Product Description

Includes the following films: Unnatural Causes, Original Sin, Cover Her Face, Shroud for a Nightingale, The Black Tower, Death of An Expert Witness, A Taste For Death

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #115406 in DVD
• Released on: 2003-11-11
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 12
• Running time: 1680 minutes

Customer Reviews

A nice collection - but not complete
This collection provides a good illustration of the way British TV drama has changed over the years. The first five mysteries (Death of an Expert Witness, Shroud for a Nightingale, Cover Her Face, The Black Tower & A Taste for Death) each comprise of six 45-minute episodes although the episodes are sadly joined together in these DVD presentations.

These serials were made between 1983 - 1988 and were shot fairly cheaply, on videotape as opposed to film, which was quite uncommon at the time. As a result, they appear a little cheap, but the upside was that books could be dramatized in a more drawn-out fashion and the characterisation (one of James' great strengths) could be fully brought out on screen.

The last three adaptations (Unnatural Causes, A Mind to Murder & Original Sin) were made between 1992 - 1996 and were shot on film as opposed to video tape. As a result these later adventures look much more modern and slick. However the additional expense of making these films mean they are much shorter and there is very little by way of characterisation compared to the earlier stories.

These film 2-hour dramas are the norm now, for British detective shows - as I say it is an interesting barometer of the way that TV drama has changed in the UK over the years.

The Black Tower is excellent and certainly my favourite of the earlier adventures. Art Malik and under-rated actors John Franklyn-Robbins & Richard Heffer excel in their guest roles.

Original Sin fares the best of the later adaptations, being slightly longer than the other two (145 mins as opposed to 100) and directed very nicely.

The major disappointment with this set is that it's not "the complete works". The last of the six-part adventures, Devices & Desires (shown in early 1991 in the UK) is absent from this collection, which is a real shame since it is excellent and the only one of the earlier serials to rival The Black Tower in my view.

The final PD James mystery starring Roy Marsden, A Certain Justice (made around 1998), is also missing from this collection for some reason.

DVD extras are unfortunately minimal. Picture quality is good, given the limitations of the source material.

PD James collection
This collection provides a good illustration of the way British TV drama has changed over the years. The first five mysteries (Death of an Expert Witness, Shroud for a Nightingale, Cover Her Face, The Black Tower & A Taste for Death) each comprise of six 45-minute episodes although the episodes are sadly joined together in these DVD presentations.

These serials were made between 1983 - 1988 and were shot fairly cheaply, on videotape as opposed to film, which was quite uncommon at the time. As a result, they appear a little cheap, but the upside was that books could be dramatized in a more drawn-out fashion and the characterisation (one of James' great strengths) could be fully brought out on screen.

The last three adaptations (Unnatural Causes, A Mind to Murder & Original Sin) were made between 1992 - 1996 and were shot on film as opposed to video tape. As a result these later adventures look much more modern and slick. However the additional expense of making these films mean they are much shorter and there is very little by way of characterisation compared to the earlier stories. As I say it is an interesting barometer of the way that TV drama has changed in the UK over the years.

The Black Tower is excellent and certainly my favourite of the earlier adventures. Art Malik and under-rated actors John Franklyn-Robbins & Richard Heffer excel in their guest roles.

Original Sin fares the best of the later adaptations, being slightly longer than the other two (145 mins as opposed to 100) and directed very nicely.

The major disappointment with this set is that it's not "the complete works". The last of the six-part adventures, Devices & Desires (shown in early 1991 in the UK) is absent from this collection, which is a real shame since it is excellent and the only one of the earlier serials to rival The Black Tower in my view.

The final PD James mystery starring Roy Marsden, A Certain Justice (made around 1998), is also missing from this collection for some reason.

DVD extras are unfortunately minimal. Picture quality is good, given the limitations of the source material.

problems, but the collection is worth the price
As another reviewer noted, the collection is defective, with the last disk of "Death of an Expert Witness" wrongly recorded. However, "Original Sin" is present and correct in my set. Having said this, and assuming this is a defect common to every copy of the The Essential Collection, the balance of the programs are excellent and remind us how effectively P.D. James' writing transfers to the small screen, and how well Roy Marsden plays Adam Dalgliesh, surely one of the more complex and interesting characters in english detective fiction. All of the characterizations are excellent, with England's endless collection of character actors called in to do wonderful duty peopling these stories.

It would certainly be helpful if Amazon could figure out how to deliver a correctly-recorded version of "Death of an Expert Witness" and someone's quality control is clearly out of whack. However, the collection is well worth its price even if defective, and (worst case) you can buy "Death of an expert witness" separately.

Now why the producers chose to replace Marsden in "Death in Holy Orders" (not included in this set) is a mystery in itself but his replacement does do an adequate if not exceptional job.