Mystery & Imagination (Anthology Series/1966 – 1970/Network U.K./PAL
Region 2 DVD Import Set)
Picture:
C Sound: C+ Extras: C+ Telefilms/Episodes: C+
PLEASE NOTE: This DVD set can only be operated
on machines capable of playing back DVDs that can handle Region Two/2 PAL
format software and can be only be ordered from our friends at Network U.K. at
the website address provided at the end of the review.
When TV
was still in its last golden period, several producers tried to adapt literary
works in ways that were smart and true to the text. In the horror/thriller genre, Dan Curtis made
many a TV movie based on classics books in the genre in the U.S. and so did British TV. An interesting attempt that lasted for a
while was Mystery & Imagination,
an anthology series that offered TV versions in varying lengths of some of
those classics. The biggest horror is
that some of the shows have been lost forever, but Network U.K. and Thames
have found the eight remaining shows and they include:
1)
Uncle Silas (Robert Eddison, Lucy Fleming
& Patience Collier)
2)
Frankenstein (Ian Holm, Richard Vernon, Sarah
Badel, Neil Stacy)
3)
Dracula (Denholm Elliot, Susan George,
Bernard Archard, Colin Redgrave)
4)
The Suicide Club (Alan Dobie, Bernard Archard,
Hildegard Neil)
5)
Sweeny Todd (non-musical w/Freddie Jones,
Heather Canning, Mel Martin)
6)
The Curse Of The Mummy (Isobel Black, Patrick Mower,
Donald Churchill)
7)
The Fall Of The House Of Usher (David Buck, Susannah York,
Denholm Elliot)
8)
The Open Door (David Buck, Jack Hawkins, John
Laurie, Geoffrey Sumner)
1 – 3 are
all the shows from Series/Season Four, 4 – 6 are the final shows and all from
Series Five and 7 & 8 are the remaining shows from Series One. That leaves sixteen (yes, 16!!!) shows lost
and only one (see below) even survives as a clip. What a tragedy.
Though
the productions have not always dated well and you can see some budget limits
or just limits in the age of the production, they do not always hurt them as
much as the acting and writing is not bad.
Also, since they all take place in the past, looking old is only going
to hurt them so much. Horror fans will
ant to catch these once and though none stuck with me, I thought they were
professionally done and ambitious, which is more than we can say about most
such productions today. At least they
knew the classics that existed. All in
all, it is an interesting series worth the time of those seriously interested.
The 1.33
X 1 image was shot in analog PAL videotape (with limited outdoor 16mm) and can
be soft and limited in depth. The color
shows that are now black and white have poor, awkward grey scale as you would
expect, while we also get aliasing, some video noise, video banding, some tape
scratching, PAL cross color and tape damage.
The original color shows do not look bad for their age and the color
shows also look as good as the rest. The
Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono is about a generation down throughout and can be
distorted, but it sounds better than these look, which is a plus. Extras include stills on DVD One, an extract
clip from the Casting The Runes adaptation
(from Series Three with John Frasier, Gordon Jackson & Robert Eddison) on
DVD Four that is all that sadly exists of the whole show (!) and an Episode Guide
booklet by TV historian Andrew Pixley with a history of the show including
spoilers to the eight remaining shows in the set and full descriptions of all
the lost shows, including the late, great Edward Woodward (Callan, The Equalizer)
in Algernon Blackwood’s The Listener.
It’s such
a shame to loose these programs.
As noted
above, you can order this DVD import set exclusively from Network U.K. at:
http://www.networkdvd.net/
or
www.networkdvd.co.uk
- Nicholas Sheffo
