Cheap P.D. James - The Essential Collection (DVD) Price

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Customer Reviews of P.D. James - The Essential Collection

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. <
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>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. <
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>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. <
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>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. <
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>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. <
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>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. <
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>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. <
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>The final PD James mystery starring Roy Marsden, A Certain Justice (made around 1998), is also missing from this collection for some reason. <
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>DVD extras are unfortunately minimal. Picture quality is good, given the limitations of the source material.

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Essentially Dalgleish
"The Essential Collection" is faithful to P. D. James with Marsden portraying Dalgleish in his inimitable style. My only objection is the length of several of the films--too long to be viewed in one sitting and with no helpful precis at the beginning of the second and third disks.

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Great series- one bad dvd
Roy Marsden is Dalgliesh! Great series, but one dvd is a copy of another one. So you don't get to see the 2nd half of the first story. Amazon was great and shipped a 2nd set, but it had the same problems. Guess I'll try again in a few months.