Brother Cadfael - The Raven in the Foregate

Starring:Eoin McCarthy, Anthony Green (II), Albie Woodington
Director: Graham Theakston, Sebastian Graham Jones
Studio: Acorn Media
Product Type: DVD

Editorial Review:
Amazon.com
Political passions ran high in 12th-century England, and the Church was often caught in the middle of the feud between King Stephen and Empress Maud. This feud takes its toll in Shrewsbury upon the appointment of a new priest whose political sympathies outweigh his human compassion. With unrequited love and farmland dispossession adding to the local turmoil, the long list of people who wanted to see Father Ailnoth dead keeps both the sheriff and Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) busy for days. As with all episodes in this medieval mystery series, the writing, acting, and production values are of the highest quality, re-creating the 12th century's grand and small passions in rich detail while viewers try to puzzle out who done it.

Customer Reviews:

Brother Cadfael, Set 3.......2004-12-03

The Rose Rent

"We have this moment for good or ill"
The Rose rent is a great mystery and in the course of being solved leads people to evaluate what has worth in life. A young widow must now face the fact that she may have killed her husband and 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 and Brother Cadfael uses forensics to determine who the murderer/s are and the motive/s. You get more then sufficient clues on the way.
My favorite quote is in the morning as they are ringing the morning bell; someone asks Cadfael, "Are you awake?" and 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"

A monk has the ability of sight. While he is being bleed he gets a vision. With the help of Jerome he realizes that it is St. Winifred whose body is lost in Wales and wants to be here so people can visit. A retrieval expedition is launched against Cadfael judgment.

This is one of the best Father Cadfaels as it has meaning and 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 been in many popular movies including "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 Raven in the Foregate

"Truth and 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 and if separate mysteries are related. I will not go thought the story blow by blow, as that is part of the intrigue in watching these films.
A part of the back cover paraphrased:
Father Ailnoth, the new parish priest in Shrewsbury, earns the scorn of his entire parishioners. After refusing to absolver a parishioner for carrying an illegitimate child, the priest is found dead in the river. There are plenty of suspects but a shortage of clues.
Too bad back covers are not clear and strait forward however the story is more complex and the acting is superior.

wonderful clean and interesting.......2004-11-30

We now have all of the Cadfael movies and have watched them in order, love them, and our youngest daughter has been bitten by the mystery bug. Good clean movies with a wonderful twist to them, something the whole family can watch. Very entertaining.

It keeps getting better.......2004-01-27

When I viewed the first set in this series I was drawn in by the wonderful acting, sets, costumes, music, and more. I immediately ordered the rest the sets and the third set showed up before the second. I couldn't wait to watch it and so I watched it out of order. It really doesn't matter I think what order you watch them in other than some of the background, whose King, politics, etc. might be clearer if watched in order.

Be sure to read the review "Successful TV dramatization and the role of Sir Derek's life" by themis_athena from Santa Monica, CA, USA. An excellent review and I dare anyone would have a hard time doing better. My only additional comment is I like Sheriff Hugh Beringar in the first series a little better. Eoin McCarthy in this series does not have quite the depth of Sean Pertwee.

This set includes the standard extras found in this series. Quite honestly these sets are a bargain for this price.

Great adaptations of a fun series.......2003-01-28

You can enjoy these Cadfael videos if you have not read the books, but if you are already a fan of the series they are even better.

If there were a few more Brother Cadfaels around the Church would not be in the mess it is today.

Successful TV dramatization and the role of Sir Derek's life.......2002-04-08

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 and unusual sleuths of literary history, novelist Ellis Peters (Edith Pargeter) was not entirely happy. In fact, as the series' star, Sir Derek Jacobi, explains in the extra footage provided on the now-released DVDs, Ms. Peters had very mixed feelings about giving up her brain child and entrusting it to other people who went about cutting and adjusting everything, from the story lines themselves to the way the protagonists speak, to the necessities and limitations set by the new medium. But she eventually acquiesced and 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 and spirit set by Ms. Peters's books in a marvelous fashion. And Sir Derek Jacobi brings both the wealth of his experience and skill and all of his own shrewdness, intelligence, sense of humor and empathy to the role of the medieval Benedictine sleuth and 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 and narrow-minded Brother Jerome, Terrence Hardiman as Abbot Radolfus and Eoin McCarthy as Under-Sheriff Hugh Beringar, who joins Cadfael in his investigations whenever, as is so often the case, these transcend the world of monastic life and require the administration of secular justice as well as clerical insight. Several episodes also feature noted guest stars, such as Kitty Aldridge as Judith Perle and Crispin Bonham-Carter as Miles Coliar in "The Rose Rent."

All thirteen Brother Cadfael episodes produced for TV were eventually released on video and are available either individually or in one initial four-video set and three sets of three videos each. The second and third sets and the episode "The Leper of St. Giles" from the first set are currently (as of April 2002) also available on DVD. They are not entirely in the same order as the books; however, as most of the cross-references between the books have been eliminated in 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 and a number of the individual episodes' other actors. This third collection features the following stories:

"A Morbid Taste for Bones" (the 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 saint in a vision in 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 Raven in the Foregate" (the 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 priest in Shrewsbury's foregate, an ambitious, power-hungry cleric in direct allegiance with King Stephen.

"The Rose Rent" (the thirteenth Chronicle): A young widow is caught between several suitors but refuses to marry either of them, unable to give up the memory of her husband's love. She deeds her house to the abbey, in return for the annual rent of one rose from the house's garden; but a gift of beauty turns bloody when the emissary delivering the rose, a young monk, is found murdered.

The other televised episodes are, in order of sets:
First set:
"One Corpse Too Many" (the second Chronicle);
"Monk's Hood" (the third Chronicle);
"The Leper of St. Giles" (the fifth Chronicle);
"The Sanctuary Sparrow" (the seventh Chronicle).

Second Set:
"St. Peter's Fair" (the fourth Chronicle);
"The Virgin in the Ice" (the sixth Chronicle);
"The Devil's Novice" (the eighth Chronicle).

Amazon.com

Political passions ran high in 12th-century England, and the Church was often caught in the middle of the feud between King Stephen and Empress Maud. This feud takes its toll in Shrewsbury upon the appointment of a new priest whose political sympathies outweigh his human compassion. With unrequited love and farmland dispossession adding to the local turmoil, the long list of people who wanted to see Father Ailnoth dead keeps both the sheriff and Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) busy for days. As with all episodes in this medieval mystery series, the writing, acting, and production values are of the highest quality, re-creating the 12th century's grand and small passions in rich detail while viewers try to puzzle out who done it.

Customer Reviews:

"Truth and justice are often at odds.".......2004-12-25

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 and if separate mysteries are related. I will not go thought the story blow by blow, as that is part of the intrigue in watching these films.

Shrewsbury needs a new priest. Due to the civil war between Empress Maud and King Stephen 12th-century England the priest is picked for his political leanings.
A local girl is having an illegitimate child and asks Cadfael for confession. Cadfael explains only a priest can do that.
Father Ailnoth, the new parish priest to Shrewsbury, earns the scorn of his parishioners. After refusing to absolver a parishioner for carrying an illegitimate child; later the priest is found dead in the river. There are plenty of suspects but a shortage of clues.

A fine production.......2002-12-01

As is usually the case with Cadfael stories, it is useful to read the novel in addition to seeing the DVD. The reason is simple enough: it is impossible to reduce a 228-page book to a 75-minute drama without sacrificing details. In particular, the novel gives a great deal of political background information which explains the motivations behind the behavior of the principal characters.

First the background: "The Raven in the Foregate" is the 12th Cadfael novel, by Ellis Peters, published in 1986. It is set in England in December of 1141, in the middle of a fratricidal civil war between King Stephen and his cousin, the Empress Maud. During the previous summer it seemed that she had won the war: Stephen was in prison, Maud and her followers were in London, and Stephen's brother, Henry of Blois, Bishop of Winchester, had sworn his allegiance to her.

But Maud proved to be impossible to deal with, the Londoners revolted, and through a hostage exchange King Stephen won his freedom anew and retook London.

As the novel begins, Stephen's brother has no choice but to switch his allegiance once again, calling a legatine council to make sure that the clergy are all on the same page, and excommunicating the followers of Maud.

Among the attendees is Abbot Radulfus of Shrewsbury. When he returns to his monastery, he has with him a cleric named Father Ailnoth, who is to become the new parish priest for the people of the Foregate. Shortly thereafter, the King calls all of the sheriffs to him for the Christmas feast. There Hugh Beringar is appointed the new sheriff of Shropshire, to replace Gilbert Prestcote, who died in the spring.

Father Ailnoth proves to be a disastrous choice for a parish priest. His predecessor, Father Adam, was a kindly man, much loved, ready to forgive the penitent. Not so Ailnoth. He is a harsh and rigid man, strictly by the book, and quickly begins to make enemies. Before long he is dead, and Brother Cadfael, a Crusader turned monk, locally renowned for his ability to solve mysteries, has to figure out how and why. As usual, Hugh Beringar, his friend, serves as a partner in the investigation.

One immediately obvious difference between the book and the DVD is the season: the DVD takes place in the summer of 1141, not the winter, while Hugh is still under-sheriff. This change of season subtly alters the mood of the story, but does no harm to the drama.

The producers take other liberties with the plot and the characters. In the DVD, there is actually a second key mystery, intertwined with the first. This involves a young woman named Elenor, pregnant out of wedlock, who apparently commits suicide because of Ailnoth's harshness. Cadfael agonizes over how he could have saved her from despair and death, and his obvious sense of guilt causes others to question his judgment as he strives to link the two deaths. Who is the father of the unborn child? This plays a key role as well. In the book, on the other hand, the girl's name is Eluned; her suicide is purely incidental, yet one more reason for the townsfolk to loathe their new priest.

A common theme in Cadfael novels is budding romances between young people, and "Raven" is no different. Here again, extra wrinkles are added in the DVD, introducing a blind girl, Catherine, Elenor's sister, who is completely absent from the book.

Another added DVD character is Lord Cassale, the southern nobleman who is in search of an agent of the Empress Maud, believed to be hiding in Shropshire as he quietly contacts former Maud supporters. Cassale quickly butts heads with both the abbot and Hugh Beringar, whom he contemptuously calls "Under-Sheriff" every chance he can. In the book, Cassale is absent and Hugh himself is tasked with finding the agent. Naturally, this mysterious young man plays a central role in the story's plot.

The acting is excellent. As always, Sir Derek Jacobi plays Cadfael very convincingly. And then there is Peter Guinness, who plays Father Ailnoth, a dark, malevolent man with a skull-like head, billowing black robes and a heavy, ebony staff which he is all too ready to swing at those hapless enough to get in his way. He gives his hellfire-and-damnation sermons with obvious relish, as if longing to witness the flames of eternal torment for himself, from a bird's-eye view. When evicting some poor peasants whom Father Adam had allowed to till Church land, they protest that their children will starve, and he suggests that they should not have had so many. He very much resembles a raven, the traditional harbinger of doom. He represents everything that history records was wrong about the Medieval Church, with its endless meddling in politics and its heartless disregard for the welfare of the common folk.

In summary, "The Raven in the Foregate" should prove a worthy addition to any DVD library. It can stand on its own, even without the book.

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