Brother Cadfael, Set 3 (The Rose Rent, A Morbid Taste for Bones, The Raven in the Foregate)

Customer Reviews:

Beautifully Filmed, Superb Acting.......2007-08-10

I've loved and admired Derek Jacobi as an actor since his terrific turn as Claudius in "I Claudius." In the Cadfael series, Jacobi is Brother Cadfael, a smart Welsh priest in Medieval times. He's also a healer and sleuth with a mysterious past. In "A Morbid Taste for Bones," which is one of my favorites, a delusional Brother has visions and is simply a nutcase. However this is the days of old so the visions have meaning, especially to a self-serving church that needs money. Based on a wrong interpretation of one of these visions, the priests decide that a young Welsh saint lies uneasy in her grave and set out to dig her up and take her bones to the church. Of course they have ulterior motives because relics such as bones bring the churches favor and money. I don't want to give away any of the great plot, so I'll only state that a murder occurs. Brother Cadfael must bring peace between the Welsh people who have the saint buried in their town and the priests who greedily want her bones removed and taken for their own sake. He must also solve the murder so an innocent is not executed. There are delicious twists to the story and a wonderful ending that has everyone happy......and deceived. Only Brother Cadfael and two others know the truth. This series is so unusual in it's time setting and characters that it is one of a kind. It's also beautifully done. Ellis Peters would be very proud of how they interpreted her books to film.

Brother Cadfael, Set 3.......2004-12-03

The Rose Rent

"We have this moment for good or ill"
The Rose rent is a great mystery and in the course of being solved leads people to evaluate what has worth in life. A young widow must now face the fact that she may have killed her husband and also plan the rest of her life.
I was going to print the quote from the back cover; yet as usual the person who wrote the blurb could not have seen the film or have read the book.
Of course people die and Brother Cadfael uses forensics to determine who the murderer/s are and the motive/s. You get more then sufficient clues on the way.
My favorite quote is in the morning as they are ringing the morning bell; someone asks Cadfael, "Are you awake?" and Cadfael staggering "No. But I am out of bed."
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A Morbid Taste for Bones

"A man may step out of his nature"

A monk has the ability of sight. While he is being bleed he gets a vision. With the help of Jerome he realizes that it is St. Winifred whose body is lost in Wales and wants to be here so people can visit. A retrieval expedition is launched against Cadfael judgment.

This is one of the best Father Cadfaels as it has meaning and story on many levels. True the ending is not exactly the book ending. But the feel is still there. The point that I like best is that the language is common but the cultures as dissimilar.

Although there is no Hugh Beringar (Sean Pertwee), this film contains one of my favorite actors John Hallam who plays the lord Richard. He has been in many popular movies including "4.50 from Paddington" where he gets to play a similar character as Cedric Crackenthorpe.

I leave you with this thought:
"Those that seek to lay hands on St. Winifred are apt to perish."
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The Raven in the Foregate

"Truth and justice are often at odds."

It is said, "All that evil needs to flourish is for good men to nothing." And this film has a few good men that do nothing. So once again it is up to Brother Cadfael to sort out the mystery and if separate mysteries are related. I will not go thought the story blow by blow, as that is part of the intrigue in watching these films.
A part of the back cover paraphrased:
Father Ailnoth, the new parish priest in Shrewsbury, earns the scorn of his entire parishioners. After refusing to absolver a parishioner for carrying an illegitimate child, the priest is found dead in the river. There are plenty of suspects but a shortage of clues.
Too bad back covers are not clear and strait forward however the story is more complex and the acting is superior.

wonderful clean and interesting.......2004-11-30

We now have all of the Cadfael movies and have watched them in order, love them, and our youngest daughter has been bitten by the mystery bug. Good clean movies with a wonderful twist to them, something the whole family can watch. Very entertaining.

It keeps getting better.......2004-01-27

When I viewed the first set in this series I was drawn in by the wonderful acting, sets, costumes, music, and more. I immediately ordered the rest the sets and the third set showed up before the second. I couldn't wait to watch it and so I watched it out of order. It really doesn't matter I think what order you watch them in other than some of the background, whose King, politics, etc. might be clearer if watched in order.

Be sure to read the review "Successful TV dramatization and the role of Sir Derek's life" by themis_athena from Santa Monica, CA, USA. An excellent review and I dare anyone would have a hard time doing better. My only additional comment is I like Sheriff Hugh Beringar in the first series a little better. Eoin McCarthy in this series does not have quite the depth of Sean Pertwee.

This set includes the standard extras found in this series. Quite honestly these sets are a bargain for this price.

Great adaptations of a fun series.......2003-01-28

You can enjoy these Cadfael videos if you have not read the books, but if you are already a fan of the series they are even better.

Customer Reviews:

Beautifully Filmed, Superb Acting.......2007-08-10

Brother Cadfael, Set 3.......2004-12-03

wonderful clean and interesting.......2004-11-30

It keeps getting better.......2004-01-27

This set includes the standard extras found in this series. Quite honestly these sets are a bargain for this price.

Great adaptations of a fun series.......2003-01-28

You can enjoy these Cadfael videos if you have not read the books, but if you are already a fan of the series they are even better.

Amazon.com

Political passions ran high in 12th-century England, and the Church was often caught in the middle of the feud between King Stephen and Empress Maud. This feud takes its toll in Shrewsbury upon the appointment of a new priest whose political sympathies outweigh his human compassion. With unrequited love and farmland dispossession adding to the local turmoil, the long list of people who wanted to see Father Ailnoth dead keeps both the sheriff and Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) busy for days. As with all episodes in this medieval mystery series, the writing, acting, and production values are of the highest quality, re-creating the 12th century's grand and small passions in rich detail while viewers try to puzzle out who done it.

DVD extras include an audio interview with Derek Jacobi in which he shares his thoughts on Cadfael's faith and sense of guilt, an Ellis Peters biography and book list, and a production scrapbook of behind-the-scenes stills. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

Customer Reviews:

"Truth and justice are often at odds.".......2004-12-25

It is said, "All that evil needs to flourish is for good men to nothing." And this film has a few good men that do nothing. So once again it is up to Brother Cadfael to sort out the mystery and if separate mysteries are related. I will not go thought the story blow by blow, as that is part of the intrigue in watching these films.

Shrewsbury needs a new priest. Due to the civil war between Empress Maud and King Stephen 12th-century England the priest is picked for his political leanings.
A local girl is having an illegitimate child and asks Cadfael for confession. Cadfael explains only a priest can do that.
Father Ailnoth, the new parish priest to Shrewsbury, earns the scorn of his parishioners. After refusing to absolver a parishioner for carrying an illegitimate child; later the priest is found dead in the river. There are plenty of suspects but a shortage of clues.

A fine production.......2002-12-01

As is usually the case with Cadfael stories, it is useful to read the novel in addition to seeing the DVD. The reason is simple enough: it is impossible to reduce a 228-page book to a 75-minute drama without sacrificing details. In particular, the novel gives a great deal of political background information which explains the motivations behind the behavior of the principal characters.

First the background: "The Raven in the Foregate" is the 12th Cadfael novel, by Ellis Peters, published in 1986. It is set in England in December of 1141, in the middle of a fratricidal civil war between King Stephen and his cousin, the Empress Maud. During the previous summer it seemed that she had won the war: Stephen was in prison, Maud and her followers were in London, and Stephen's brother, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, had sworn his allegiance to her.

But Maud proved to be impossible to deal with, the Londoners revolted, and through a hostage exchange King Stephen won his freedom anew and retook London.

As the novel begins, Stephen's brother has no choice but to switch his allegiance once again, calling a legatine council to make sure that the clergy are all on the same page, and excommunicating the followers of Maud.

Among the attendees is Abbot Radulfus of Shrewsbury. When he returns to his monastery, he has with him a cleric named Father Ailnoth, who is to become the new parish priest for the people of the Foregate. Shortly thereafter, the King calls all of the sheriffs to him for the Christmas feast. There Hugh Beringar is appointed the new sheriff of Shropshire, to replace Gilbert Prestcote, who died in the spring.

Father Ailnoth proves to be a disastrous choice for a parish priest. His predecessor, Father Adam, was a kindly man, much loved, ready to forgive the penitent. Not so Ailnoth. He is a harsh and rigid man, strictly by the book, and quickly begins to make enemies. Before long he is dead, and Brother Cadfael, a Crusader turned monk, locally renowned for his ability to solve mysteries, has to figure out how and why. As usual, Hugh Beringar, his friend, serves as a partner in the investigation.

One immediately obvious difference between the book and the DVD is the season: the DVD takes place in the summer of 1141, not the winter, while Hugh is still under-sheriff. This change of season subtly alters the mood of the story, but does no harm to the drama.

The producers take other liberties with the plot and the characters. In the DVD, there is actually a second key mystery, intertwined with the first. This involves a young woman named Elenor, pregnant out of wedlock, who apparently commits suicide because of Ailnoth's harshness. Cadfael agonizes over how he could have saved her from despair and death, and his obvious sense of guilt causes others to question his judgment as he strives to link the two deaths. Who is the father of the unborn child? This plays a key role as well. In the book, on the other hand, the girl's name is Eluned; her suicide is purely incidental, yet one more reason for the townsfolk to loathe their new priest.

A common theme in Cadfael novels is budding romances between young people, and "Raven" is no different. Here again, extra wrinkles are added in the DVD, introducing a blind girl, Catherine, Elenor's sister, who is completely absent from the book.

Another added DVD character is Lord Cassale, the southern nobleman who is in search of an agent of the Empress Maud, believed to be hiding in Shropshire as he quietly contacts former Maud supporters. Cassale quickly butts heads with both the abbot and Hugh Beringar, whom he contemptuously calls "Under-Sheriff" every chance he can. In the book, Cassale is absent and Hugh himself is tasked with finding the agent. Naturally, this mysterious young man plays a central role in the story's plot.

The acting is excellent. As always, Sir Derek Jacobi plays Cadfael very convincingly. And then there is Peter Guinness, who plays Father Ailnoth, a dark, malevolent man with a skull-like head, billowing black robes and a heavy, ebony staff which he is all too ready to swing at those hapless enough to get in his way. He gives his hellfire-and-damnation sermons with obvious relish, as if longing to witness the flames of eternal torment for himself, from a bird's-eye view. When evicting some poor peasants whom Father Adam had allowed to till Church land, they protest that their children will starve, and he suggests that they should not have had so many. He very much resembles a raven, the traditional harbinger of doom. He represents everything that history records was wrong about the Medieval Church, with its endless meddling in politics and its heartless disregard for the welfare of the common folk.

In summary, "The Raven in the Foregate" should prove a worthy addition to any DVD library. It can stand on its own, even without the book.

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