Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries - Gaudy Night (The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection)

Starring:Edward Petherbridge, Harriet Walter, Richard Morant, Sheila Burrell, Carol MacReady, Dilys Hamlett, Caroline John, Merelina Kendall, Charmian May, Auriol Smith, Charlotte West-Oram, Nina Edwards, Desmond McNamara, Eileen Bell (II), Lavinia Bertram, Jacqueline Morgan, Mary Keegan, Penelope Beaumont, Clare Byam-Shaw, Rosemary Smith
Director: Michael Simpson
Studio: BBC Warner
Product Type: DVD

Description

Three elegant murder mysteries adapted from the crime novels of Dorothy L. Sayers which chronicle the relationship of amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane unfolds in a realm of romance and intrigue. Includes the mysteries: "Strong Poison," "Have His Carcass" and "Gaudy Night."

Amazon.com

Three Dorothy L. Sayers mysteries involving amateur sleuth extraordinaire Lord Peter Wimsey and the lovely Harriet Vane are realized to perfection in these 1987 BBC adaptations. In Strong Poison, Harriet (Harriet Walter) is on trial for murder. Lord Peter (Edward Petherbridge) becomes enchanted by her and decides she cannot possibly be guilty. What follows are the twin stories of Lord Peter's search to find the real killer and his romantic pursuit of Harriet. Both are charming. As always, Sayers has plotted her story brilliantly, with a satisfying mystery and a sly comic touch (a gentle poke at the spiritualist movement is particularly fun). The period atmosphere is pulled off naturally and with close attention to detail, and the adaptation has a careful reverence for Sayers's novel. The performances are all remarkably strong. Petherbridge is perfect as Wimsey, revealing his brilliance and allowing him to be hopelessly in love without ever damaging his dignity. Walter plays Harriet with rich nuance, saying as much with her silences as she does with her lines, and Richard Morant is quietly fantastic as the remarkable Bunting.

Harriet, fresh from the trial, tries to get away from it all and ends up stumbling over a recently killed body in Have His Carcass. Unable to resist a crime (or, for that matter, Harriet), Lord Peter is soon on the case. In Gaudy Night, Lord Peter is still proposing at frequent intervals, and Harriet, though unable to say yes, is also unable to send Lord Peter entirely away. But enough with the romance. As Wimsey heads off for some foreign service work, Harriet visits her Oxford alma mater and lands smack in the middle of a poison-pen scandal. Harriet's status as a mystery writer, naturally, means she's the one who should investigate. Sayers clearly had fun writing this one, using Harriet to gently tweak her own profession, at the same time both parodying and defending the cloistered life at a women's college. --Ali Davis

Customer Reviews:

Good, but could have been better.......2007-05-19

Overall very entertaining and enjoyable.

Strong Poison and Have his Caracass were very nicely done and very entertaining. I was somewhat disappointed by the severe editing done to Gaudy Night. Sayers had a very competent academic background with which she continually challenged the reader. This was reduced to a mere few scenes.

Dorothy Sayers Mysteries(The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection.......2007-02-01

Just arrived yesterday, 1/30/07. Enjoyed as much as the books in the series. Always loved English Mystery stories. Well worh the money.

Great DVD Set!.......2006-02-25

The three DVD set of the later Lord Peter Wimsey mysteries is great set and I whole heartdly recommmend adding this to your DVD collections. The three stories presented are very well done by the production company. This is the second Lord Peter series, the first was in the early/mid 1970s and starred Ian Carmichael as Lord Peter. Edward Petherbridge stars as Lord Peter this time and introduces you to Harriet Vane, with whom Lord Peter falls madly in love.

Mr. Petherbridge plays Lord Peter very differently than Ian Carmichael but then in reading the novels Lord Peter does change after he fall for Harriet Vane. I enjoyed these mysteries very much and highly recommed purchasing and enjoying them for many years to come. By the way, if you haven't bought the first series of Lord Peter mysteries this is a good opportunity to get the whole series at once. They are all very good.

Andy

Not Ian Carmichael but..........2006-02-03

I like both Lord Peter actors, Ian Carmichael puts the "whimsy" in Lord Peter Wimsey but Edward Petherbridge puts the 'Lord Peter' into his portrayal. Petherbridge reminds the reader that the character is fragile and was seriously shell-shocked during WWI and still suffers delayed stress syndrome -his meeting with Harriet Vane is painful and he is desperate to save her while keeping his arm's distance like a gentleman -at her request. Watching the tortured role played, one can't help thinking that his gentlemanly distance is kept more at his insecurity about his emotional stability. He is strong but is the strength his title and wealth? I think anyone who has read and loved her books will enjoy the intellectual challenge Petherbridge delivers. On another note, Dorothy L. Sayers married Arthur Fleming in 1926, contrary to another reviewer's claim that she never married. For a more complete bio: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorothy_Sayers

Character realization, dialogue flawed.......2006-01-30

Given the warm approval for this series felt by other Amazon reviewers, this review will stick out as a bit contrarian--especially in answering the mystery readers' "Bond question": which actor does it best? I am all for Ian Carmichael and, having just watched his 1970s series back-to-back with the Petherbridge one, can easily state what I think are the flaws of the latter.

Both series effectively reproduce the 1920s for us, but the difference in their approach is apparent from the start, with the theme music: the Petherbridge series has a slow, somewhat romantic but melancholy tune, while the Carmichael one is jaunty and uplifting. Petherbridge himself is, in my opinion, overly earnest and seems dour rather than properly serious or high-minded. He lacks the charm, wit, and sense of humor of the Carmichael portrayal--which of course is partly the fault of the writers, who fail to give him good material to work with. On the other hand, Petherbridge has some responsibililty for that: he never smiles if he can get away with not smiling, looks as if he has a bad smell under his nose most of the time, and rushes through his supposedly humorous lines, as if he doesn't know how to handle them or doesn't think they're humorous. Maybe he's right, but it all makes Wimsey seem rather a prig and a bore, which is the antithesis of the Carmichael portrayal. Above all, Carmichael's Wimsey has a radiant heart, and that's not much in evidence in this series, either in the Wimsey character or in his beloved, Miss Vane.

I am not acquainted with the Vane character from Sayers's work, but Harriet Walters seems well cast. But again--and whether this stems from Sayers or not, I don't know--she is not permitted to be sufficiently charming. One begins to think, watching her gracelessly dismiss Wimsey time and again, that he must be a bit of a masochist. When he finally says, in what passes for an outburst, that he wishes she could "dissemble" sometimes, one cannot help but heartily agree with him. The last thing she says to him in the series just made my jaw drop with its inappropriateness.

Similarly, the Wimsey-Bunter master-manservant relationship is not enjoyable to watch. Richard Morant is fine as Bunter, but Petherbridge gives him a wet-fish handshake in return and makes Bunter seem the better man. Oh dear. The Bunter-Wimsey relationship of the earlier series is much more a partnership in which one sees a genuine bond.

If you are a Sayers fan, I would still recommend these programs, despite these distracting drawbacks. They are somewhat slow-paced but they are certainly atmospheric, and each one is set in a quite different milieu, with lots of interesting characters throughout. But do also view the Carmichael series.

Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries - Gaudy Night (The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection)

Average customer rating:

POOR CASTING
A Mystery To Me
We came, we saw, they conquered!
A Deep Disappointment
Well done

Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries - Gaudy Night (The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection)
Starring: Edward Petherbridge , Harriet Walter , Richard Morant , Sheila Burrell , and Carol MacReady
Director: Michael Simpson
Manufacturer: BBC Warner
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

Suspense | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

Mystery | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Mystery & Suspense | Genres | DVD | Video

General | Television | Genres | DVD | Video

( D ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
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Dorothy L. Sayers Mysteries - Strong Poison (The Lord Peter Wimsey-Harriet Vane Collection)
Lord Peter Wimsey - The Unpleasantness at the Bellona Club
Lord Peter Wimsey - Clouds of Witness
Lord Peter Wimsey - The Nine Tailors

ASIN: B000062XE0
Release Date: 2002-05-14

Amazon.com

Malicious mischief infects an Oxford college in the Dorothy L. Sayers classic Gaudy Night, which happily reunites Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Vane. Wimsey, deftly played by Edward Petherbridge, is still proposing marriage at frequent intervals. Harriet (Harriet Walter), though unable to say yes, is also unable to send Lord Peter entirely away. But enough with the romance. As Wimsey heads off for some foreign service work, Harriet visits her alma mater and lands smack in the middle of a poison-pen scandal. Harriet's status as a mystery writer, naturally, means she's the one who should investigate. Sayers clearly had fun writing this one, using Harriet to gently tweak her own profession, at the same time both parodying and defending the cloistered life at a women's college. The production is beautifully done and the performances are terrific, and Gaudy Night brings a satisfying end to the story arc begun with Strong Poison and Have His Carcase. --Ali Davis

Description

The third installment of Dorothy L. Sayers's famous Harriet Vane mysteries, Gaudy Night unfolds at the all female Shrewsbury College at Oxford. Upon returning to Oxford for the first time in years for a school reunion, Harriet Vane is asked by her old professors to turn her talents as a detective writer to practical use. Someone is terrorizing the faculty and students of the college by sending vicious anonymous letters, eventually leading to the destruction of collegiate property and the attack of faculty members. Harriet struggles with the realization that the perpetrator may be a professor as well as the realization of her growing feelings for Lord Peter Wimsey.

Customer Reviews:

POOR CASTING.......2007-06-14

I beg to differ with the other reviewers. I have read a couple of the Sayers books (Gaudy Night and The Nine Tailors come to mind). I don't remember much about the books, except that I wasn't keen on reading them all. But I love mysteries and I've seen all the Wimsey eipsodes made for television, those with Ian Carmichael and those with Edward Petherbridge. The Carmichael episodes are far better, for my money. Carmichael's Wimsey is charming, sparkling, a little quirky and fun, a man you want to know. Petherbridge is glum, looks very tired and bored. I don't believe he's attracted to Harriet, no matter how many times he says so. There is nothing in his eyes. And Harriet!!! There's a snotty cow. Usually looks like she's revolted by a nasty smell. Nope, nothing anybody could fall in love with there either. Whether it was a careful recreation of the characters in the books or just the casting of two particularly unsympathetic people, it just doesn't cut it.

A Mystery To Me.......2006-05-07

While enjoyable, it was "a mystery to me" why footage was cut from the version I saw on Mystery. I definitely remember the scenes about the chess set when I saw this story on TV.
Why, oh why, was it cut? It captured a major awareness, on Harriet's part, concerning her feelings for Lord Peter.
I feel cheated, as when we purchase such a product, we expect to see the ENTIRE work. If that does not matter to you, then this incomplete work stands alone as better than nothing.

We came, we saw, they conquered!.......2006-02-17

This series concludes in a most excellent way, with a challenging whodunit set amidst the antiquities of Oxford.

The way these characters were portrayed introduced me to the world of Dorothy Sayers' post-WWI England, and my only regret is that Talboys was not introduced as a subsequent episode.

Whenever I read (and reread) Dorothy Sayers, it will always be the portrayal of Peter Wimsey by Edward Peterbridge that I envision. Of all the actors who have taken on this role, *this* version is the finest I've seen.

A Deep Disappointment.......2004-05-08

Gaudy Night has long been my favorite Lord Peter Wimsey--or perhaps I should say, Harriet Vane detective story. There's no doubt Sayers recreated Oxford lovingly and with extreme vividness. Harriet Vane fully comes into her own in this story. The TV adaptation, however, is truncated, simplified almost beyond recognition. The various characters are cardboard stereotypes. The deepening relationship between Wimsey and Harriet is reduced to cliches. Why in the world were 4 episodes lavished on a much lesser story, "Have His Carcase" and only three on "Gaudy Night". This version simply doesn't do the original story justice at all.

Well done.......2004-01-25

This is the third in a series of television movies based on Dorothy L. Sayers's famous mystery series featuring Harriet Vein and amateur sleuth Lord Peter Wimsey. The first two programs are "Strong Poison" and "Have His Carcass."

One of the strengths of the BBC production is that they do not try to dramatize so much that the story does not match the book. One of the advantages of this series is that it is long enough that most of the pertinent information is shown. They made an excellent choice when deciding to use Edward Petherbridge as Lord Peter Wimsey and Harriet Walter as Harriet Vane. They match the book character descriptions perfectly. In fact if you see this program before you read the book their images will be in your mind.

Maybe due to time restraints or different directing, many of the most interesting book characters were left out of "Gaudy Night" A chess board plays a significant part in the book and is also left out of this version.

Harriet is invite to her university's gaudy. She soon finds out that it is not an idle indentation. It seems that people are receiving poison pen letters and very nasty pranks. Not wanting the police to be involved they turn to Harriet (knowing of here reputation for solving crimes.) When Harriet receives a letter herself she confides in Lord Peter. Are these innocent pranks or will they lead to some thing more sinister? And who is the culprit?

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