Rating: 
Summary: So what if this Hugh isn't the *real* Hugh (Sean Pertwee)?
Review: ... Brother Cadfael is *still* the most unique, complex, fascinating detective out there. Add to that the endlessly treacherous and intriguing setting, and you've found a winner.The production standard is incredible; visually, it's an impressive effort and very realistic. It manages to be grand and gritty at once. The acting is likewise superb. I could never have pictured a better Cadfael than the sterling Sir Derek Jacobi. The only reason I gave this set four stars rather than five is that this particular Cadfael series is not my favorite of the four. All of them are worth owning, however.
Rating:
Summary: Synopsis
Review: DVD Set 2 (most likely) includes these episodes: The Virgin in the Ice, St. Peter's Fair, and The Devil's Novice.
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.
Rating: 
Summary: Good series gets a bad transfer
Review: I love the Cadfael series but this transfer to DVD looks like they took it off a second hand tape. Beware!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent entertainment
Review: If you love who-dun-it's, they're great! Exc. cast, scenery, plot.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent entertainment
Review: If you love who-dun-it's, they're great! Exc. cast, scenery, plot.
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Summary: Brother Cadfael, Set 2
Review: The Virgin in the Ice
"Between friends there is no owing."
Once again there is a mystery with many threads overlapping. Father Cadfael uses intuition and a great deal of forensics to sort out what really happened.
You guest it; Sister Hilaria is found in the ice and the last time she was seen was with Brother Oswain of who is delirious from an encounter with bandits. Two kids are missing and a mysterious woodsman (with a sward) is creeping around. Things only get more complicated. In the process of sorting this out Father Cadfael leaves words of wisdom as "There is no shame in tears when they are worth shedding."
The identity of the mysterious woodsman holds great significance.
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The Devil's Novice
"Even in the worst deed there is some good."
You know this is going to be a good one when it starts out with a bloody face staring at you. Later there is the bragging priest and you know if he is not the one to die that he should be. And what is with the soon to be bride playing on both sides of the fence?
A new novice that speaks strangely in his sleep, a missing king's chaplain who should have staid in the cars or rather not go out alone, and a mystery wild man is just the right mix for a murder mystery.
Once again Cadfael uses forensics, logic and intuition (with a little last minute information) to smoke out the truth and bring the culprit/s to justice.
You will suspect everyone up to the end.
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St. Peter's Fair
In the final reckoning we are all traitors to our hearts.
There is to be the annual St. Peter's Fair in which vendors from all over come to hawk their wears. The town merchants are required by law to close for this time. Not satisfied with this law the merchants threaten Abbot Radulfus (Terrence Hardiman) and get told that he has no choice in the matter.
This leads to a scuffle between the merchants and the visiting vendors. In the morning a wine merchant's body seems to be watered down with a hole and no tong. Abbot Radulfus charges Cadfael to find out if it was the Abbots fault for refusing to share with the towns people.
Naturally things get complex. There are crosses and double crosses, beautiful girls and suspicious sheriffs. This may even lead to a rift between the Sheriff Hugh Beringar and Cadfael (old friends.)Cadfael uses forensics, intrusion and logic to help solve the mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Jacobi does it again!
Review: These videos are extremely well done. I learned more about the post crusade era in the Catholic Church then I would have in any history class. Derek Jacobi is a superb actor, and his talents are highlighted in these entertaining and educational videos. I would recommend these to anyone with an interest in religion, history, or science, or to any one who loves a good mystery.
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Summary: Cadfael my Son
Review: This is one of the best sets in the series. Although I think Sean Pertwee in the first set was a better sheriff, this group of stories is incredible. We see consoling, love, intrigue, lechery, murder, highway bandits, rape, kidnapping, and a host of other acts of love and violence. Some true chivalry, an evil monk but not the one that is accused, and mysterious disappearances of people make this set great to watch. The set contains many sub stories in each story that makes them all the more interesting. We find out a piece of the puzzle in Cadfael's love life while he was on the Crusades. The set does not contain much as far as extra's but the series alone is well worth the price. The quality is comparable with the rest in the series and quite adequate.
Rating:
Summary: Fun, but some bad decisions here
Review: This set has gone a bit downhill from the first series. These are still enjoyable, but not nearly as close to the world of the books. The first big problem is the very unfortunate decision to merge the characters of the two sheriffs. The actor in the first series was a great Hugh Berringer and this one is a great Sheriff Prestcote, but the two were such totally different personalities that their lines can't be combined into a coherent role. Which raises the question, why weren't the books done in the order they were written so that the two characters could be handled properly? Secondly, Cadfael loves the world and its creatures, but has a certain detachment, befitting a monk, viewing worldly folly more with sorrow than anger. He seems here to be sliding more towards the Last Angry Man with a contempt for the fools around him. He isn't set so far apart from the rest of the cast in the books. The quality of costuming varies wildly, with some of the women looking more like attendees at a late 20th century prom than medieval women. Some of the other supporting characters, notably Brother Jerome and Prior Roberts and the two abbotts are great!
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