Product Details

• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Bfs Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: November 11, 1998
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304041969
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #336,481 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

When Morse goes to visit his stepmother and half-sister, he finds himself in the middle of a tragedy. His step niece has committed suicide. The Chief Inspector takes compassionate leave but begins searching into his step niece's past hoping to find a reason for her death. Meanwhile, Sergeant Lewis is studying for his inspector's exams. He is also investigating the case of a missing student. In Morse's absence, Chief Inspector Holroyd is the boss on the case. He is a policeman who has no time for Morse's individual method and believes in playing "by the book."

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 29 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Mystery Which Hits [Morse] Close to Home, July 22, 2001

By 

Wilson Smith - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inspector Morse - Cherubim & Seraphim [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Cherubim & Seraphim", the second Inspector Morse episode to be directed by Danny Boyle (the other was "Masonic Mysteries"; an episode which literally hits Morse close to home!), who's the well-renowned director behind such feature-films as Trainspotting and The Beach, and features his trademark directorial style, deviates from the norm in terms of the way in which the plot unfolds: unlike other Morse episodes, instead of being a conventional - or not-so, in some cases - whodunit, all along the audience knows who the guilty party is, à la Columbo. The culprit in this case is the procurer of ecstasy-like drugs, played by Jason Isaacs [The Patriot], in yet another evil role. The script centers around the fact three youths have died by suicidal means and, as we find out, had all been partaking, days anterior to their deaths, in the aforementioned drug. The youths' walls were adorned posters in their rooms containing computer-generated patterns which represent the "Chaos Theory" (e.g. if a butterfly is beating its wings somewhere, there will be a hurricane somewhere else, and these two seemingly unrelated events are in fact interrelate), which Sgt. Lewis is more that happy to explain to Morse; and they were all in the same type of eclectic dance music. It's one of the more personal Inspector Morse episodes, as one of the deceased youths happens to be Morse's step-niece; it also shows how out of touch Morse is with contemporary youth culture (drugs/sex/music) and children in general. For instance, when Morse stops by the school to interview his step-niece's best friend who was the last person to see her alive, he unwittingly stumbles in to her euphemistically-titled "Personal & Social Development" class just when the teacher is asking a student if he knows what the contraceptive device she's holding in her hand is. He's taken aback by the mere fact that they're having a teacher-student discussion, no less a class, about sex in school. In this episode, Morse reveals some of his past secrets to Lewis, whom he addresses, in a rarely captured televised moment, by his first name ("Robbie"). Three of the revelations include how his parents frequently fought and their subsequent brake-up, one of his low points as a morose 15-year-old, and the roots of the acrimonious relationship he continues to have with his step-mother. Definitely one of the best Morse films for catching a glimpse into his upbringing. Even the dance-oriented music in this episode, which incorporates classical music into its medley, is really well done. Overall it's another superlative self-contained film featuring Chief Inspector Morse.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Time Capsule Morse, July 27, 2003

By 

thisisgibbie (Indianapolis) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inspector Morse - Cherubim & Seraphim (DVD)

If there was any program that got the closest to reflecting correctly life in Britain during the 80s and 90s, it was Inspector Morse.

While "Masonic Mysteries" and "Last Seen Wearing" are probably the best of the mysteries, "Cherubim and Seraphim" is the one that captures the British 80s/90s Zeitgeist best. The direction of this program is as good as any well-done British thriller.

It was end of an era. Now you'll understand Peter Hitchens.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Teenagers, December 27, 2006

By 

William J. Thor (Vero Beach) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inspector Morse - Cherubim & Seraphim [VHS] (VHS Tape)

This entry is worthy as a good mystery, but not up to par with what we have come to expect from this series. Our usual topping or icing which usually is opera, non-operatic classical music as well as romance - and to a lesser extent literature and art, cannot be found. And because of this, other "filler" material is substituted - in one of the featured roles the character could be eliminated without any effect on the plot whatever. However we do learn some very interesting information relative to Morse's teenage years.
Now the curmudgeon finds it extremely difficult to deal with drugs and rock, without alcohol - he just cannot comprehend our youth in such an environment. In an interesting aside he calls Lewis by his given name "Robbie." This is worth a view, but is well down the list of Morse episodes.