Prime Suspect 6 - Last Witness

Rating:
Summary: BUT YOU'RE BUYING THE WRONG VERSION!
Review:
I will demur extended comments on the film to the reviewers below. Suffice to say, it is more taut, edgy, fast-paced, and visually compelling than the preceeding films. Obviously, the great script was paramount in Ms. Mirren's decision to return to the role.

My review has to do with the presentation. Much of this film has been shot with a super wide-angle lens.

I obtained this U.S. release from Netflix before I knew that it had been cropped and mastered in pan&scan. I stuck that bastardization back in the Netflix return envelope after 30 seconds of viewing.

Then I ordered the widescreen UK Region 2 PAL version from Amazon.com UK. It arrived in Los Angeles in under 10 days.

I have a native 16X9 Sony 34" HD widescreen CRT TV, and an all-region JVC NTSC/PAL DVD player. The presentation looked fabulous; I cannot imagine watching this film butchered in P&S. I highly suggest buying the widescreen version.

You can pick up name-brand all-region NTSC/PAL players all over the web for usually less than $150. They come in very handy with DVD's that are not available in the U.S.

When you view all the other PRIME SUSPECT DVD's which are all pan&scan, you realize that they were shot in widescreen and shrunk. Perhaps some day, the entire series will be made available in 16X9.

Rating:
Summary: Prime Suspect 6: The Last Witness Is Best In Series -Superb!
Review: Helen Mirren once again returns in her Emmy Award-winning role as Jane Tennison in what is, I believe, the series' most powerful police drama yet. This sixth episode in Prime Suspect, "The Last Witness," has Tennison hunting down the leaders of a paramilitary death squad in London. These men had perpetrated heinous crimes against humanity during the Balkan Civil War and could possibly be the cause of a terrible murder in Jane's jurisdiction.

Former Chief Detective Tennison, has now been promoted to overseeing all murder investigations in London. She is, as usual, battling the male establishment and coming to grips with advancing middle-age. At 54 she feels she is being pushed toward early retirement and the pressure and presence of ambitious younger colleagues who would love to have her job are ever present. At this point in her life Jane Tennison is also beginning to realize that her career has become her life - a sad and lonely realization.

When the body of a young Bosnian woman turns up, with signs of brutal, sadistic torture, Jane takes over the case. Her investigation leads her to one man, and perhaps two, who are alleged war criminals with much to hide as they attempt to make new lives for themselves in Britain. The murdered woman's older sister is finally found and promised protection in return for her story and assistance with the ongoing investigation. The police protection proves to be weaker than the will of the murderer to eliminate all possible witnesses to his crimes. And disaster strikes again with horrifying results. As usual Tennison risks all in her determination to bring the guilty to justice and in this sixth episode "all" could mean her career.

The Prime Suspect series has long been a favorite. Helen Mirren is superb as an actress in any role and absolutely shines as Jane Tennison. Ms. Mirren lends the correct mix of tough independence and vulnerability that are such an important part of the character. And her face mirrors all the emotion her character is feeling more eloquently than words. I heard Ms. Mirren say, in a recent interview with the press, that this will be the last Prime Suspect episode. I am very sorry to see it end but can't imagine a more fitting conclusion. Wonderful acting and drama. Highly recommended!
JANA

Rating:
Summary: The evil war criminal is brought to justice
Review: I have always liked these Prime Suspect shows so I was excited to see another one out. This episode is about a war criminal who is continuing his dark work in London on the same pair of sisters that he tortured in Bosnia during the war.

I really liked this one because it dealt with Bosnia and I have always been interested in that area. It is also refreshing to see a sadistic war criminal brought to justice even if it is on the small screen.

I don't recommend this for everyone because it is very dark and depressing. For anyone who knows about the war in the Balkans, the scene in the warehouse might be too much. However, this show is still great.

Rating:
Summary: Best of them all: Jane back to bring war criminal to justice
Review: I saw the 2nd part of this on Masterpiece Theater, and it's definitely the best of all 6. In this latest Prime Suspect Helen Mirren uncovers the murderer of 2 Bosnian refugees. The suspect turns out to be a Bosnia Serb war criminal, but is protected by the British government a la Szell in Marathon Man. Jane Tennison is older and wiser as she goes against orders to bring the mass killer turned smooth London professional to justice.
The script writing is superior, even to the earlier episodes, as we get this psychological cat and mouse between Jane and the suspect, his wife, and his underling. And as part of the investigation Jane even travels to Bosnia and has the inevitable affair with her assistant. This shows the Bosnian war should not be forgotten and we've got to bring Mladic, Karadic, and the others to justice.

Rating:
Summary: What a story!
Review: The acting is great and all, but what a great story. I think this may be the best of all the Prime Suspects--but they are all good. (I bought UK version so I saw it in widescreen.) The use of the fisheye (Super-wide angle) lens was interesting, although it made me almost dizzy sometimes.

No, Jane, you are not going to Bosnia. Yeah, right!

You'll recognize Ben Miles right away if you have seen Patrick in Coupling--in the first shot of him he has on his wayfarer sunglasses--reminiscent of the "stop playing reservoir dogs" scene from Coupling season 1.
Except for missing Haskins from the other Prime Suspects, this one is superb!

Rating:
Summary: helen mirren's masterpiece
Review: This was an incredible movie. It is the best of the prime suspect series. Helen Mirren plays Jane Tennyson for the first time in 7 years. She is older and some think she should retire. But her experiance and intelligence is needed to catch a serbian war criminal who has killed on british soil, but is protected by the international witness protection program. This is 200 minutes of pure highly emotional suspence. I highly recommend this dvd. I just finished watching it, and am still effected by this story.

Rating:
Summary: Full screen feature... widescreen extras!
Review: When this aired in Canada on CBC, it was the original widescreen presentation. I missed it when it aired on PBS recently, so I'm not sure if they showed a widescreen or full screen version. However, I assumed that HBO and Warners would release the original widescreen presentation, enhanced for 16x9. Apparently, that's how the DVD was released in Region 2. But despite what it says here on Amazon in the technical specs, this DVD is a full screen presentation. That's a real shame, and it makes me want to purchase an "all region" player and order the Region 2 DVD from the U.K. - so I can see Prime Suspect 6 as it was meant to be seen.

Rating:
Summary: Full Screen version - NOT widescreen
Review: When this aired in Canada on CBC, it was the original widescreen presentation. I missed it when it aired on PBS recently, so I'm not sure if they showed a widescreen or full screen version. However, I assumed that HBO and Warners would release the original widescreen presentation, enhanced for 16x9. Apparently, that's how the DVD was released in Region 2. But despite what it says here on Amazon in the technical specs, this DVD is a full screen presentation. That's a real shame, and it makes me want to purchase an "all region" player and order the Region 2 DVD from the U.K. - so I can see Prime Suspect 6 as it was meant to be seen.