The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Set 1
by Marc Evans; Jim Goddard; Mary McMurray; Alan Grint
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DVD details
Actor: Amanda Redman, Colin Firth, Eleanor David, Jane GurnettDirector: Marc Evans; Jim Goddard; Mary McMurray; Alan Grint
Brand: FIRTH,COLIN
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo
Format: Color, DVD, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 463 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2007-02-20
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: ACORN MEDIA
DVD Reviews of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Set 1
DVD Review: We hated "Vanity Dies Hard"
Summary: 1 Stars
If all of Ruth Rendell mysteries on DVD are so pointless, with no plot except something added at the very end that really did not make sense, we certainly don't plan to waste time watching any others. Not at all the quality of a British murder mystery we have come to expect from others by Acorn Media that we have seen. Thought we would watch one from the library then order the others but glad we didn't waste the money on others. Disappointing. DVD Review: British Mysteries on DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
By all means purchase this DVD. We ordered it and immediately ordered all Ruth Rendell Mysteries. Only wish we could have purchased a complete set rather than buying separate series. Ruth Rendell is a great writer. DVD Review: Rendell Mysteries
Summary: 4 Stars
The Ruth Rendell mysteries on DVD are wonderful. I greatly enjoyed these, as I do most British mysteries. They are well acted, well done, scenery is lovely....they bring the books to life. DVD Review: Strong Suspense from a Mistress of the Genre
Summary: 4 Stars
"The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Series 1," begins the long-awaited release on DVD of the popular British television psychological crime dramas based on the best-selling work of Ruth Rendell, surely one of the queens of current-day suspense/thrillers/mysteries/police procedurals. The series, which was made by the British TV firm Granada for Britain's Independent Television (ITV) debuted in Britain in 1987. It appeared in the United States in syndication on various public broadcasting stations in the late 1990's. The series at hand, a three-volume boxed set, gives us two full-length mysteries, and features Colin Firth in the first of them. They are:
1. "Master of the Moor." Since boyhood, Stephen Whalby (Colin Firth, Mamma Mia! The Movie ; Pride and Prejudice - The Special Edition ) has taken refuge on the village of Vangmoor's wild, windy, spacious moor, a landscape of rocks, heather and bogs, in order to escape trouble at home. But, trouble follows him there in his adulthood, as a series of women turn up brutally murdered. Based upon his intimate knowledge of the landscape, he is naturally the prime suspect. Firth ably carries this full-length thriller.
2. "Vanity Dies Hard." In the town of Salstead, the happy marriage of wealthy, aging heiress Alice Fielding (Eleanor David, The Last Detective: Complete Collection), to a much younger man destroys the heiress's friendship with a local florist, Nesta Drage, whose business fails, and who then disappears. The bride goes looking for her old friend. Also features Peter Egan, (Perfect Spy (3pc) [VHS]) and Leslie Phillips, (Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone ). Full-length.
3. "The Secret House of Death." Susan Townsend (Amanda Redman, Suspicion), a newly divorced single mother and working writer, prefers to remain aloof from the gossipy housewives of her upper-crust suburban subdivision. But when she discovers the bodies of adulterous lovers next door, her quiet life vanishes. About an hour and a half long.
4. "The Double." A shorter production (less than an hour long) and a less powerful one. Lovely, na?ve young Lisa (Camilla Power) believes the old superstition that if a person's double appears, it signals the person's coming death. And suddenly Zoe, her apparent double appears, to make a play for Lisa's boyfriend Peter Milton (Jason Flemyng, Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels ). What's going on, who is Zoe, and can Lisa survive?
The first three episodes are strong, and have staying power. I discover I've held them in passive memory since I saw them on a local PBS station. The last, "The Double," is sadly forgettable. But, finally, it wouldn't be me reviewing this boxed set if I didn't now give you the subtitle report. And, unfortunately there are none, while all of the author's well-bred characters speak softly. So some of us may have to struggle for comprehension. It's worth it though.
DVD Review: Totally pointless
Summary: 2 Stars
"The Double", which is the shortest episode in this set, is completely unsatisfactory. It has no particular structure, no particular ending, no particular character development. The sub-plot involving the stocks seems to be irrelevant. This is not ambiguity, which does have a place in literature and film; it is just frustration.
Description of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Set 1
The psychological crime dramas as seen on public televisionFrom cold, rock-strewn moors to comfortable suburban estates, award-winning writer Ruth Rendell explores the dark fissures between friends and family members that motivate murder. Talented casts bring Rendell's unforgettable characters to life in four complex stories of suspense.
Master of the Moor-Since boyhood, Stephen Whalby (Colin Firth) has sought solitude on the wild, windy moor. But his taciturn ways and familiarity with the wilderness make him the prime suspect in a series of shocking murders. Approx. 154 min.
Vanity Dies Hard-After her best friend mysteriously disappears, Alice Fielding (Eleanor David) begins to suspect foul play, perhaps even murder. And the killer may have targeted Alice herself as the next victim. Approx. 155 min.
The Secret House of Death-Newly divorced Susan Townsend (Amanda Redman) makes a grisly discovery in her suburban neighborhood and soon becomes involved in a potentially deadly intrigue. Approx. 103 min.
The Double-Two women, identical in appearance but totally different in personality, compete for the affections of one man. Which will lose love and perhaps her life? Approx. 103 min.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE Ruth Rendell biography and cast filmographies.
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries Volume 1 include four adaptations of Rendell's brand of psychological mystery, tales of relative or questionable guilt, stories of truth-seekers who had long been obtuse, thrillers in which murder suspects are in the spotlight because of previously, under-the-radar neurotic tendencies. Volume 1 begins with the fascinating "Master of the Moor," starring Colin Firth as Stephen, a man who has found, since his troubled childhood, great comfort in the moor near his longtime village home. That is, until the presence of murdered women for whom Firth's character comes under suspicion, a situation not helped by some unusual quirks in Stephen's background and personality. An intriguing class drama, "Vanity Dies Hard" concerns two, longtime friends, wealthy Alice (Eleanor David) and struggling Nesta (Jane Gurnett), who come to a crossroads in their relationship when Alice marries a young, hunky teacher, Andrew (Mark Frankel). A square peg in Alice's world of refinement and gossip, Andrew begins tying Alice to their home, a situation she must reject when she suspects Nesta has disappeared--and Andrew might have something to do with it.
"The Secret House of Death" finds newly divorced mother Susan (Amanda Redman) trying to avoid the culture of gossip that consumes other women in her suburban neighborhood. But when Susan discovers the bodies of an adulterous neighbor and his lover in her neighbor's house, she begins putting the pieces together and not coincidentally puts her life at risk. Finally, "The Double" is a mind-bender about a fellow, Peter (Jason Flemyng), who becomes involved with a woman who is the apparent double of his girlfriend. A prediction of death and questions about who this mystery double really is make this a captivating drama. --Tom Keogh
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