Product Details

• Actors: Michael Gambon
• Format: Box set, Color, Content/Copy-Protected CD, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 4
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: KOCH VISION
• DVD Release Date: July 12, 2005
• Run Time: 646 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (21 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B0009IWFDI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #43,215 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

One of the bestselling authors of all time, Georges Simenon is most famous for his more than 100 novels and short stories featuring Chief Inspector Maigret of the Paris police. Concerned more with "why" than "who," Maigret’s profound perception of the realities of human behavior and extraordinary psychological insight make him one of fiction’s most interesting and unique sleuths.

Michael Gambon brings the timeless, tantalizing exploits of Georges Simenon’s legendary detective to life in twelve episodes of mystery and intrigue. From Montmartre to the remote French countryside, Maigret encounters the dark side of the human psyche. Yet he manages to maintain both compassion and a sense of humor as he explores the complex motives that lie behind every crime.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

65 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars OK, so the prints AREN'T perfect . . ., December 12, 2003

By 

Matthew Patton (Deltona, Florida) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Maigret Collection (DVD)

It would be great if the due care had been taken and these episodes of the MAIGRET series had been lovingly restored the way many bad movies are now routinely. But at least these shows are on DVD and we can again enjoy the gripping and often deeply moving stories and be reminded again what a wonderful actor Michael Gambon is. He is one of the few actors to play a detective who projects the intelligence that his character is supposed to have, and buttresses it with wit and humanity to spare. And he is often brilliantly supported by both the series regulars and a great selection of guest stars (think only of Frances Cuka as the desperate and embittered niece of a murder victim in "Maigret and the Mad-Woman" or Christopher Benjamin as the troubled husband of a missing woman in "Maigret and The Burglar's Wife" and you'll get the idea). And unlike many period films or TV shows, this one recreates the frayed edges and hum-drum details of life as it was lived 50 years ago, which gives the shows a comfortable, lived-in quality that adds to their appeal. And yes, someday, someone will hopefully restore the prints to their original condition. I mean, they've probably done it for movies by Russ Meyer--doesn't something this good deserve deluxe treatment?

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Superb Series, December 16, 2002

By 

Michael Olson (Victoria, British Columbia Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Maigret Collection (DVD)

The Maigret DVD Collection will be a welcome library addition for those mystery fans who prefer complexity over activity, deliberation over impulse and atmosphere over everything else.

The 12 episodes that appear on four discs were produced by Granada Television and originally aired in Britiain over two seasons in 1992 and 1993. They were shown on PBS in the United States, and later on some public television stations in Canada. Adapted from the novels of Belgian-born writer Georges Simenon (who moved to Paris as a young man), the series effortlessly blends Maigret's intuitive detection style with a sympathetic and very Gallic view of the seedy denizens of the Parisian demi-monde. The Inspector is ably assisted throughout by the same three loyal colleagues, and is frequently chided by his nemesis, the Examining Magistrate.

In this superb series, Granada Television's meticulous production values are combined with consistently brilliant direction to yield 12 television episodes of unusual quality. There's not a dud among them. In each case, the crime unravels at a leisurely pace against a densely textured backdrop of Parisian or rural French daily life. Except that those familiar with this series will know that all of the lovingly photographed boulevards, sinister night streets and bustling sidewalk cafes were not filmed in France at all, but in Hungary. Nonetheless, it all looks agreeably French and faithful to the period setting of the novels.

The principal casting is English of course, with Michael Gambon a standout as the droll and humane Inspector Jules Maigret. Supporting him are a roster of some of the best of British film actors, with exceptional turns by Edward Petherbridge, Peter Barkworth, Tony Doyle and Jon Finch, and capped with a startling performance by Susie Lindeman in the series' final episode, Maigret and the Maid. Highly recommended.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent production in a fair quality DVD, August 2, 2003

By 

"levleao" (Sao Paulo, SP Brazil) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Maigret Collection (DVD)

This is an excellent british series on Inspector Maigret - excellent episodes and actors. I also enjoyed the french production - with Bruno Cramer playing the role of Maigret.
Both series are excellent and will delight Maigret (Simenon's) fans.
My point: this series deserves a MUCH BETTER presentation on DVD. Quality is fair, far below my expectations (seems we are not watching a DVD...), and subtitles are missing; at least closed caption avaliability. This makes a big difference for people from abroad, like me - and english subtitles, IMHO, is the minimum I would be expecting from an excellent DVD set like this one.