Starring: Michael Kitchen Average Rating: Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1 Binding: DVD Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC Label: Acorn Media Number of Discs: 4 Number of Items: 4 Region Code: 1 Release Date: July 17, 2007 Running Time: 400 minutes Theatrical Release Date: February 02, 2007
History meets mystery in this award-winning PBS series, with four all-new feature-length episodes set at the height of World War II. Michael Kitchen (Out of Africa) returns as the laconic Christopher Foyle, detective chief superintendent in the English town of Hastings. War has torn the social fabric of this once-quiet coastal community, and Foyle’s investigations explore the violence and opportunism that the conflict has fostered on the home front.
Also starring Anthony Howell and Honeysuckle Weeks, and featuring Kenneth Colley, Dermot Crowley, Liz Fraser, Philip Jackson, Michael Jayston, Corey Johnson, Jonah Lotan, and Roy Marsden.
THE MYSTERIES:
INVASION—As the first American GIs arrive to build an airbase near Hastings, the murder of a barmaid further strains already-tense relations between the locals and the Yanks.
BAD BLOOD—A top-secret experiment in biological warfare goes horribly wrong, complicating a murder investigation and threatening the life of Foyle’s faithful driver, Sam.
BLEAK MIDWINTER—The death of a young munitions worker and the murder of Paul Milner’s wife seem linked, and Foyle strives to clear his sergeant from suspicion.
CASUALTIES OF WAR—While investigating gambling and sabotage, Foyle takes in his troubled goddaughter and her severely traumatized son, who refuses to speak.
DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE making-of documentary, production notes, the historical truth behind each episode, and cast filmographies.
Amazon.com: The excellent Foyle's War returns with four episodes (each on its own disc) that first appeared on television in 2006 and '07. As before, the show's "history meets mystery" tagline pretty much sums it up, as Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle solves murders and various other heinous crimes in and around bucolic Hastings, England, while World War II rages on at home and abroad. "Invasion," the first episode, marks the arrival of American forces in 1942, not long after Pearl Harbor. Not all the locals are thrilled to see them; disparaging remarks about the G.I.s showing up "late" are common, and many a stiff upper lip curls at the Yanks' brash, boisterous behavior. Thus when a Hastings barmaid turns up strangled at a dance arranged by the Americans to get to know their hosts, fingers are quickly pointed at the "invaders." But Foyle and his assistants, Sgt. Paul Milner (Anthony Howell) and driver Samantha "Sam" Stewart (the delightfully named Honeysuckle Weeks), have other suspects, and the detective, who comes on a bit like Columbo without the trench coat and other idiosyncrasies, manages to sort through them while somehow keeping the Brit-Yank enmity from festering and dealing with the deadly effects of the illegal "hooch" the barmaid and her employer were brewing.
This balance of deftly intertwined elements typifies a series in which each installment is essentially a 90-minute movie; in "Bad Blood," murder, romance both illicit and international, and the appalling specter of Britain's experiments with biological weapons like anthrax are all on the bill, while gambling, sabotage, personal tragedy, and yet more murder feature in "Bleak Midwinter" and "Casualties of War." The mysteries aren't especially confounding; what the quietly persistent Foyle does is less interesting than how he does it. And while it's set in wartime, the war and its impact on the English (who endure the death and injuries visited upon their young men, along with shortages of gas, electricity, and such) is more often a backdrop than a central focus. Each disc includes a several pages of often fascinating text about the "historical truth" behind a given episode, while other bonus features include cast filmographies and a brief "making of" documentary on disc 1. All in all, while it may not appeal to fans of the fast-paced, effects-laden cop procedurals popular on American TV, Foyle's War is a classy production, well written (by creator Anthony Horowitz), nicely photographed, and well worth the investment of both time and money. --Sam Graham
Movie Buff Almost a five but since they cut all the stories to 100 minutes exactly they sometimes leave holes in the story.
Foyle's War The continuing saga of DCS Foyle during World War II is a wonderful opportunity to observe the brilliant Michael Kitchen and his supporting cast, along with well researched stories written by Anthony Horowitz, combines to make for great entertainment. This is season 4 which is every bit as good as the previous 3 seasons. I am a huge fan of the mystery genre and PBS and along with Hercule Poirot, Foyle's War is right up there with the best of them. Apparently, Season 5 (now on PBS) is the end and I am sad to see it go.
Foyle's War This was one of the most intriguing series on PBS. I bought all 4 years (16 DVDs)and don't regret it for a minute. I am now lending them to a friend who is in complete agreement with me! Michael Kitchen is superb in his quiet understated role as a Chief Police Inspector in a small town in England at the start of WW2. The crime and wartime influences on the town are spellbinding and I am amazed how he ties up all the loose ends of the sub-plots!
More Great Episodes Not much to say except that I was delighted to get these and enjoy them. This is one of the best series ever to come out of Britain.
Excellent in every way! I have all 4 sets of this series, and it is most excellent! Well written, well cast and acted. Michael Kitchen is wonderful in every way. The look and feel of the film is exceptional. I highly recommend it to anyone! (Although I have to say, I bought all 4 sets of mine at Costco, and they were much cheaper than anywhere else. Costco even had them cheaper than the "used" copies being offered on line!) Even if you can't find a good sale, however, this series is worth whatever you pay, and then some.
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