BoardChiri
Bad Acting and worse Bad Screenplay
BelSports
This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.
Brainsbell
The story-telling is good with flashbacks.The film is both funny and heartbreaking. You smile in a scene and get a soulcrushing revelation in the next.
mb-155
We have watched this series a few times as we bought all the DVDs. Virgin in the Ice is our favourite and one to be watched on a very cold winter's day. There are knights recently returned from the Middle East, some of which have turned bad, together with a 'bastard' good knight. There are two Queen Maud fugitives being chased by some of the nastier knights. There is even a frozen body to be thawed out. A monk is under threat. The new Sheriff Hugh Beringar is the best of the three people who get to play this part. Brother Jerome is typically awful while the new Abbott is worldly wise. If you could only watch one episode of this special medieval whodunit set in and around an Abbey let it is this. We always light a roaring fire to go with it!
classicalsteve
When I had first heard of the Cadfael series, I thought it was simply 20th-century whodunits with the Middle Ages as a kind of superficial background. Fortunately, I was quite mistaken. What Ellis Peters (who wrote the original books of Brother Cadfael) and the filmmakers of the series have done is to fuse the idea of whodunits within a completely medieval context, espousing not only the look but also the rhetoric, belief and sensibilities of medieval community and thought. My suspicion is that Ellis Peters did appropriate research into the Middle Ages to give us a picture that is much closer to medieval life than other similar productions, such as the recent "Robin Hood" series, which is merely a 20th-century action series disguised as being in the Middle Ages.If there is one aspect that permeated every facet of medieval Europe, it would have to be religious fanaticism. Nearly every act, deed, circumstance, and event was defined by its relationship with the divine. Criminal acts were the work of the Devil. Charitable acts were the result of God, Jesus, Mary or one of the saints. Wars were the preordained outcomes of divine providence. Holy relics and the bones of saints were as fused to religious belief as the conduct of the military and the nobility. There was no distinction between the secular and the religious as there is today. And turning one's back on religion during this period could have dire consequences.Within these historical parameters, the Cadfael series may be the one television offering of its type that succeeds in placing the viewer into the medieval world as it probably was. The medieval world, though fascinating, was also drab, damp, and dirty. Its nickname as the "Dark Ages" is not completely unfounded. Aside from the obvious issues of personal hygiene and cleanliness (the ancient Greeks and Romans definitely had the edge 700+ years earlier), ignorance and illiteracy were the norm. The vast majority of the nobility couldn't read or write until the High Middle Ages. But religious fanaticism mixed with fervent aggression (the most deadly of combinations) begets an age in which violence was often the arbiter for disagreement. The Cadfael stories interplay with this mixture of religious fundamentalism, prevalent ignorance, and violent confrontations with fascinating and mostly plausible results. Of course, there were few dull moments in the Middle Ages which makes for a perfect platform for storytelling.From start-to-finish, the 13 productions are of the highest-quality for a television programme of this type, with a fine performance by Derek Jacobi as Brother Cadfael. (Alas, Ellis Peters wrote 20 Cadfael books.) Maybe the only criticism might be the character of Cadfael himself, whose portrayal is ,ore as a modernist (in the 20th-century sense) trapped in a medieval body and residing in a medieval world. He is almost too insightful and knowledgeable for the age, but maybe it works as a story-device to help the audience see medieval life through his eyes. Common sense was not very common in the Middle Ages. Simultaneously if you accept Cadfael's insight as being ahead of his time by several centuries, it's a wonderful and entertaining production that transports you to the 12th century. How mankind ever lived through the Middle Ages without destroying itself is a mystery not even Cadfael can solve. (There was a figure in the 14th century who was disillusioned by the age and literally anticipated the coming of the Renaissance.)
Ephesians60
Hi folks,.This is one heck of a great piece of Cinmniamatic genius. Cadfael is with out a doubt of of the best sires I have ever seen. No foul language, no violence, no sex, no nothing offensive just good clean entertainment. I have the complete 13 dis set and it is amazing. Brother Cadfael played by Derek Jacobi, is a 12th century monk in Shrewsbury England. He is like Jesscia Fletcher form the Murder she wrote sires. Only a 12th century one as well as being a monk he solves all the murders and other crimes that take place in and around the Abbey. This sires is way to advanced for most kids under 14. But a must see.Thank you
sneakyclevermongols
I agree with "hgallon" on quite a few points. Any literary adaptation for the large or small screen, owes its existence to the source material. Therefore, it's not merely respectful to retain what made the source material compelling to start with; it's practical. (Acknowledging, of course, the fine adjustments that must occur when translating a story from one medium to another.)The series achieves both "hits" and "misses". I too was a little hurt that Cadfael's Welsh origins was omitted. And for several reasons:Cadfael's Welshness was an important aspect of his character. Anytime the abbey needed a Welsh translator (they WERE on the borderlands!), or the story required someone who knew both the Welsh and the English psyche intimately, Cadfael was called upon. Also, Ms. Peters indicates more then once that his affably earthy, yet bold, "take-no-crap" personality is a direct result to the Celtic culture in which he was brought up. I hardly think a simple Welsh accent would be beyond the scope of Mr. Jacobi's acting talent. (Ian Holm did it pretty well in "Henry V"...) I wonder why he was not asked to try?While on the subject, did anyone notice the actor playing Meurig in "Monk's Hood?" He played the lead in "Hedd Wyn" ---- the biopic of poet Ellis Evans. It was nominated for a "Best Foreign Film" Oscar in 1993. DEFINITELY worth checking out: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104403/board/threads/
