P.D. James - The Essential Collection

Starring:Roy Marsden
Studio: KOCH VISION
Product Type: DVD

Description

Adored by critics and fans alike, P.D. James is one of the most celebrated mystery writers of all-time. Untangle a web of sinister secrets and brutal murder with Scotland Yard's Adam Dalgliesh in eight riveting film adaptations of her best-selling mysteries.

Customer Reviews:

P.D. James - The Essentiial Collection.......2007-06-19

If you like P.D. James mysteries featuring Adam Dalgleish, this excellent DVD collection is more than satisfying. The DVD quality is very good and the performances are first rate.

"P.D. James - Essential Collection ... Roy Marsden as Cmdr Adam Dalgliesh ... Koch Vision".......2006-12-21

Koch Vision present - "P.D. James - The Essential Collection" - Roy Marsden as Cmdr Adam Dalgliesh - (1765 mins/Color) (Dolby Digital) --- Phyllis Dorothy James, Baroness James of Holland Park OBE ), an English writer of crime fiction and member of the House of Lords, who writes as P. D. James ... It has been noted by many critics that James has upgraded and expanded the entire genre of mystery writing; and that many of her books, especially the police procedurals starring Dalgliesh, the poetry writing detective, fit the mainstream novel criteria as much as they do the detective genre ... James' strengths are characterization and her ability to construct atmosphere and stories rich in detail ... James did not begin writing until she reached her thirties ... "Her first novel, Cover Her Face", featuring the investigator/poet Adam Dalgliesh of New Scotland Yard, was published in 1962 ... James retired in 1979 to devote herself to her writing ... She has said that her influences include Jane Austen, Dorothy L. Sayers, herself a well-known British author of mysteries, Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh.

Adam Dalgliesh is a fictional character who has been the protagonist of thirteen mystery novels by P. D. James. Dalgliesh first appeared in James' 1962 novel Cover Her Face, and has appeared in most of James' subsequent novels... Dalgliesh, who holds the high position of Commander in the Metropolitan Police Service at New Scotland Yard in London, is an intensely cerebral and private person ... He writes poetry, a fact which his colleagues are fond of reminding him. Several volumes of his poetry have been published ... Dalgliesh lives in a flat above the Thames at Queenhithe in the City of London and drives a Jaguar.

Entire collection is a must have inclusive over 29 Hours Of Heart Stopping Suspense and up to the last reel of who done its.

1. Death of an Expert Witness
2. Shroud for a Nightingale
3. Cover Her Face
4. The Black Tower
5. A Taste for Death
6. Unnatural Causes,
7. A Mind To Murder
8. Original Sin

Not your usual suspects from the diabolical to the macabre, this "essential collection" presents eight critically acclaimed P.D. James film adaptations ... each starring Roy Marsden in a compelling Adam Dalgliesh Mystery.

BIOS:
1. Roy Marsden
Date of birth: 25 June 1941 - Stepney, London, England, UK
Date of death: Still Living
2. P.D. James (aka: Phyllis Dorothy James)
Date of birth: 3 August 1920 - Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
Date of death: Still Living

Great job by Koch Vision for releasing "P.D. James - The Essential Collection" - Roy Marsden, the digital transfere with a clean, clear and crisp print...looking forward to more high quality releases from the foreign film market --- order your copy now from Amazon or Koch Vision where there are plenty of copies available on DVD, stay tuned once again for top notch drama mixed with an outstanding cast and director --- Mystery Classics, all my heroes have been film detectives!

Total Time: 1765 mins on DVD ~ Koch Vision KOCV #6612 ~ (6/07/2005)

A nice collection - but not complete.......2005-09-13

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

The final PD James mystery starring Roy Marsden, A Certain Justice (made around 1998), is also missing from this collection for some reason.

DVD extras are unfortunately minimal. Picture quality is good, given the limitations of the source material.

Essentially Dalgleish.......2005-08-04

"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.

Great series- one bad dvd.......2005-08-04

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.

Average customer rating:

P.D. James - The Essentiial Collection
"P.D. James - Essential Collection ... Roy Marsden as Cmdr Adam Dalgliesh ... Koch Vision"
A nice collection - but not complete
Essentially Dalgleish
Great series- one bad dvd

P.D. James - The Essential Collection
Starring: Roy Marsden , John Vine , Mel Martin , Rupert Frazer , and Phyllis Calvert
Director: John Davies , John Gorrie , and Ronald Wilson
Manufacturer: Lance Entertainment
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery & Suspense | Boxed Sets | Stores | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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ASIN: B0000C23ES
Release Date: 2003-11-11

Description

Includes the following films: Unnatural Causes, Original Sin, Cover Her Face, Shroud for a Nightingale, The Black Tower, Death of An Expert Witness, A Taste For Death

Customer Reviews:

P.D. James - The Essentiial Collection.......2007-06-19

If you like P.D. James mysteries featuring Adam Dalgleish, this excellent DVD collection is more than satisfying. The DVD quality is very good and the performances are first rate.

"P.D. James - Essential Collection ... Roy Marsden as Cmdr Adam Dalgliesh ... Koch Vision".......2006-12-21

A nice collection - but not complete.......2005-09-13

Essentially Dalgleish.......2005-08-04

Great series- one bad dvd.......2005-08-04

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