Product Details

• Actors: John Thaw, Kevin Whately, Colin Dexter, James Grout, Peter Woodthorpe
• 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: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6304041918
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #326,354 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing. Suspenseful. Twisting. Vengeful., July 10, 2005

By 

Jeffrey E Ellis (Naperville, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Inspector Morse - The Day of the Devil (DVD)

In "The Day of the Devil" we find our self-assured bachelor, Inspector Morse, confronted with a serial rapist and murderer who escapes the mental hospital. To make matters worse, this criminal is also a master of disguise, resourceful, and deadly. After abducting an innocent housewife, he begins to make his demands on the police and Inspector Morse.

Morse's sleuthing is consistently frustrated by the murderer who remains one step ahead of him at every turn. But as he and Lewis methodically follow the trail of evidence and build their case, another set of facts and relationships begin to emerge. There are accomplices and help from unexpected sources.

The writers dismiss the issues of devil-worship and the occult as they toy with the theme in this episode. The mysterious quickly gives way to the ridiculous and for an uncharacteristic moment, the plot becomes sloppy and poorly written.

All in all, though, this is an interesting episode in an engaging series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Retribution, January 6, 2007

By 

William J. Thor (Vero Beach) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inspector Morse - The Day of the Devil [VHS] (VHS Tape)

An episode that hits the ground running - wire to wire action; and because the action is non stop there really isn't time for the personal Morse and his idiosyncrasies, which is disappointing, but then again this is a very different Morse than we usually get and we can appreciate the change of pace because the story is so well done. Excellent turns by James Grout (Superintendent Strange,) and J. Richard Griffiths (Cannon Appleton.) This is a thriller with two big twists, both saved for the closing scenes, and they do twist and surprise. A first rate Morse entry.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To the Devil a Daughter, May 30, 2008

By 

Junglies (Morrisville, NC United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Inspector Morse - The Day of the Devil (DVD)

One of my favourites of all of the Morse series, this is more of a treatise on the relationship of men to women as opposed to the superficial concerns with satanic worship which permeate the plot.

All of the usual attributes of a good Morse yarn are here for viwers to enjoy, the calm piecing together of the disparate clues and evidence, the thought that looks into motive and intent and the characteristically typical Oxford outlook for our Chief Inspector.

The villain at the centre of attention is a clever serial rapist who is a Satanist, and his escapee from a high security medical facility. At the other end of the spectrum is a timid female psychologist who is overlooked by any of the male company she happens to be in and a female police officer who befriends her, a woman with strong feminist views and who is a tower of strngth in an emergency.

As the plot unfolds we are given an insight into Morse's own romanticised views of women and his apparent perception of them as the weaker sex, although I do feel that there is a much more complex side to this which is oft overlooked.

As the mystery unfolds, the satanic aspects recede into the background and the vengeful determinism of a strong female persona is thrown very much into the fore.

A very clever and thoughtful episode which casts a great deal of doubt upon the simplistic views of men as strong and women as weak stereotypes which continue to dominate in many societies. Including this one.