Ruth Rendell - Road Rage

Starring:George Baker, Christopher Ravenscroft, James Allen, Christopher Connel, Ian Bartholomew, Louie Ramsay, Terry Crump, Charon Bourke, Isobel Middleton, T.R. Bowen, Amanda Boxer, Patsy Byrne, Lex van Delden, Timothy Evans, Daniel de la Falaise, John Forgeham, David Foxxe, Iain Fraser, Patricia Garwood, Peter Howell
Director: Bruce MacDonald (IV)
Studio: Lance Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Modernity's classic conflict with the primitive wild is ablaze in this enthralling story of bloodshed in the battle between trees and pavement. Based on a Ruth Rendell novel, the story concerns a protracted fight by pro-environment extremists to stop a road from being built through a forest near Kingsmarkham. Detective Chief Inspector Wexford (George Baker) looks on in dismay as eco-terrorists and local bailiffs beat and maim one another, but he becomes directly involved when a weird series of daytime kidnappings--including the disappearance of his wife, Dora--are linked to a militant group.

Description

Inspector Wexford delves into two harrowing murder cases. Road Rage - a deadly tale of eco-terrorism, out-of-control anger and kidnapping. Simisola - a haunting case of multiple murder and racism.

Simisola

Racism can turn deadly even in a small English town.

Two women are murdered. One is missing. A fourth has been viciously beaten and barely alive. She will provide Chief Inspector Wexford with the key that once turned, will lead him down a path as uncompromising as it is spine-chilling.

Road Rage

A mesmerizing tale of eco-terrorism.

While violent clashes between tree-cutters and protesters escalate, so does the police search for a missing girl. This harrowing case of out-of-control anger, kidnap and murder puts Chief Inspector Wexford to a terrifying test in a desperate race against time.

Customer Reviews:

Simisola: Novel - 1 star, TV - 3 stars; Road Rage: Novel - 3 stars, TV - 3 stars.......2007-03-08

"Simisola," an unvarnished slant on race relations and immigration in England, is a 108,000-word, 120-character police procedural with a novelette-sized core. Serious readers are forced into constant back-referencing to keep tabs on this multitude. But forget the book. Adapted to film by Alan Plater, directed by Jim Goddard, with "dubbing editors" and a film editor, the DVD production staff deserves lots of credit, the adaptation surpassing the novel: Tens-of-thousands of words involving Inspector Rexford's family life and all but 35 credited characters and related irrelevancies are trimmed away to produce the lean 103-minute 1996 TV production whose quality and style is comparable to an average Midsomer Murders TV episode.

If it weren't for Rendell's annoying MO (both in Road Rage and Simisola) of not saying something in 100 words if 300 will do, this reviewer might recommend reading Road Rage in lieu of the 1998 197-minute TV adaptation, the 110,000-word novel being far more cohesive and substantive than Simisola. Yet another police procedural, Road Rage deals with the kidnapping of hostages by a group opposing the environmental and other havoc threatened by a new bypass road. Adapted by George Baker (who also plays Inspector Wexford!), and directed by Bruce MacDonald, much of the book's excess verbiage was trimmed and the cast whittled down to 34 credited characters. Though the essence of the novel is preserved, it's too bad the producers didn't fall back on the proven Plater/Goddard team for the adaptation.

To illustrate: The novel's kidnap holding cell window (boxed-in to obstruct the view and high up on a side-wall) was changed to an open ceiling vent with a clear skyward view, gutting an intriguing clue in the process. Dora accusing her husband of breaking a promise when she learns of a certain event is silly. The role of Andrew Struther and interactions with his parents was changed for no good reason. There are others.

Picture, sound quality (thanks to re-dubbing) and lack of excessive accents (for American audiences, except for a few lesser players) is adequate. The DVD keep-case has an inner leaf, each film having its own DVD.

Road Rage.......2007-02-14

This is part of the Ruth Rendell Inspector Wexford series and as with all Inspector Wexford stories this held me in suspense all through the program. Acting is brilliant, George Baker is marvelous as Wexford as usual. The English scenery is good and Ruth Rendell throws in plenty of red herrings to keep the viewer on the edge of the seat.

Average customer rating:

"I was quite justified in what I did."
Heart of the Country
Ruth Rendell Road Rage

Ruth Rendell - Road Rage
Starring: George Baker , Christopher Ravenscroft , James Allen , Christopher Connel , and Ian Bartholomew
Director: Bruce MacDonald (IV)
Manufacturer: Lance Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B00007M5HE
Release Date: 2003-03-11

Amazon.com

Modernity's classic conflict with the primitive wild is ablaze in this enthralling story of bloodshed in the battle between trees and pavement. Based on a Ruth Rendell novel, the story concerns a protracted fight by pro-environment extremists to stop a road from being built through a forest near Kingsmarkham. Detective Chief Inspector Wexford (George Baker) looks on in dismay as eco-terrorists and local bailiffs beat and maim one another, but he becomes directly involved when a weird series of daytime kidnappings--including the disappearance of his wife, Dora--are linked to a militant group.

As police procedurals go, Road Rage is a model of tea-sipping restraint: neither Wexford nor his close colleague, Mike Burden (Christopher Ravenscroft), ever loses his professional demeanor despite personal involvement in the case. Adapted for the screen by Baker, Road Rage is most interesting for its startling counterpoint between criminal monstrosity and heroic decency. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

"I was quite justified in what I did.".......2005-04-23

In the film adaptation of the Ruth Rendell novel "Road Rage" hordes of protestors descend on the town of Kingsmarkham to stop the construction of a planned bypass. It's a delicate situation. Detective Chief Inspector Wexford (George Baker) feels that his department is undermanned and that he needs extra forces in the likely event of violence taking place. There's pressure from the Home Office to construct the bypass with little media attention, and meanwhile 100s of protestors are living in tree-dwellings daring construction workers to continue chopping down trees. If this isn't bad enough, the body of a young German tourist is found in the forest near Kingsmarkham. There's a murder to solve, a riot to contain, and a bypass to build.

"Road Rage" is 197 minutes long, divided into three chapters, and it contains an impressive cast of characters. On the police side of things, there's Chief Inspector Wexford and his pleasant wife, Dora (Louie Ramsay) who both share certain sympathy with the protestors. Detective Inspector Mike Burden (Christopher Ravenscroft) is never as tolerant as Wexford, and he has little patience for the protestors' cause. There's also DS Daman Slesar (James Allen) who has a long history of working deep undercover, and friend DS Malahyde (Isobel Middleton).

Wexford's investigation of the murder of the German tourist is complicated by the threat of eco-terrorism. The film explores how a righteous cause becomes clouded with violence when a militant eco-terrorist group called "The Sacred Globe" emerges on the scene in Kingsmarkham. With surprisingly sophisticated treatment, the story illustrates the dangers of believing that violence is justified in order to further an actvist movement. The father of the murdered German tourist has as much grief and as many unanswered questions as those who survive an eco-terrorist event. The film asks is there really any difference between these situations? Violent crimes--whether brutally random or those engineered to herald social change--always result in victims. In contrast, the film's portrayal of the upper-class involvement in the eco-terrorist movement was disappointingly naive, and heavy-handed. Nonetheless, in spite of this one criticism, "Road Rage" is great entertainment, and Rendell fans should be delighted by another riveting Inspector Wexford mystery--displacedhuman.

Heart of the Country.......2005-01-24

I was surprised to see this particular set finally end up on American shelves only because it has not appeared much sooner. The BBC has found a ready market for the regional detective mysteries as evidenced by the Hettie Wainthrops (Yorks/Lancs) and the Midsommer Murders (Oxon/Bucks) and here we are with murder mysteries from the West Country. You would think that there were more murders than in Cabot Cove.

Road Rage has as it's seeming main concern the environmental opposition to a new motorway coming from the hippie-like travellers, who, as any visitor to Britain will know are the bane of the Western side of the Cotswolds with their illegal campsites, begging etc etc.

Inspector Wexford is a genial man with a disarmingly charming wife and a colleague who has a degree of impatience matched by his university education.

This plot is interwoven with mysterious disappearances and other nefarious activities which appear to be linked to a local minicab company.

In this lengthy set, the twists and turns are juxtaposed with the demands of extended family life as Wexford's dughter is about to give birth and does so as the centre of the drama unfolds.

As we follow the developments the human, erring side of the detective unfolds in sharp relief to the realtively inhuman objective side of Mike, his subordinate.

Once again a vehicle for the generous shots of the beautiful English countryside, this show, while rather sentimental and nostalgic somewhat reminiscent of Premier John Major's pechant for warm beer and cricket, demonstartes a preference for the past where good policing wins the day against well defined bad guys without any of the trappings of urban violence and tribal activity.

My only reservation is the willingness of the American audience to put up with the thicker dialects spoken so much on this show. It seems to me that this would be a significant drawback to the general acceptance of this show on US soil.

Having lived in and around this area I have a weakness for this particular show and would welcome more episodes on DVD. While the US has been very quick to mine the vaults of television shows and get the DVDs out while making this one of the fastest growing retail DVD market segments in America, the British have been backwards in coming forwards in this area.

Which reminds me when are we going to see Bergerac and the Equalizer?

Ruth Rendell Road Rage.......2003-09-07

This was an excellent movie. While it was long, itwas broken into 3 segments. This was the first movie of its kind that I've seen. Good story line, kept you guessing right up to the end.

Ruth Rendell Mystery Double Feature (Simisola / Road Rage)

Average customer rating:

Ruth Rendell Mystery Double Feature (Simisola / Road Rage)
Starring: George Baker , Christopher Ravenscroft , Jane Lapotaire , George Harris (II) , and Charon Bourke
Director: Jim Goddard , and Bruce MacDonald (IV)
Manufacturer: Lance Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( R ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

The Last Detective - Series 1
The Ruth Rendell Mysteries, Set 1
A Touch of Frost - Seasons 11 & 12
Mystery!: Inspector Lewis
Cracker - Series 2

ASIN: B0002VEYXQ
Release Date: 2004-10-26

Amazon.com

A particularly gritty and tough episode from Ruth Rendell's Inspector Reg Wexford series, Simisola begins with the bearish Scots detective receiving some good medical news from his Nigerian physician. Unfortunately, Wexford can't do the same when the doctor and his wife report the disappearance of their daughter. Seemingly related murders of two women, and the severe beating of a third, in Wexford's Sussex country town of Kingsmarkham do nothing to clarify what happened to the missing girl and, much to Wexford's dismay, exacerbate racist tensions rumbling beneath the investigation. Actor George Baker, who has been playing the civilized and often unflappable Wexford in television dramas since 1988, is wonderful here, counterpointing the detective's natural politesse with droll asides and clipped impatience with self-important witnesses. Rendell's attack on a loophole in British immigration laws (essentially sanctioning modern slavery) is startling but does not overwhelm Simisola's entertaining police procedural. --Tom Keogh

Modernity's classic conflict with the primitive wild is ablaze in Road Rage, an enthralling story of bloodshed in the battle between trees and pavement. Based on a Ruth Rendell novel, the story concerns a protracted fight by pro-environment extremists to stop a road from being built through a forest near Kingsmarkham. Detective Chief Inspector Wexford (George Baker) looks on in dismay as eco-terrorists and local bailiffs beat and maim one another, but he becomes directly involved when a weird series of daytime kidnappings--including the disappearance of his wife, Dora--are linked to a militant group. As police procedurals go, Road Rage is a model of tea-sipping restraint: neither Wexford nor his close colleague, Mike Burden (Christopher Ravenscroft), ever loses his professional demeanor despite personal involvement in the case. Adapted for the screen by Baker, Road Rage is most interesting for its startling counterpoint between criminal monstrosity and heroic decency. --Tom Keogh

Description

Simisola: Racism can turn deadly even in a small English town. Two women are murdered. One is missing. A fourth has been viciously beaten and barely alive. She will provide Chief Inspector Wexford with the a key that once turned, will lead him down a path as uncompromising as it is spine-chilling. Road Rage: A mesmerizing tale of eco-terrorism. While violent clashes between tree-cutters and protesters escalate, so do the police search for a missing girl? This harrowing case of out-of-control anger, kidnap and murder puts Chief Inspector Wexford to a terrifying test in a desperate race against time.

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