Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #83519 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-06-27
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 75 minutes

Amazon.com
The first Brother Cadfael mystery to be released on DVD, The Virgin in the Ice captures all of the elements that make these adaptations of Ellis Peters's novels a perennial PBS favorite. The performances and sets bring 12th-century England to vivid life (although the series was actually filmed in Hungary). Derek Jacobi portrays Cadfael with a quiet authority and just the right edge of world-weariness one would expect from a Crusader turned monk. His search for two missing children and for the band of outlaws who brutally beat one of his fellow monks turns up intrigues and surprise twists that make this episode a captivating human drama as well as an expertly crafted mystery. From frictions within Shrewsbury Abbey to the ongoing war between Queen Maud and King Stephen, The Virgin in the Ice plunges viewers fully into Cadfael's world and all of its unexpected joys and perils.

The DVD includes several minutes of audio comments by Derek Jacobi about taking on the role and the appeal of Cadfael. Other special features include biographical information about Ellis Peters (a pseudonym for Edith Pargeter), a production scrapbook of behind-the-scenes photos, and English captions for the hearing-impaired. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

From the Back Cover
Twelfth century Shrewsbury comes dramatically to life in Ellis Peters' bestselling story of Brother Cadfael - a good man in an evil world. In one of his most celebrated roles ever, Sir Derek Jacobi plays the shrewd and intuitive medieval monk who turns to his knowledge of medicine and nature to clear the name of a much-loved novice and discover the truth behind the death of a young woman found frozen at the bottom of a brook. In unraveling this haunting mystery, Cadfael begins to understand that his days as a man of the world aren't so easily left in the past. DVD SPECIAL FEATURES AND EXTRAS INCLUDE exclusive audio comments by Derek Jacobi, Ellis Peters biography and booklist, production scrapbook, closed captions, filmographies and scene index.

Customer Reviews

One of Cadfael's best cases...
Do you like BBC dramatizations with fine actors such as Derek Jacobi (I, Claudius) and Alan Rickman (Sense and Sensibility)? Do you like first class mystery stories you can watch over and over because the plots are complicated and you miss some of the detail the first or second time you see the film? Do you like romance and action set in the Middle Ages? Are you fascinated with daily life in a monastery and the fine art of healing with herbs and remedies learned by an ex-Crusader now turned healing monk?

The time is the mid-1100s. Queen Maude and King Stephen, first cousins who each claim the throne of England, have divided the land in Civil War. "The Virgin in the Ice" is set in the town of Shrewsbury England, near the border with Wales. Brother Cadfael (Jacobi) is an ex-Crusader, who in his old age has become a member of the Abby of Saints Peter and Paul. When he was as a Crusader, Cadfael acquired the knowledge healing from Miriam, a woman he knew in the Holy Land (and the Biblical sense). He ministers to the monks at the abbey, the town folks, and any others who may need his services.

One bleak mid-winter night, Cadfael's young assistant is found half frozen on a road near the abbey. He has been badly beaten and is semicomotose from a skull fracture. Cadfael nurses him back from death's door. Meanwhile, Brother Jerome, the abbey "snitch" and troublemaker overhears Cadfael's assistant ranting about a woman. Brother Jerome jumps to the conclusion the young man has done something very bad. The young monk had been in the company of a young noble woman and her tutor a young nun when last seen. Now he has been found alone. What could possibly have happened?

Cadfael, being a careful and sensible monk does not jump to conclusions. He goes in search of clues. In the process of tracking footprints in the snow, and other traces of the party of travelers, Cadfael stumbles on a young boy who says he was overrun by brigands and separated from his sister and her tutor. Cadfael discovers the boy is the son of a nobleman loyal to Queen Maude's side of the civil dispute. En route back to the abbey, while crossing a stream, Cadfael spots a face peering up at him from the frozen water--a virgin in the ice.

The rest of the story Cadfael tries to determine what happened. How did the young woman die? Who killed her? Where is the sister and where is the nun? Was the party attacked by King Stephen's loyalists? Was it attacked by a rebel band of ex-Crusaders who have become thieves and highwaymen? Did the young monk attack the women? How does the young nobelwoman's fiance figure into the equasion. And then, there's the mysterious young man with an olive complexion who was clearly a Crusader, and has orders to bring the young man and woman to a preselected destination south of Shrewsbury.

"The Virgin in the Ice" was one of the best of the dramatizations of one of the best of Ellis Peters 20 volume series on Cadfael.

One of the better entries
Brother cadfael, 12th ecntury benedictine monk and herbalist of the abbey of St Peterand St Paul, of Shrewsbury has been transformed into life by Sir Derek jacobi,and in a way, has become his as much as his creators,Ellis Peters. In this entry,the civil war raging between King Stephen and Empress Maud[never far from any of the 20 stories]is raging on...It opens with Brother oswin,cadfaels clumsly,sweet novice wandering about in a snowstorm,then coming uopn a gropup of badints, and being beaten and stabbed and left for dead. A missing pair of teens,their teacher{a nun}, a lord,some wayward crusaders,another crusader and our intrepid slueth are intertwined very well. The scene of the frozen corpse being melted by candle while gregorian chant in sung is very well done,though much of the snowfall looks like soap flakes. The acting is first rate. Jacobi has done, to the same degree with a lesser literary figure, what the late Sir Alec Guiness did with John Le Carre's Geroge Smiley: made him so much his own it is difficult to distinguish between the two.There are a couple of surprises here, a twist at the end,and a satisfying conclusion to this chapter. The video is not vey well filmed at least my dvd was poorly shot. I do not think it was the transfer,I think it was the quality of the original recording. I have vhs copies of this series that are much better productions. Also, there are no special features worth talking about. So to sum up, nice storyline, superb acting from Jacobi,interesting moments,poor quality recording.

Excellent viewing for mystery fans
I love the Brother Cadfael mysteries - I watched them on TV quite a few times and when the DVDs became available I ordered them immediately. Brother Cadfael is a Benedictine monk living during the war-torn years of the middle ages. Stationed in England but of Welsh descent, he was a crusader during his middle years and therefore has knowledge of both the outer world as well as the church life.

This episode shows that life 'back then' wasn't always quiet and peaceful. Two children are lost, nuns are violated and killed, ransom and murder are the items of the day. Even with these rough acts going on, men and women find ways to show compassion and love.

It is one of the earlier episodes, with the set and costumes being perhaps a bit sparklier than they need to be, but the acting is fantastic and the plot great as well. The atmosphere is also wonderful.

This is one of my favorite episodes because of a sub-plot with the mysterious crusader who helps find the children - quite special. There are many weavings going on in this story, and the tapestry they create is truly beautiful.