Maigret - Series 1 And 2 - Complete [1992]

Set in the seedy criminal world of Paris in the 1950’s – where corruption is rife between the police and the villains, here we have twelve terrific dramatisations from the casebook of George Simenon’s unconventional sleuth ‘Maigret’.Maigret has risen through the ranks as a trusted honourable morally upright police officer who finds himself promoted to the rank of Chief Inspector – a desk job where Maigret is expected to coordinate a team of untrustworthy detectives to solve crimes of theft, corruption, embezzlement, extortion, rape, back-street abortions, violence, and satanic murders committed by hit-men and a wicked depraved serial killer.Streetwise and intuitive – with a deep knowledge of the streets of Paris and a large unrivalled network of ‘grassers’ in the criminal fraternity – Maigret decides that the role of Chief Inspector in its current form is not the brief for him.Seeing the power and resources Maigret has at his disposal, Maigret forms a small elite team of criminal investigation officers that he knows he can trust implicitly – and with himself at the head – Maigret triages the caseload and Maigret and his team take to the streets.With his long-suffering devoted wife by his side to ‘bounce’ ideas from, you are seductively pulled into a sleazy highly complex evil web of violence, deceit, and ever impending danger as Maigret uses his intuition and the information he and his team unearth, to piece together what is taking place; how it is taking place in plain sight; and WHY.All of the clues are there in plain sight – if you spot where to look and what to look for. Will YOU determine and unravel the horrific truth from the many blind alleys and red herrings and solve the mystery before Maigret solves the case?Five stars

Very good, I like Gambon acting very much

I have now watched all the episodes and they are uniformly excellent. Michael Gambon is well-nigh perfect as Maigret; he has exactly the physical bulk needed as well as providing the actorly presence that Rowan Atkinson so obviously lacks in his anaemic performance. Gambon also introduces an element of humour into the character which is often lacking in the books. The casting of Lucas, Lapointe and Janvier is just right and the locations provide the right backdrop too - after reading all the Maigret novels it's lovely to see the backgrounds and settings come to life.I wear hearing aids and there are no subtitles to these but I could hear 90% of the words clearly enough so didn't really miss them at all. The series dates back to the early 90s when actors were more careful about their diction and the slightly old-fashioned feel also helps the atmosphere.My only quibbles are that there are only twelve (perhaps Gambon didn't want to get typecast) and that they are a little too short - the first episode is double length which gives some idea of what is missed by compressing the rest to under an hour. That said, these are just the thing for the Maigret diehard who still misses the Maigret of Rupert Davies.

Michael Gambon fits into the Maigret character very well, with a superb supporting cast. He has the acting ability, physical build and presence to be totally convincing in the role, unlike the misguided recent ITV effort which only proved how ill-suited Rowan Atkinson was for his portrayal.As has been noted, it's a shame only a dozen episodes were filmed - and the transfers, which appear to have been taken from VHS are starting to look a little dated. That having been said, along with the masterly portrayal by Rupert Davies many years back for the BBC, these are the real deal. Thoroughly recommended viewing.

Great item, greater seller. Many thanks.

Simenon, despite so many attempts, is not easy to adapt as his Maigret books often have a dream-like sense of logic, with the detective acting as an author proxy as they discover the plots and characters together. These 11 hour-long cases, after a 75-minute opening story - adapted by the great Alan Plater - bring humour and usually a tightening of tempo, correctly focusing on the people, the food & drink and the surroundings. Occasionally the books get over-condensed so that emotion gets a bit lost or the approach proves a little sedate - but on the whole this works really well, thanks in no small part to the main cast and supporting actors, who are all superb. If you want a fair representation of the original stories in English (though filmed in Hungary rather than France), then forget the recent attempt with Rowan Atkinson and try this series instead.

Episodes somewhat truncated and censored. Compared to the French version that is. But Michael Gambon is great as the detective protagonist! I don't remember it from the original broadcasting so it's great to have this chance to catch up. Very happy!

Lovely series 1&2, wished they had made more, Thank you.

This series echoes the ambiance of France in the 1950’s. Michael Gambon is a convincing, empathetic sleuth. Worth watching!

Dalla descrizione avrebbero dovuto esserci i sottotitoli in francese invece non ce ne è nessuno!Attenzione!E'solo in inglese.Ho chiesto il reso.

DVD does not play on USA player. Vendor will not let me return. Poor service. When they ship they should know it is of no use.I am on a fixed income so this is important. They say request approved and then they said they would not return it. I will try my bank to do a charge back.

Great DVD, love it. 5 Stars *****

Loved the Maigret books and am enjoying the Michael Gambon version. Really pleased with prompt delivery