

The only reason I gave this set four stars rather than five is that this particular Cadfael series is not my favorite of the four. All of them are worth owning, however.

These videos are extremely well done. I learned more about the post crusade era in the Catholic Church then I would have in any history class. Derek Jacobi is a superb actor, and his talents are highlighted in these entertaining and educational videos. I would recommend these to anyone with an interest in religion, history, or science, or to any one who loves a good mystery.

This is one of the best sets in the series. Although I think Sean Pertwee in the first set was a better sheriff, this group of stories is incredible. We see consoling, love, intrigue, lechery, murder, highway bandits, rape, kidnapping, and a host of other acts of love and violence. Some true chivalry, an evil monk but not the one that is accused, and mysterious disappearances of people make this set great to watch. The set contains many sub stories in each story that makes them all the more interesting. We find out a piece of the puzzle in Cadfael's love life while he was on the Crusades. The set does not contain much as far as extra's but the series alone is well worth the price. The quality is comparable with the rest in the series and quite adequate.

I love the Cadfael series but this transfer to DVD looks like they took it off a second hand tape. Beware!

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:

"St. Peter's Fair" (the fourth Chronicle): While traders arrive from near and far, townsfolk claim a share of the Abbey's dues from the annual fair. Then a merchant is found murdered -- but there's more to this than meets the eye!

"The Virgin in the Ice" (the sixth Chronicle): After the sack of Worcester by Empress Maud, a nun, a young nobleman and his sister get lost in the Marshes. Cadfael rushes to the rescue ... and meets a messenger from his own past.

"The Devil's Novice" (the eighth Chronicle): The Abbey accepts a novice with a troubling zeal for monastic life (but not its virtues), who may or may not be connected to the death of a cleric traveling through his home village.

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).

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 Potter's Field" (the seventeenth Chronicle);
"The Holy Thief" (the nineteenth 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

While this series has its moments, I think that overall it's not nearly as good as the first one. To me, the crucial difference was the change in the actor who plays Hugh: the first was, I felt, an excellent embodiment of Peters' complex, ironic character, while this chap was a one-dimensional Boy Scout. Also, his rapport with Cadfael was unconvincing (this may be off the wall, but I sensed that Derek Jacobi wasn't happy with the change either!). Fortunately, most of the excellent supporting cast from Series 1 reappears here, and Cadfael himself came across in all of his paradoxical complexity.
Of the three episodes, I thought "The Devil's Novice" was the best: it adhered fairly closely to Peters' well-constructed story line, the cast was generally solid (although the elder brother's fiancee was played too unsubtly: she's a flirt, not a blatant seductress!), and the various settings in which the story takes place (the rural manor house, the monastery) were vividly depicted. "St. Peter's Fair" likewise did a great job with the fair atmosphere. For about 3/4 of the way through, I thought it was a good rendition of Peters' story; but the ending was converted from a complex moral dilemma into a mere issue of partisan politics.
As for "The Virgin in the Ice," although it has memorable scenes and tells a rousing story, the writers couldn't resist "improving on" some aspects of the original story -- and blowing every one of them. (For example, why does a Syrian formulate his potions out of English herbs?) The production is generally excellent and the characters are well cast, although I felt that the actor who plays Olivier (while certainly handsome and athletic enough) lacked some of the exotic glamour of Peters' original. In general, these three episodes were entertaining and competently done, but I still prefer Series 1 in many ways.

This set has gone a bit downhill from the first series. These are still enjoyable, but not nearly as close to the world of the books. The first big problem is the very unfortunate decision to merge the characters of the two sheriffs. The actor in the first series was a great Hugh Berringer and this one is a great Sheriff Prestcote, but the two were such totally different personalities that their lines can't be combined into a coherent role. Which raises the question, why weren't the books done in the order they were written so that the two characters could be handled properly? Secondly, Cadfael loves the world and its creatures, but has a certain detachment, befitting a monk, viewing worldly folly more with sorrow and compassion than anger. He seems here to be sliding more towards the Last Angry Man with a contempt for the fools around him. He isn't set so far apart from the rest of the cast in the books. The quality of costuming varies wildly, with some of the women looking more like attendees at a late 20th century prom than medieval women. Some of the other supporting characters, notably Brother Jerome and Prior Roberts and the two abbotts are great!

If you are a fan of the film " The Name of the Rose", you will love Brother Cadfael

The monk is part Father Brown with Sherlock Holmes. He solves crimes the medievel way and the way he does it will intrigue mystery lovers everywhere.

Derek Jacobi bring an aire of class to Cadfael. He brings the character off the page of the Peter's novels with ease

I recieved this as a very early Christmas gift from a friend going to Europe for a few months, thanks Dan for the gift..it is a great addition to my DVD Mystery library and it will fit in any of yours.

Also all disks have Jacobi audio commaries on all three shows in this collection..worth it for that alone

Bennet Pomerantz AUDIOWORLD

This series of programs is a breath of fresh air. A monk who is a detective. Very unusual and novel idea.

The Brother Cadfael mysteries take place during a massive civil war in the twelfth century between King Stephen and the Empress Maud. And politics is a driving force in "Brother Cadfael, Set 2 (The Virgin in the Ice, The Devil's Novice, St. Peter's Fair)" -- if it's not a civil war causing trouble for Cadfael, it's a gang of crusaders gone bad.

In "The Virgin in the Ice," the monks find poor Brother Oswin almost beaten to dead and half-frozen in the snow... and Sister Hilaria, the nun he was traveling with, has been raped, murdered and frozen in the river. Of course, Oswin is the primary suspect, and it turns out the murder is involved with a a pair of young teenagers who have fallen into the gangs of a roving band of cruel bandits.

In "The Devil's Novice," young Meriet Ashby is brought to Shrewsbury to become a monk. Cadfael is worried about the kid, since he has screaming nightmares every single night. Then when Oswin and Meriet are sent to gather charcoal, they come across a burned skeleton -- which is found to be a wealthy, prominent priest who was on a secret mission, and who stayed at Ashby Manor. Is Meriet truly the murderer, or is this something far darker than a crime of passion?

Finally, "St. Peter's Fair" opens on a nasty note when several merchants get into a brawl over fair tolls, and the next morning a wine merchant is found dead and naked in the river. Hugh Beringer thinks that the culprit is a cobbler's son who protested the tolls, but the merchant's niece is dogged by death, theft and general mayhem. Cadfael begins to suspect that she's keeping something secret and dangerous from them. Even worse, she might be the next to die because of it.

"Brother Cadfael, Set 2 (The Virgin in the Ice, The Devil's Novice, St. Peter's Fair)" is a somewhat darker season than the first one -- aside from the usual murder, there's a heavy load of conspiracy, rape and a gang of bandits burning and looting.

For the most part, the writers accurately adapt Ellis Peters' novels -- every mystery has lots of suspects, moral dilemmas, religious strife, civil war, a murder that only Cadfael can solve, and a bit of cute romance as well. And it has all the blood, grime and sweat of the 12th century, and accurately depicts the strong presence of religion and politicial strife in medieval life (the abbey gathers fair tolls).

Derek Jacobi remains absolutely perfect as Cadfael -- he depicts the herbalist monk as a man of faith, strength, paternal kindness and a formidable intellect. We also discover some rather startling revelations about his life after the Crusades, and a family member he never knew he had... nice twist, and quite well-written.

There are also great performances by Terrence Hardiman as the kind but stern Abbot Radulfus, Julian Firth as the fussy Brother Jerome (who accidentally gets an eyeful of a naked girl), Michael Culver as the haughty snob Prior Robert, and Mark Charnock as the oft-abused but gentle Brother Oswin (particularly brilliant in "The Virgin in the Ice"). The one sour note: Eoin McCarthy playing a grumpy, brittle Hugh Beringer who keeps bickering with Cadfael.

"Brother Cadfael, Set 2 (The Virgin in the Ice, The Devil's Novice, St. Peter's Fair)" is a solid trio of medieval mysteries full of blood, conspiracies and the occasional corpse. And Derek Jacobi is flawless.