MovieChat Forums > The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987) Discussion > Best of Ruth Rendell Mysteries on DVD

Best of Ruth Rendell Mysteries on DVD

posted 17 years ago by helen-tikkis
9 replies | jump to latest

Does anybody know which episodes are on this new DVD which will be released on 9 April 2007? Both Sendit.com and Amazon.co.uk are selling it, but with absolutely no information as to the titles of the episodes, save to say that there are 17 of them!

Is it the Inspector Wexford series? Is it one of her other series? Nobody seems to know, yet they are selling it and it should be available in about 3 weeks! Both claim that they have no information from the manufacturer. Surely the manufacturer should know what is on the DVD box set. I am amazed that they can sell something with no description.

Hope somebody can help?

Thanks

Helen

[–] KiRsTy_Mc17 17 years ago

From what I understand there will be three inspector Wexford mystery stories in the set - Simisola, road rage and harm done. I think the rest are adaptions from her other novels not in the inspector wexford series.
Im really annoyed that no one seems to know what the titles of the other adaptions are!! I hope that the adaption of Heartstones is included in it, I have been waiting years to see it again.
Hope someone else can help with more information as to what will be on the disks.

[–] ivana2804 17 years ago

You'll find the answers on amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/B000N0WYGA/ref=s9_asin_title_1-1966_p/026-3077112-8450866?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=05SEYEZBARXY50W1PKEB&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139042191&pf_rd_i=468294

The other episodes are: Master of the Moor, You Can't Be Too Careful, Vanity Dies Hard, The Orchard Walls, The Fallen Curtain, The Sacred House of Death, A Case of Coincidence, The Double, A Dark Blue Perfume, Bribery and Corruption, May and June, Front Seat, Going Wrong, and Lake of Darkness.

Heartstones isn't included, I don't know why.

I saw most of those on TV a few years ago (while I've never seen any of the Inspector Wexford episodes), and I'd love to see some of them again (particularly "Going Wrong" with James Callis in the lead role), but the price is a bit high, so I'll be waiting for my local British Council library to obtain it... or for someone to rip the episodes and make them available online. ;)

better sorry than safe

[–] lasteven 14 years ago

Just watched the disc with the three episodes of Master of the Moor (Colin Firth in the lead) and was extremely disappointed. I had read the novel when it came out and really enjoyed it -- images and events remained with me for over 20 years.

The adaptation took a really severe departure in the final episode and I was very sorry I'd gone to the trouble of getting the disc. The changes made little sense and left the overall story muddled and pointless.

Has anyone read the original versions of some of the other presentations in order to compare? I really would feel reluctant to try the rest of the series after that experience.

[–] Harold_Robbins 13 years ago

Rendell is my favorite writer bar none, but some of her stories just don't work well when translated to film - I couldn't get through THE LAKE OF DARKNESS, for instance (the movie, not the book). I've just watched THE ORCHARD WALLS which was fine up until the last 5-10 minutes, wherein it differed from the story by showing what we already know must have happened, rather than the more subtle, reflective resolution Rendell gave the story (Rendell fans will recognize elements of A DARK-ADAPTED EYE and A FATAL INVERSION (her first two Barbara Vine novels) in the story, which is available in collections of her short-stories - THE ORCHARD WALLS, in fact, could have been the first Barbara Vine short-story (there has only been one)!

"'Nature,' Mr. Allnut, is what we are put here to rrrrrriiiiise above!"

[–] mcannady1 8 years ago

Movie girl: Yes. they did change things in THe Master of the Moor. I had read the book too. As good as Colin Firth was, some changes were hard to understand; name;y the last murder victim.

[–] SceneByScene 13 years ago

Just an update - as there seems to be a discrepancy in the episode titles included in this DVD!

The current (@ March 2011) list of included episodes in the DVD 'The Best Of The Ruth Rendell Mysteries' is stated by Amazon.co.uk as:

Master of the Moor, You Can’t Be Too Careful, Vanity Dies Hard, The Orchard Walls, Simisola, The Fallen Curtain, The Secret House of Death, A Case of Coincidence, The Double, A Dark Blue Perfume, Bribery and Corruption, May and June, Front Seat, Going Wrong, Road Rage, Lake of Darkness, and Harm Done.

See URL: http://www.amazon.co.uk/o/ASIN/B000N0WYGA/ref=s9_asin_title_1-1966_p/026-3077112-8450866?pf_rd_m=A3P5ROKL5A1OLE&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=05SEYEZBARXY50W1PKEB&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=139042191&pf_rd_i=468294

HTH!

~ by SceneByScene ~

[–] mcannady1 8 years ago

Movie girl: My Wexford's (about 20) I got from a bookshop about 10 years ago. They were on VHS with laser picture on cover. The resolution was pretty good here and there, but I am glad to have gotten them. Most of them are so hard to find!

[–] Mpaul-2 17 years ago

They're not the Wexford ones. Most of them are 60 minutes long and I think they're based on RR's short stories rather than novels. I hope this helps.

[–] mcannady1 8 years ago

Movie girl: I don't know which series they have. Later they released some of Ruth's works as Barbara Vine on Mystery box sets. I bought a couple and they are good, but I like Wexford best.