Cracker: Series 1
 
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Cracker: Series 1

Ian Mercer (Actor), Amelia Bullmore (Actor), Michael Winterbottom (Director), Jean Stewart (III) (Director) | Rated: NR | Format: DVD
4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews) |

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Cracker Season 1   $4.99 $13.99

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Product Details

  • Actors: Ian Mercer, Amelia Bullmore, Robbie Coltrane
  • Directors: Michael Winterbottom, Jean Stewart (III), Charles McDougall, Julian Jarrold, Simon Cellan Jones
  • Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
  • Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Surround)
  • 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: Hbo Home Video
  • DVD Release Date: October 14, 2003
  • Run Time: 364 minutes
  • Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (25 customer reviews)
  • ASIN: B0000AYJVA
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #35,109 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

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  • Learn more about "Cracker: Series 1" on IMDb

Special Features

  • All 3 TV movies on 3 discs

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

The compelling Cracker is among the more exciting British mystery series from the 1990s, featuring a hero so flawed he's just as likely to end up inside a jail cell as outside chasing bad guys. Robbie Coltrane, perhaps best known for playing Rubeus Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies, is unconventional psychologist Eddie "Fitz" Fitzgerald, a rotund teacher who exhorts students to look within their dark hearts and who gleefully embraces his own addictions to gambling, booze, and nicotine.

Caught in a downward spiral, Fitz sneers as his debts mount and his wife (Barbara Flynn) leaves him, but he rallies when a favorite student is slashed to death on a train in series debut "The Mad Woman in the Attic." The suspect, a longtime amnesiac, is put through grueling police torments, but Fitz believes in the man's innocence, thus establishing his ambivalent relationship with Detective Chief Inspector Bilborough (Christopher Eccleston) and a quasi-romantic alliance with another detective, Jane "Panhandle" Penhaligon (Geraldine Somerville, also from the Potter films). Michael Winterbottom, now a renowned feature filmmaker (Welcome to Sarajevo), provides admirable direction.

Fitz's interest in obsessive behavior and his talent for spinning out instant psychological profiles makes him invaluable to Bilborough in subsequent episode "To Say I Love You," in which a rage-filled young man and his scheming girlfriend kill a loan shark. Though the story is less interesting than the Cracker pilot, Fitz's slow crawl back to self-respect and resentful cooperation with his estranged wife's therapist are irresistible entertainment. Finally, "One Day a Lemming Will Fly," in which the murder of a 13-year-old boy sparks a lynch-mob mentality among the public, is a strong two-parter that raises some interesting crises for Fitz. Does he belong with his wife and kids or with Panhandle? Is he better at his job when his personal life is a disaster? The provocative final scenes make one hunger to see more of Cracker. --Tom Keogh

Product Description

Hot on the heels of PRIME SUSPECT came Robbie Coltrane's (Hagrid in the Harry Potter movies) outstanding creation of "Fitz," in the PBS series CRACKER. Fitz is an addicted gambler, a heavy drinker, and a brilliant if deeply flawed criminal psychologist. He is, to the working mind of a killer what CSI is to a trace of blood or a single hair. For Fitz, murder is just the beginning. Three stories follow Fitz as he investigates an accused commuter train killer with amnesia, a couple who share love and murder, and the killing of a young boy that shakes a community to its core.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
65 of 69 people found the following review helpful
Format:DVD
"Cracker" may be just another in a long line of British crime dramas that were very popular in the early 90's, but "Cracker" stands out as one of the sharpest, wittiest, and most intelligently written of them all. I would say it is even better than "Prime Suspect", which is another personal favorite.

Robbie Coltrane plays his most memorable part as Fitz, a criminal psychologist who has an uncanny ability of getting into the minds of his subjects, and getting under the skin of anyone who knows him. His is an overweight, alcoholic compulsive who gambles, chain smokes, and cheats on his wife. This is balanced out by his brilliance and articulate nature. The series follows him as he helps a group of police inspectors solve various murders, while he copes with the problems in his own life. To call the series riveting is an understatement, it is bloody brilliant.

The episodes in the first season are "The Mad Woman in the Attic", where a young woman is found murdered on a train, and the only suspect has amnesia. This is one of the best episodes. The next one is "To Say I Love You", a Bonnie & Clyde story where two young lovers go on a murder spree. And the last episode is "One Day A Lemming Will Fly", where a young boy is murdered and the only suspect is the boy's English teacher, who is also believed to be homosexual. All episodes are 2 hours long, so you can expect to spend a good 6 hours with this DVD set.

The quality of the episodes is where the perks of this set ends. If the quality of the DVD package was the sole consideration, I would recommend this to nobody. For starters, the episodes are presented in 4:3 full frame, not widescreen like most other TV shows transferred to DVD tend to have. The credits are cut off from the screen, and the transfer quality suffers from apparently have no mastering at all done. I am hard pressed to find any differences between this DVD transfer and the old VHS tapes I have. Secondly, there are no extras, save for a Robbie Coltrane biography. With a show as good as "Cracker", commentaries, featurettes, and interviews would be in order. Am I the only one who thinks so?

The only reason why I am recommending this DVD set is because it is the only time "Cracker" has seen the light of day on DVD, and the VHS tapes are long out of print. Personally, I am able to look beyond the lousy DVD package and appreciate the episodes themselves, but for people wanting more, you will be disappointed.

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24 of 24 people found the following review helpful
One of the best January 26, 2005
Format:DVD
If you go in for police procedurals and the psychological mysteries, this is about as good as it gets. The writing and acting are superb. Also, for those complaning about a missing Episode III in "One Day A Lemming Will Fly", I checked. There is no Episode III. Not in the UK, and not in the US. That was the the way it was meant to end. In this show, like in life, you don't always tie up all the loose ends.
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful
Fascinating Detective Drama September 10, 2003
Format:DVD
I have these episodes on video, and I have to tell you, Cracker is one of the best mystery/detective dramas EVER. Robbie Coltrane, as Fitz (the "Cracker" of the title) is compelling to watch, as he deals with his attraction to the young DI Penhaligon (Geraldine Sommerville), his gambling problem, his drinking problem, his ever-more-irritated wife Judith, his ever-more-distant children, and whatever mystery he is solving in each episode. Fitz, a forensic psychiatrist, is called (oftne over objections from some of the detectives) to assist the police force in their investigations.
The entire cast is flawless, particulary Coltrane, Summerville, and Christopher Eccleston as DCI Bilbrough. The mysteries are involving, it is impossible to stop watching! Don't start watching this at night. You won't want to go to bed until you've seen them all.
Excellent British detective series, excellent drama about a man fighting his own demons along with those of society.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Cracker
I bought this used at a Good price, it was in excellent condition, recieved it pretty quick. The show is worth watching. I was very happy with this purchase
Published 1 month ago by Madonna Harden
Wrong disc
I ordered Cracker Series 1: The Mad Woman in the Attic, To Say I love You, and One Day a Lemming Will Fly. Read more
Published 1 month ago by MEL
End run around Netflix
After viewing the series 2 Cracker that was available from Netflix, I was eager to see the earlier and later segments. Read more
Published 18 months ago by Cornelia Miller
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I just finished watching the first series of BBC's CRACKER, a detective series featuring a quirky psychologist with plenty of personal problems himself. Read more
Published on March 31, 2009 by P. Hale
cracker: series 1
I loved this series and highly recommend it and all of the cracker series. Fitz is so witty and charming and you'll wish the story never ends. I love Robbie Coltrane.
Published on March 26, 2009 by Roberta L. Kirk
Cracking cases and expectations
"Fitz," played by Robbie Coltrane, is a very interesting and engaging character. He's an amazing criminal psychologist and often more right about a case, profile, and motives... Read more
Published on May 25, 2008 by Tarot
Outstanding British series
Please see my other reviews of this series it is well worth the purchase if you are into this sort of thing.
Published on April 11, 2008 by Joseph M. Fucci
got to love robbie
I am a big fan of cracker and just love the collection. If you are a yank and have never watched it, buy it now you wont regret it.
Published on October 13, 2007 by C. Brown
Flawed but brilliant character
Coltrane's flawed but brilliant forensic psychologist Fitz makes every scene he's in crackle with gritty intensity. Read more
Published on August 8, 2007 by Ray Drury
Love This Series..
The Cracker series is great !!
For those of you who think Set 1 is incomplete: "One Day A Lemming Will Fly" IS complete. Read more
Published on July 16, 2007 by B. Bennyhoff
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