Customer Reviews

P.D. James - Death of an Expert Witness

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1 star:		(1)

 

 

Death of an Expert Witness was, I believe, the first Adam Dalgliesh book adapted for television. The novel, which appeared in 1976, made James famous in Great Britain and well known in the U.S. There are good reasons why this one, of them all, should have had such success: the brooding atmosphere of the Lab and the Fen country; the plot, complex but not ridiculously so; the essential care and fairness towards each character. Later mysteries often feature extended social statements and preaching by James, with Dalgliesh acting like the Angel of Judgment. This shows an earlier, more empathetic side of both author and detective. For those of you familiar with more recent P.D. James mysteries, this one bears some resemblance to "Devices and Desires", which I think of as a companion story. Please note that the editorial review contains a spoiler, so don't go back and reread it!

Now to the DVD-- At 295 minutes it is leisurely enough to do justice to the book. It features a rather long set up- it is nearly an hour and a quarter before murder strikes- but it rewards the wait. Filmed in 1983, it is sufficiently old that I have never seen it on American television. The video techniques are a bit more primitive than today's, but I was pleasantly surprised, after reading the editorial review above, at how good everything looked. The strong lighting and pale features of the cast tend to make all the characters look blotchy and not quite well-- but that's how people can look in real life as well. The performances are good. The success of this video led to all the subsequent Adam Dalgliesh mysteries, and one can see why.
The combination of length and age mean that you are unlikely to find "Death of an Expert Witness" on television, or at the library, or at your local vidoe rental. This makes it a perfect dvd for you to buy, own, and view at your leisure. It can, of course, be purchased as part of an omnibus set including many, but not all, of the other P.D. James mysteries. One caveat: the back of the dvd case simply fell apart the day after I received it and is now held together with rubber bands. Be very gentle!

If this is the 1st ITV PD James adaptation that you see, keep in mind that it is a bit slower, a bit more 1980s-ish, a bit more choppy and the acting (excepting Marsden) a bit more caricature-ish than many of the others. So don't decide the Dagliesh series isn't for you just based on seeing this one. "Death of an Expert Witness" IS a great story and this does a good job with the story, but it definitely feels low budget relative to others.

My favorites among the other adaptations include "Shroud for a Nightengale" and "A Taste for Death" both of which include a bit faster pacing and some excellent acting by supporting cast members.

It may just be me, but I found this excrutiatingly slow and very poorly directed. The plot is fine and the casting superb, but there is a low-budget feel to the direction that taints the overall effort. Dalgleish is investigating the murder of a forensics expert in a country-house lab. The interminable opening establishes that everyone in the cast is a plausible suspect. The cast includes such excellent actors as Brenda Blethyn and Barry Foster and Geoffrey Palmer plays the victim (who, by all accounts, deserved what he got). It all sounds good enough, but the lighting and the sound are wretched. In one crucial 'confession' scene, where lip and eye movement are essential, the characters are shot at a vast distance across a graveyard. When we finally come in and can actually see their faces, the laconic, pensive Dalgleish has turned away from the man to whom he is speaking. I get it that Dalgleish is a poet who has recently lost his wife, but he is also an investigator working amid a high body count situation. As others have noted, the result of the direction (and especially the fact that this is shot on tape, not film) is an appearance of utter amateurism on the part of gifted actors. At times the show looks like high school dramatics or small-town dinner theatre. That is a pity, given the quality of the novel on which the story is based. For me, this is a rental only.

because the script is compact and keeps you guessing to the very end. Because the perfomances are top notch: notably, Brenda Blethyn, who has gained such success in recent years, Barry Foster, Geoffrey Palmer, and last but not least, Roy Marsden as Cmdr. Adam Dalgliesh. His is a taut and focused performance,and we even get a glimpse of Dalgliesh as a married man, albeit too briefly, as his wife and what appears to be his unborn child die suddenly. While not fully explained in this version, the reason for their deaths is well noted in other Dalgliesh novels and productions.

We have here a government scientific operation. And the setting takes place in the countryside. We have an initial murder, not related to the major case, which brings Dalgliesh briefly to the area. He must return when a major figure at the government house meets his demise. The intricacies of plot begin here, and the characters are more fully developed than in most mysteries, giving the viewer a rather in-depth look into their various relationships, all of which are interesting.

If one is a Dalgliesh fan, Death of an Expert Witness should satisfy. It certainly kept me on the edge of my seat, as well as Marsden's crisp and terse performance.

This series of six episodes is probably better than many other detective series but not quite up to the later Dalgliesh mysteries. It does start with a slower pace but picks up momentum later on.

The characters are well developed and one is given the opportunity to develop opinions of many of them; liking some and disliking others. For those who enjoy a greater emphasis on character development and the interaction of the characters through dialog this series provides abundant opportunity for that sort of thing. P. D. James does a good job in this regard and the video episode provides plenty of opportunity for character development.

The resolution of the mystery is somewhat abrupt in my opinion but the confession of the culprit explains all. If you are a devoted fan of Adam Dalgliesh you'll probably want a copy of this one; if not you may want to view it before buying.

First off-I'm a great fan of British detective stories. While this is not the "best"--it is a good story and despite it's length-nearly 5 hours--it remains interesting. Roy Marsden portrays Scotland Yard's Adam Dalgliesh-a rather droll investigator-not quite as likeable as John Nettles portrayal of Inspector Barnaby in Midsomer Murders but more pleasant than John Thaw's "Inspector Morse"-and this story involves his investigation into the murder of a Laboratory supervisor--that nearly everyone has reason to dislike and possibly wish dead. His unpopularity alone makes nearly everyone suspect--and at various times almost everyone seems like the likely killer.
I recommend this dvd strongly--although considering the cost-I would recommend "The Essential P. D. James" instead--this is a 12 disc set that contains all 7 of the Dalgliesh storys-and costs roughly the equivelant of two of the longer storys bought individually

Roy Marsden as Inspector Dalgliesh is absolutely wonderful. He is quiet and reserved and a force to be reckoned for any criminal he encounters. These are very cagey mysteries so one must pay attention - but that is not too difficult as they are much too interesting to look away from. I have all of this series and they are all marvelous entertainment. Some of them run a bit long, so be prepared to sit a while - it will be worth it.

Low budget, bad camerawork, bad acting, rotton production all around. I'm sure the story is terrific but the show is just so awful that you have a hard time getting past all the flaws. Someone else said this one was the worst produced one adn the rest are better; well they'd have to be! Really, only get this is you've alreay seen other examples because this one is enough to put you off the series for life.

Chief Superintendent Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard is my all time favorite tv detective. The video looks dated, but the stories are great. These mysteries keep you guessing untill the last minute. You better hit the pause key if you leave the room for a minute or ypu'll miss a vital clue... they are very subtle (Unlike some modern mysteries that give you everything in the first few minutes of the show) Watch more than one epesode and you will be hooked.

James hatsis

James1@OconeeAirService.com

While not among the most popular, the best written or the best television production of the works of P.D. James, it is a gripping drama with a good assortment of distinctive characters played with a certain theatrical quality (save for hero, Dalgleish and his assistant). As played by Roy Marsden, the enduring lead, the Inspector is played as a rather arrogant, essentially decent, very much policeman-like, person on the young side, still a bit callow and enigmatic. He is less likable, certainly, than he became later in the series. The plot centers on the murder of a quite unpleasant division director at a Forensics science lab. Nearly everyone has some reason to dislike him, more than a few have reason to hate and/or fear him. Along the way to finding the solution, the Inspector runs into a daytime soap opera full of characters whose peculiarities must be understood and utilized. There are certainly production weaknesses, some overacting by the "characters", and some plot lines which end dangling in air. These matter little since the drama and mystery never slacken in drawing the viewer (at least this viewer) along to the surprise ending. I think many people will find it worth the viewing.
I should mention that to my hearing, at least, there were frequent moments of indistinct speech. To what extent the cause was soundtrack technicalities, English dialects. or rapid garbled speech, I cannot say nor can I accurately judge to what extent American viewers will share the difficulty. Overall, I was able to follow the plot pretty well but there may have been essential points that I could not manage.