Sally Lockhart Mysteries - Ruby In the Smoke (Masterpiece Theatre)
by Brian Percival
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Actor: Billie Piper; Matt Smith (XXXII); Sian Thomas; Kay Lyon; Robert Putt; Trevor Cooper; Robert Glenister; Dominic Coleman; Miles Anderson; Tilly Vosburgh; Chloe Walker (II); Julie Walters; JJ Feild; Ramon Tikaram; Matthew Cureton; Tom Davey; Don Gilet; David Harewood; Kevin Harvey (III); Jason Chan (II)Director: Brian Percival
Brand: WGBH BOSTON VIDEO
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language)
Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 86 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-04-24
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: WGBH BOSTON
DVD Reviews of Sally Lockhart Mysteries - Ruby In the Smoke (Masterpiece Theatre)
DVD Review: saw part on TV and had to have it
Summary: 5 Stars
we saw part of this on TV and had to have it. Part of a series based on three books. Hoping they will do the third one soonDVD Review: Introducing the Victorian Nancy Drew.
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Ruby in the Smoke" is adapted from the first book in "The Sally Lockhart Mysteries" series, written by Philip Pullman in the 1980s and 1990s to recall the style of Victorian penny dreadfuls. Indeed, as a I watched this film, I wondered if it had been written at the time it takes place, the 1870s. With its intrepid but pure young heroine, handsome men always quick to help her, opium dens, Dickensonian children, haggish villainess, and an improbable and labyrinthine plot in which key action is not always depicted, this story has the hallmarks of hacks and cheap Victorian melodrama. Maybe there is a little modernization: I doubt that Victorians would have jumped to hire a teenaged female accountant -because she is a woman, whereas now she would be dismissed for being young.
"The Sally Lockhart Mysteries" take themselves seriously enough that they don't fall headlong into camp. Even if nothing is quite believable, it is at least plausible in principle. I'm not sure who the audience is for a Victorian shilling-shocker these days -older children or adults- but these are good fun if the audience doesn't try to make anything more of them. Sally Lockhart is a woman in her late teens with little in the world to her name since her father died. Having been a shipping agent and minor adventurer, Captain Lockhart imparted to his daughter three skills: he taught her how to shoot a pistol, how to speak Hindustani, and how to keep accounts. Now the young lady is adrift in London with this odd combination of talents, with which she must make a life for herself.
"The Ruby in the Smoke" finds Sally (Billie Piper) mourning the loss of her father at sea. She receives a cryptic note about which she consults her father's business associate, who proves less than helpful, as he promptly dies. But an assistant at the Lockhart & Shelby shipping firm, Jim Taylor (Matt Smith), has overheard her conversation and pledges to help Sally solve the mystery. A Major Marchbanks (Miles Anderson) gives Sally a diary containing the story of how he acquired the brilliant Ruby of Agrapur years before and a riddle to where it is hidden now. But, before dying himself, he warns Sally that a ruthless woman named Mrs. Holland (Julie Waters) will be in pursuit. A chance meeting with dashing and kind photographer Frederick Garland (J.J. Feild) brings Sally another much-needed ally.
DVD Review: DVD aspect ratio ???
Summary: 4 Stars
I've seen this on pbs and it was wide screen. Amazon lists this dvd version as 1.33:1. PBS lists it as 4x3 letterbox. Other places list it as just "widescreen" Does anyone have the correct aspect ratio for this release? BTW, excelent movie as far as those masterpiece things go. Much faster pace and not at all boring like others. DVD Review: Ruby & Smoke
Summary: 4 Stars
My wife and I really enjoyed this DVD. The acting is great. The filming is well done too. However, there seemed to be a few disconnects in the story, but we liked it so much overall thst we plan to go back to see what we missed.DVD Review: Mysteries in the Smoke...
Summary: 5 Stars
2007's "Ruby in the Smoke" is a Masterpiece Theater presentation, featuring Billie Piper (Mansfield Park) as a most unusual Victorian-era female detective, in a complex but thrilling period mystery.
As the story opens in London in 1874, young Sally Lockheart is newly orphaned and living with a rather stern aunt. A strange note summons her to the former shipping offices of her father, where one of the surviving partners literally drops dead of fear at a reading of the note. The story is off at a gallop, and manages to pack several interlocking puzzles into a breathless 86 minutes. At the heart of the mystery is a long-lost and fabulous ruby, a prize sought not only by Sallie but by a enigmatic but deadly old woman named Mrs. Holland. Along the way, Sallie will get help from a smitten young photographer (JJ Feild from Northanger Abbey), a street-wise shipping clerk, an actress, a black cleric, and the madame of an opium den. Sallie turns out to have a surprising talent for sleuthing, but the path of her clues winds through several plot twists and some briefly intense action scenes to a fateful confrontation with Mrs. Holland.
"Ruby in the Smoke" was meant to be the set-up episode for a series of stories; in consequence, introducing recurring characters and setting up their collective premise consumes much screentime. Nevertheless, "Ruby" is a well-staged period drama with surprises around every turn, and an ending that will leave the viewer anxious for the next episode. It is very highly recommended as good entertainment for fans of Masterpiece Mystery.
Description of Sally Lockhart Mysteries - Ruby In the Smoke (Masterpiece Theatre)
Fearless young Sally Lockhart (Billie Piper Doctor Who) has a mind for numbers and for sleuthing and in Philip Pullman s trilogy of novels set in Victorian London she is put through the paces of melodrama and mystery. In this vivid adaptation of the first book in the series recently orphaned Sally Lockhart armed with a pearl-handled pistol and her keen mind uncovers the secrets of her father s death aboard the sunken schooner Lavinia discovers hidden cursed jewels and faces England s deadliest villains with bold courage. Sally s friends the street-smart Jim and besotted photographer Frederick (JJ Feild To the Ends of the Earth) help her expose the truth--no matter how dangerous. Sally navigates through the constantly twisting plots with the savvy dexterity of a sharp-eyed detective. System Requirements:Running Time: 90 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre:?MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Age:?7+ UPC:?783421417397 Manufacturer No:?WG41739General DVDs
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