P.D. James - Death in Holy Orders

Starring:Jesse Spencer, Christopher Fox, Alan Howard, Alex Avery, Martin Shaw, Clive Wood, Janie Dee, Jeff Rawle, Tom Goodman-Hill, Emma Rydal, Hugh Fraser, John Clegg, Jonathan Coy, Robert Hardy, Maggie McCarthy, Alex Hassell, Victoria Scarborough, Stephen Noonan, Roger Morlidge, Freda Dowie
Director: Jonny Campbell
Studio: BBC Warner
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com

A powerful mystery that sometimes feels like a clash of titanic forces offset by a detective hero's quiet, emotional reawakening, Death in Holy Orders is a cut above most Brit-TV sleuthing. P.D. James's renowned poet and Scotland Yard Commander Adam Dalgliesh (Martin Shaw) looks into the suffocation death of a student at the theological College of St. Anselm, a place where he spent peaceful time in boyhood. Upon his arrival, Dalgliesh finds a perfect political storm converging. The Church of England is planning to close the school after selling off its art assets, and the eager agent for this mission is an archdeacon (Clive Wood) who might have murdered his wife but definitely destroyed an Anselm priest's reputation by branding him a pedophile. Meanwhile, Dalgliesh, a reclusive widower whose wife died during childbirth, is encouraged toward a fuller life by an old mentor and an interesting woman. This is a crackling whodunit with strong psychological underpinnings. Fans of Roy Marsden's self-contained, sometimes inscrutable Dalgliesh in 10 miniseries during the 1980s and '90s may be startled by Shaw's raw soulfulness in the role. But the latter's interpretation grows on one very quickly. --Tom Keogh

Customer Reviews:

A Change for the Better.......2005-08-07

As a Martin Shaw fan, I was pleased to see this new vehicle for his expression. Mr. Shaw takes the role of Adam Dalgliesh to a new, and deeper, level -- adding to the character with a more cerebral approach.

While he does not get the pensiveness exactly correct in this first outing as the Commander, this is almost entirely rectified during the second adaptation (The Murder Room) which will be released on DVD this coming Autumn.

The major drawback to Death In Holy Orders is the failure to capture the background needed to establish the scene as it takes place. As in many P. D. James works, there are many characters, and filming successfully under such circumstances is difficult at best. One wonders if this particular adaptation might not have been better had it been twice the length.

As a result of this, it will appeal most to James fans who are familiar with her works -- and in this case, having read it will definitely improve comprehension of the filmed adaptation.

The side-bar of the romantic relationship between Dalgliesh and Emma Lavenham is not distracting, but it is also not entirely part of the story (this too, is evident in the novel), and one wonders if it is necessary. However, as the character of Dalgliesh continues to develop (and for this, one must also take Murder Room into account) the need for these interludes will become more obvious. The clumsiness as it stands stems more from the lack of written material to adapt, than from any poor portrayals of the situation. Given what there is to work with, Mr. Shaw has managed admirably.

As for the recasting of Shaw in the role previously played by Roy Marsden -- it is an excellent choice, and fails in only one point. Mr. Shaw is not nearly as tall as the character is suppose to be. This, however, is quickly forgotten once the depth of his portrayal starts to sink in. With luck, Mr. Shaw will play this role several more times, before another actor is cast in his place. The fact that P. D. James has stated her approval of this casting, indeed goes a long way toward indicating that the portrayal is accurate.

Excellent Movie!.......2005-02-18

I thought I would miss Roy Marsden, but Martin Shaw was superb as Adam Dalgliesh!

Awful!.......2005-01-17

Bring back Roy Marsden! This guy was terrible. What a shame to ruin a good story with a very bad actor!

an American fan of Martin Shaw.......2004-11-02

For the reviewer who believes that no one in America has heard of Martin Shaw, guess again. For me, his best role is Chauvelin in the newest recreation of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1995). As a villian he was complicated, 'soulful' but murderous. Too bad the lead character in that production was a disappointment or it might have done better here. "Rhodes" was well acted but a one-time watch and much of Shaw's other work is not available here. So as a fan of both Shaw and Marsden's Dalgliesh, I was interested to see Shaw in this role. He was excellent. As another reviewer said he is a brand new character, but a bit more tragic (and complicated, as always). Marsden, I'm sure, is tired of twenty years in the role and new interpretations of Poirot or Holmes have only led to better and better characters. Shaw lends another layer to what has been a rather wooden character up to now.

That said, you have to be a fan of PD James to like this one. There are too many characters, each of whom has secrets, crimes and mayhem in their past. I have never been in a 'closed society' (as James might call it) where there have been so many demented people outside of an asylum. The plot is like Shakespeare - you need a copy of the book next to you in order to follow it. And the next day I find myself saying 'Wait a minute, why did he do that? What was her motivation for that?' PD James does not bother about all the strings. Much as she denigrates the old 'butler in the library' settings, Agatha Christie is still the queen of murder mysteries. When you get to the end of one of Christie's stories you say, 'How did I miss that clue?', not 'Wait a minute'.

"I'm just a wretched and unrepentant sinner.".......2004-10-31

Commander Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard receives an anonymous note advising that he should investigate a death that occurred at St Anshelms College. The death of Ronald Treeves was ruled accidental, so Dalgliesh travels to St Anshelms to make a few inquiries and put any questions to rest. The trip to St Anshelms is nostalgic for Dalgliesh as he spent many years of his life there.

When Dalgleish arrives, the atmosphere at St Anshelms is somewhat strained. Archdeacon Crampton's personal mission is to ensure the Church of England closes St Anshelms as he considers the college's practices archaic and elitist. Naturally the people who live and work at St Anshelms resent the impending closure, and the fact that years earlier Crampton was suspected of murdering his wife, doesn't exactly help matters. At first, Dalgliesh's investigations bear little fruit, but it seems that his presence has stirred the murky depths of a murderer's mind. The body count mounts and Dalgliesh is hot on the trail of a killer.

Martin Shaw plays Dalgliesh, replacing long-term actor Roy Marsden. I wasn't quite sure how I'd feel about the change in the lead character, but Shaw played the character well and in his own fashion. Somehow it worked, and that may be due to the fact that Shaw didn't seem to be a replacement for Marsden--rather Shaw seemed to be an entirely different character. The plot was extremely interesting, and the setting brings some bigger issues to the surface--this makes for a meatier mystery. Is St Anshelms the hot bed of corruption that Crampton claims, or is it an institution to be cherished? And lonely Commander Dalgliesh may finally find a love interest. Fans of British mysteries should enjoy the 180 minutes of entertainment the DVD offers. Extra features include actor bios, and a short documentary about P.D.James--displacedhuman

P.D. James: Death in Holy Orders/The Murder Room

Average customer rating:

P.D. James: Death in Holy Orders/The Murder Room
Starring: P.D. James-Death in Holy Orders , and Murder Room
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

( P ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video

P.D. James - A Certain Justice
P.D. James - The Essential Collection
P.D. James: A Mind to Murder
P.D. James - Original Sin
Inspector Alleyn Mysteries, Set 2

ASIN: B000AOEMV4
Release Date: 2005-10-25

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