Product Details

• Actors: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Colin Dexter, James Grout, Peter Woodthorpe
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 6
• Studio: Bfs Entertainment
• VHS Release Date: November 11, 1998
• Run Time: 600 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 630290336X
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #189,946 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Early Morse - Some of the Best, March 4, 2002

By 

L. Farwell (Charleston, West Virginia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Inspector Morse (Collection Set 1) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Now that we have lost John Thaw, these Inspector Morse videos are more precious than ever. The early ones (with Kenny McBain as producer) have a more artistic flair than the later ones. "The Dead of Jericho" introduces us to the nonconformist inspector determined to do things his way. It also shows how he and Sergeant Lewis first drew together in a very casual manner. Typically, Morse pursues a woman only to be thwarted. But isn't that why we love him? Because he knows what it's like to suffer in love? "The Silent World of Nicholas Quinn" is a real puzzler about selling Oxford exams and murder amongst the faculty. "Service All The Dead" is truly outstanding with its clever direction, frequent murders and twists, all set against the backdrop of a rather unpleasant church. With Morse falling in love with a suspect, we are securely hooked into his romantic nature. The end shocks us all including the earnest young Lewis. In the last scene, Morse securely locks himself into our hearts as a hopeless romantic. "Last Bus To Woodstock" is one of the very best of all times. It brings Morse's Oxford education to the forefront and reveals the poet in his soul while he solves a rather ugly death in a pub parking lot. "Last Seen Wearing" is filled with sarcasm and bitterness, not just by our inspector but by the nasty suspects. Luckily we have the ever buoyant Sergeant Lewis to keep us anchored and Morse's wit to give us a laugh. The dialogue in this one borders on brilliant. "The Wolvercote Tongue" shows us much of Oxford and the Randolph Hotel because the deaths occur amongst a tour group of obnoxious Americans. Morse even encounters a woman who drinks more than he does! Clever plot with an ending not easily guessed.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars High Quality Mysteries on Fair Quality VHS Tapes, April 25, 2002

By 

Jeri Massi "keen on the grace of God" (Raleigh, NC United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inspector Morse (Collection Set 1) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

Morse and Lewis drink their way to enightenment once again! Anyway, Morse does. Lewis pays. Beautiful scenery, colorful characters, and some clever jibing back and forth between Morse and Lewis (very occasionally) make the collection well rounded.

For me, seeing Morse repeatedly lose the girl (or fall in love with the killer or accomplice) can wear a little thin. It's probably my least favorite plot device in the Morse series. But this is only a ripple in my overall happiness with this series.

These mysteries are primarily psychological in that Morse figures out what the killer must have been thinking to commit such and such a crime. Forensics are touched upon, but they don't usually make up a big part of finding the killer. One or two forensic details will be key, and the rest is a study on why the killer killed. But the scenery and the discussions themselves can be thought provoking. And most of the stories will present at least one study of a human relationship into full focus, showing the full complexity of a few of the characters.

The beauty and joy come from analyzing relationships and motives. These are rich, complex, and often deceptive.

One of the tapes in my set had a lot of skips and wobbles in it. When I say "a lot," I don't mean that the tape was unwatchable. But the occasional distortion was certainly noticeable. This trouble prompted me to look at the other tapes in terms of their broadcast quality, and---though the other tapes were all in better condition---I realized that the tapes themselves are somewhat cheaply made or else cheaply copied. I want to emphasize that I really enjoyed the set; I plan to buy the other Morse sets. But if you're a rabid digitophile, you'll be horrified.

Overall, taking both stories and tape quality into account, I rate this set as four Smith's Nut Brown Ales out of five!

5.0 out of 5 stars I have a complete collection of Morse's Movies, November 5, 2009

By 

chfancier "chfancier of fine movies" (Brookings SD) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Inspector Morse (Collection Set 1) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

All of these movies are well written and good movie watching
lovely scenery in England. John thaw and Kevin Wheatly were excellent actors
would recommend all of Morse's movies to be bought and watched
chfancier