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Rating: 
Summary: brother cadfael IV collection
Review: All Brother Cadfael fans trust me, do not waste your money on collection IV. I bought it and could not get through any of the three tapes. I would have to agree with another reviewer who said that the episodes in collection IV seem to be more gruesom than the others. The characters have changed drastically. It seems that they have become less holy and even Brother Cadfael doesn't seem quite like himself. I can't really put my finger on it but Cadfael fans, just treasure the enjoyment you received from the previous episodes and forget about collection IV.
Rating:
Summary: brother cadfael IV collection
Review: All Brother Cadfael fans trust me, do not waste your money on collection IV. I bought it and could not get through any of the three tapes. I would have to agree with another reviewer who said that the episodes in collection IV seem to be more gruesom than the others. The characters have changed drastically. It seems that they have become less holy and even Brother Cadfael doesn't seem quite like himself. I can't really put my finger on it but Cadfael fans, just treasure the enjoyment you received from the previous episodes and forget about collection IV.
Rating: 
Summary: A darker set of Cadfael videos
Review: I am a big Brother Cadfael video fan. However, the IV Series is overall a darker, more pessimisstic, and depressing set of mysteries than the previous three sets. Cadfael's fellow monks and the Abbey come across as very ugly. Even Hugh Beringer seems brutal. Overall, I did not care for this collection as much as the others.
Rating: 
Summary: It is most convenient to have the box set.
Review: I have written individual reviews of each film. This is a review of the Box Set. Naturally it is less expensive to purchase a set. The box case helps keep all the Cadfaels in one location. It also looks better organized. The actual material is cardboard. There is a written summary of the set contents on the back of the box.
Bottom line box sets look nicer if you are collecting.Just a note. If you go trying to compare well balanced films against a different media like books. You may be disappointed. On the other hand you can find that these films have a merit of their own.
Rating:
Summary: Brutalized!
Review: If I'm remembering correctly, this is the set that includes "The Pilgrim of Hate." This was my all-time favorite of the books, so I was looking forward to seeing the show, since in general I've liked the series. But they destroyed it. The storyline bore only the slightest resemblance to the original, making the pious child into a charlatan, and generally destroying the whole thing. I was so disappointed that I never watched any of the rest of series IV. It was a shame; I really had enjoyed Derek Jacobi's Cadfael, and in general the series. But I don't know why they felt they had to destroy the storyline to put it on TV.
Rating:
Summary: Brutalized!
Review: If I'm remembering correctly, this is the set that includes "The Pilgrim of Hate." This was my all-time favorite of the books, so I was looking forward to seeing the show, since in general I've liked the series. But they destroyed it. The storyline bore only the slightest resemblance to the original, making the pious child into a charlatan, and generally destroying the whole thing. I was so disappointed that I never watched any of the rest of series IV. It was a shame; I really had enjoyed Derek Jacobi's Cadfael, and in general the series. But I don't know why they felt they had to destroy the storyline to put it on TV.
Rating:
Summary: Agatha Christi: Detective Morse: Brother Cadfael
Review: If you enjoy a good mystery, you will enjoy this series of stories. The Monk is never what he seems.
Rating:
Summary: Brother Cadfael, Set 4
Review: The Pilgrim of Hate
Your prayers are enough
Once again many things are not what they seem and it is up to Brother Cadfael to bring then to light. If you do not compare to the book it is a good film and well balanced. (Do not forget that the first two chapters of the book are revealed in detail in "A Morbid Taste for Bones" and "One Corpse Too Many")This story takes place years later.
From the back cover:
Cripples Day at Shrewsbury brings a hoard of disabled pilgrims to the abbey. Within a short while, a body is found in a leather sack amongst the visitors. Cadfael boils down the man's body to inspect the bones and uncovers two possible explanations for his death.
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The Potter's Field
Guilt is something we have to live with,
So much mystery, so many solutions, and you guest wrong. Yet Brother Cadfael stays with it until all is revealed. In the process we all must think and learn something of our selves.
From the back cover:
A woman's skeleton is discovered in a local potter's field, since the potter Ruald, left his family to answer a calling form God, everyone concludes that the body belongs to his wife, and that Ruald murdered her when she tried to prevent him from taking the tonsure.
This may not be the book but the film has depth in its own right.
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The Holy Thief
Everyone belongs in the house of God
This Cadfael story are said to be darker in character and not as much as lighter earlier mysteries. This is not my favorite Hugh Beringar (Anthony Green.) I prefer Eoin McCarthy. However he works well in this Cadfael. In The Holy Thief while most people were using trial by water to catch the guilty, Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) uses forensics to track down the murder.
The abbey in Ramsey is bunt down by rebel soldiers. You may recall the time of the civil war between King Stephen and Queen Maude. As is the custom they clam the loan of St. Winifred's holy relics, to help build their monastery. You may also recall in "A Morbid Taste for Bones" the trouble Shrewsbury had obtaining St. Winifred. So in stead Brother Cadfael and Abbot Radulfus offer precious gems.
A stormy night comes up and in the disarray Winifred is pinched. In the process there is a murder. Only the balance and counter balance of Cadfael and Beringar can solve this, if any one can.
Rating: 
Summary: Not for Brother Cadfael fans
Review: This set raises the question: why adapt a popular author's work and make so little effort to capture the spirit of her writing. If the writers/directors/producers don't like Ellis Peters' stories, why don't they create independent works and let them stand on their own? All this does is trick Peters's fans into buying something that will probably disappoint them and make it difficult for someone who actually likes the Cadfael stories to do a good video version of them. These don't have anything like the depth, breadth and historicity of Peters' books and they don't even try very hard. My liking for the stories is strongly character driven, and unfortunately, however distinguished an actor Derek Jacoby may be, he's not really playing Cadfael in these tales. A few of the characters are well done: Brother Jerome, Prior Roberts. I think that is probably because the latter two characters fit very nicely into a jaundiced and rather shallow view of the Middle Ages. I can't really separate my judgement of this from my knowledge of the books, so possibly someone who is not familiar with the books will enjoy these videos. None of the video versions are terribly good, but fans may want to watch the first series, which is far and away the best, just for some the visual images: its neat to watch the men walking around in their monastic robes, although I warn you that the quality of the costuming is extremely variable.
Rating:
Summary: Not for Brother Cadfael fans
Review: This set raises the question: why adapt a popular author's work and make so little effort to capture the spirit of her writing. If the writers/directors/producers don't like Ellis Peters' stories, why don't they create independent works and let them stand on their own? All this does is trick Peters's fans into buying something that will probably disappoint them and make it difficult for someone who actually likes the Cadfael stories to do a good video version of them. These don't have anything like the depth, breadth and historicity of Peters' books and they don't even try very hard. My liking for the stories is strongly character driven, and unfortunately, however distinguished an actor Derek Jacoby may be, he's not really playing Cadfael in these tales. A few of the characters are well done: Brother Jerome, Prior Roberts. I think that is probably because the latter two characters fit very nicely into a jaundiced and rather shallow view of the Middle Ages. I can't really separate my judgement of this from my knowledge of the books, so possibly someone who is not familiar with the books will enjoy these videos. None of the video versions are terribly good, but fans may want to watch the first series, which is far and away the best, just for some the visual images: its neat to watch the men walking around in their monastic robes, although I warn you that the quality of the costuming is extremely variable.
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