Customer Reviews
Cadfael - The Complete Collection - Series 1 To 4 - By: B. Chandler, 10 Aug 2007 
Cadfael, Set 1
One Corpse Too Many
We deal with what is
As complex as any of the Cadfael series, this one tells the story of how Master Hugh Beringar becomes sheriff. Also as Cadfael states, "By my reckoning there is one corps too many."
From the back Jacket:
When a Novice Monk arrives at Shrewsbury Abbey & turns out to be a young girlin disguise, Cadfael decides she isin need of a friend. But when he discovers his Novice's true identity, Cadfael finds himself caughtin the Crossfire of the Civil war between King Stephen & the Empress Maud.
He is called upon to bury 94 rebel soldiers executed on the King's orders after the fall of Shrewsbury Castle. But when Cadfael counts up the dead bodies & finds one corps too many, it sets him on a murder trail. His investigations lead him to suspect the shadowy Hugh Beringar - a man who appears to have recently pledged his allegiance to King Steven...
This time will Cadfaels tuition, forensics, & logic. Prove the case?
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The Sanctuary Sparrow
Under the certainty of Heaven nothing is certain.
This is film is part of:
Brother Cadfael Series 1 Box Set: "The Sanctuary Sparrow, One Corpse Too Many, Monk's Hood & The Leper of St. Giles" (1995)
From the back cover: When the town's goldsmith is robbed & left for dead, the finger of suspicion is pointed at young juggler who was performing at the wedding feast of the goldsmith's son.
Pursued by the mob, the young entertainer stumbles through the town to the Abby where he seeks the sanctuary of the Alter. Cadfael is given the job of keeping an eye on the youngster while the authorities investigate. But his discrete inquiries are cut short when the goldsmith's neighbor is found dead floatingin the river...
Once again the box does not convey the complexity or the beautyin the film as father Cadfael along with my favorite Hugh Beringar (Sean Pertwee) search for truth & justice using forensics, intuition & logic.
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The Leper of St. Giles
There is always hope by God's grace & man's efforts.
The back cover is fairly accurate:
A great wedding is to take place at the Abby of Shrewsbury between the powerful Baron Huon De Domville & the young & beautiful Iveta De Masssard. But this is no love match. The old, fat Baron is only interestedin Iveta's lands & estates. The orphaned Iveta lives another.
All of Shrewsbury turns out to see the Baron & his bride-to-be ride into town & their differences are immediately noticeable. While the kind-hearted Iveta throws money to the lepers at the side of the road, the Barron strikes out at them with his whip. On the eve of the wedding, the Barron mysteriously rides off alone into the night, & that's the last time he's seen alive. Cadfael sets out to investigate his disappearance.
Naturally the description of this film is simplified & for readers of Ellis Peters' works the film is simplified from the story.
You have to take your hat off to Creeping Gromwell for helping Cadfael solve the mystery.
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Monk's Hood
This film gets better with time.,
"No man is measured by the love he gives to others, but how he is loved by others."
This film is part of Brother Cadfael Series 1 Box Set: The Sanctuary Sparrow, One Corpse Too Many, Monk's Hood & The Leper of St. Giles (1995)
From the back cover:
When a wealthy landowner decides to cut his stepson out of his will & leave his inheritance to the church, it is Shrewsbury Abby which looks like the beneficiary. But before Geravase Gurney is able to complete the transaction, he is poisoned while staying at the abbey.
When Cadfael is calledin to identify the poison, he is shocked to discover that Gervase's wife Richildis is his own childhood sweetheart, who he has not seen for 40 years. He last saw her before leaving for the Crusades, promising he would be back to marry her...
This is the time that Abbot Herribert (Peter Copley) is replaced by Abbot Radulfus (Terrence Hardiman) see himin a different light as Walter Fanein "Miss Marple: Sleeping Murder".
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Brother Cadfael, Set 2
The Virginin the Ice
"Between friends there is no owing."
Once again there is a mystery with many threads overlapping. Father Cadfael uses intuition & a great deal of forensics to sort out what really happened.
You guest it; Sister Hilaria is foundin the ice & the last time she was seen was with Brother Oswain of who is delirious from an encounter with bandits. Two kids are missing & a mysterious woodsman (with a sward) is creeping around. Things only get more complicated. In the process of sorting this out Father Cadfael leaves words of wisdom as "There is no shamein tears when they are worth shedding."
The identity of the mysterious woodsman holds great significance.
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The Devil's Novice
"Evenin the worst deed there is some good."
You know this is going to be a good one when it starts out with a bloody face staring at you. Later there is the bragging priest & you know if he is not the one to die that he should be. And what is with the soon to be bride playing on both sides of the fence?
A new novice that speaks strangelyin his sleep, a missing king's chaplain who should have staidin the cars or rather not go out alone, & a mystery wild man is just the right mix for a murder mystery.
Once again Cadfael uses forensics, logic & intuition (with a little last minute information) to smoke out the truth & bring the culprit/s to justice.
You will suspect everyone up to the end.
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St. Peter's Fair
In the final reckoning we are all traitors to our hearts.
There is to be the annual St. Peter's Fairin which vendors from all over come to hawk their wears. The town merchants are required by law to close for this time. Not satisfied with this law the merchants threaten Abbot Radulfus (Terrence Hardiman) & get told that he has no choicein the matter.
This leads to a scuffle between the merchants & the visiting vendors. In the morning a wine merchant's body seems to be watered down with a hole & no tong. Abbot Radulfus charges Cadfael to find out if it was the Abbots fault for refusing to share with the towns people.
Naturally things get complex. There are crosses & double crosses, beautiful girls & suspicious sheriffs. This may even lead to a rift between the Sheriff Hugh Beringar & Cadfael (old friends.)Cadfael uses forensics, intrusion & logic to help solve the mystery.
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Brother Cadfael, Set 3
The Rose Rent
"We have this moment for good or ill"
The Rose rent is a great mystery &in the course of being solved leads people to evaluate what has worthin life. A young widow must now face the fact that she may have killed her husband & 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 & Brother Cadfael uses forensics to determine who the murderer/s are & the motive/s. You get more then sufficient clues on the way.
My favorite quote isin the morning as they are ringing the morning bell; someone asks Cadfael, "Are you awake?" & 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".
After watching my copy about 50 times the cassette has gained a squeak. I plan to replace this with the DVD.
This is one of the best Father Cadfaels as it has meaning & 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 beenin many popular movies including Agatha Christie's "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 Ravenin the Foregate
"Truth & 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 & if separate mysteries are related. I will not go thought the story blow by blow, as that is part of the intriguein watching these films.
A part of the back cover paraphrased:
Father Ailnoth, the new parish priestin Shrewsbury, earns the scorn of his entire parishioners. After refusing to absolver a parishioner for carrying an illegitimate child, the priest is found deadin the river. There are plenty of suspects but a shortage of clues.
Too bad back covers are not clear & strait forward however the story is more complex & the acting is superior.
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Brother Cadfael, Set 4
The Pilgrim of Hate
Your prayers are enough
Once again many things are not what they seem & it is up to Brother Cadfael to bring then to light. If you do not compare to the book it is a good film & well balanced. (Do not forget that the first two chapters of the book are revealedin detailin "A Morbid Taste for Bones" & "One Corpse Too Many")This story takes place years later.
From the back cover:
Cripples Day at Shrewsbury brings a hoard of disabled pilgrims to the abbey. Within a short while, a body is foundin a leather sack amongst the visitors. Cadfael boils down the man's body to inspect the bones & uncovers two possible explanations for his death.
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The Potter's Field
Guilt is something we have to live with,
So much mystery, so many solutions, & you guest wrong. Yet Brother Cadfael stays with it until all is revealed. In the process we all must think & learn something of our selves.
From the back cover:
A woman's skeleton is discoveredin a local potter's field, since the potter Ruald, left his family to answer a calling form God, everyone concludes that the body belongs to his wife, & that Ruald murdered her when she tried to prevent him from taking the tonsure.
This may not be the book but the film has depthin its own right.
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The Holy Thief
Everyone belongsin the house of God,
This is part of collection IV. These Cadfaels are said to be darkerin character & not as much as lighter mysteriesin the earlier Cadfaels. This is not my favorite Hugh Beringar (Anthony Green.) I prefer Eoin McCarthy. However he works wellin this Cadfael. In The Holy Thief while most people were using trial by water to catch the guilty, Cadfael uses forensics to track down the murder.
From the back cover:
Brothers from Ramsey come to Shrewsbury looking for money to rebuild their monastery, which has been ransacked by rebel soldiers; they claim that the loan of Saint Winifred's holy relics, which are housed at Shrewsbury, would be ample generosity. Cadfael & Abbot Radulfus, however, opt to provide the men with a gift of precious gems instead of the desired relic.
This description leaves out a lot of people & plots that make the Cadfaels so intriguing.
Sir Derek and the Chronicles of a Truly Rare Benedictine. - By: Themis-Athena, 24 Aug 2006 When the decision was made to produce for TV several episodes from her mystery series about Brother Cadfael, that 12th century crusader turned monk turned detective who has been, ever since his creation, one of the most compassionate & unusual sleuths of literary history, novelist Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) was not entirely happy. In fact, as the series' star, Sir Derek Jacobi, explainsin the extra footage provided on the now-released DVDs, Ms. Peters had very mixed feelings about giving up her brain child & entrusting it to other people who went about cutting & adjusting everything, from the storylines themselves to the way the protagonists speak & even the Chronicles' sequence, to the necessities & limitations set by the new medium. But she eventually acquiesced & at one point promised that "the next one I write, I'll make sure it's easier for you all to film."
While the thirteen episodes that were eventually produced are, thus, not entirely true to the individual Chronicles they are based on, they are closer than many other movie or TV versions of famous works of literature. Most importantly, they maintain not only the core story lines but also the historical authenticity, atmosphere & spirit set by Ms. Peters's booksin a marvelous fashion. And Sir Derek Jacobi brings both the wealth of his experience & skill & all of his own shrewdness, intelligence, sense of humor & empathy to the role of the medieval Benedictine sleuth & thus truly becomes Cadfael - for the thousands of new fans who are discovering the series through its enactment for TV just as much as for us who loved the books before they were ever transposed to a visual medium. A tremendous cast of supporting actors rounds out an overall excellent production; to mention just a few, Julian Firth as the ambitious & narrow-minded Brother Jerome, Terrence Hardiman as Abbot Radolfus & Sean Pertwee (and later Eoin McCarthy) as Under-Sheriff Hugh Beringar, who joins Cadfaelin his investigations whenever, as is so often the case, these transcend the world of monastic life & require the administration of secular justice as well as clerical insight. Several episodes also feature noted guest stars.
The episodes are not entirelyin the same order as the books; however, as most of the cross-references between the books have been eliminatedin the screen versions, this is no great harm (although the lacking cross-references are probably one of the things avid readers of the books will find missing). The DVDs also provide background information on Ellis Peters, Sir Derek Jacobi & a number of the individual episodes' other actors.
Summary of the individual episodes:
"One Corpse Too Many" (second Chronicle): King Stephen lays siege to Shrewsbury Castle and, finally victorious, orders the surviving defenders to be executed. But then there's an extra corpse, who clearly wasn't executed. Whodunnit - & why?
"Monk's Hood" (third Chronicle): Cadfael's & Shrewsbury Abbey's honor is at stake when a guest is found poisoned by Cadfael's own potions ... & the sheriff's sergeant over-eagerly jumps to the wrong conclusions.
"The Leper of St. Giles" (fifth Chronicle): A leper's grim fate is unexpectedly intertwined with the story of an orphaned heiress, due to be wedded for money's sake to a despicable old baron, & her lover; who is everybody's favorite suspect when the groom turns up dead.
"The Sanctuary Sparrow" (seventh Chronicle): A young singer is accused of robbery & murder and, hunted by a mob, seeks shelterin the Abbey.
"St. Peter's Fair" (fourth Chronicle): While traders arrive from near & far, townsfolk claim a share of the Abbey's dues from the annual fair. Then a merchant is found murdered - but there's more to this than meets the eye!
"The Virginin the Ice" (sixth Chronicle): After the sack of Worcester by Empress Maud, a nun, a young nobleman & his sister get lostin the Marshes. Cadfael rushes to the rescue - & meets a messenger from his own past!
"The Devil's Novice" (eighth Chronicle): The Abbey accepts a novice with a troubling zeal for monastic life (but not its virtues), who may or may not be connected to the death of a cleric traveling through his home village.
"A Morbid Taste for Bones" (first Chronicle): The monks mount an expedition to Wales to retrieve the bones of a local saint after a young monk claims to have seen the saintin a visionin which she asked that her bones be brought to Shrewsbury. The mission runs into serious trouble when the local lord, who has opposed it, is found murdered.
"The Ravenin the Foregate" (twelfth Chronicle): Cadfael must solve the mystery behind two deaths; one of a young woman who (unsuccessfully) sought his spiritual advice, the other of the priest to whom Cadfael sent her: the new priestin Shrewsbury's foregate, an ambitious, power-hungry clericin direct allegiance with King Stephen.
"The Rose Rent" (thirteenth Chronicle): A grieving young widow, beset by suitors, gives her house to the abbey for a single rose's annual rent. But her gift of beauty turns bloody when the emissary delivering the rose, a young monk, is found murdered.
"The Pilgrim of Hate" (tenth Chronicle): A cripple, his sister & two brothers on a painful pilgrimage meet at the Abbey during the annual feast of St. Winifred. Soon, the question arises whether religion is primarily penance or faithin God's love of mankind.
"The Potter's Field" (seventeenth Chronicle): The discovery of the bones of a womanin a field once belonging to a potter turned monk leads Cadfael to unveil a harrowing tale of love, loss & a deadly wager.
"The Holy Thief" (nineteenth Chronicle): Competitors for the possession of St. Winifred's relics show upin Shrewsbury! Then the holy bones disappear, a monk is found murdered - & a tonsured troubadour finds his lady love.
