The Maigret Collection (TV)
Picture: C+
Sound: C+ Extras: C- Episodes: B
Despite only a few feature film appearances, including in
Jean Renoir’s 1932 La Nuit du Carrefour with Pierre Renoir as the
detective, Jean Tarride’s The Yellow Dog the same year, Julien
Duvivier’s A Man’s Neck in 1933, the Burgess Meredith-directed Man On
The Eiffel Tower (1950) with Charles Laughton as Maigret, Jean Gabin in his
trio of films: 1951’s Inspector Maigret, 1959’s Maigret and the St.
Fiacre Case, then again in 1963’s Maigret Sees Red, the Italian-made
Maigret At The Pigalle from 1966/67 and even an Austrian-made Enter
Inspector Maigret from 1967, Georges Simenon’s famous detective Maigret was
a hit in over 100 books. He also has
had more TV appearances than you might think.
The 1988 Richard Harris version was not that good, while Rupert Davies
played the detective for three seasons on British TV, beginning in 1960. A Nederlands series ran one season longer
than that beginning in 1964, while others in foreign countries have constantly
revived him over the decades. The
Maigret Collection offered by Koch/Lance features the remarkable 1992
version with Michael Gambon as the great detective.
Picpus (1943) even launched a B-movie
series in France, but after all these decades and all these versions, Maigret
(pronounced May-Gray) is still only known primarily in Europe and only among
serious Mystery fans in the U.S. unfortunately. Gambon had been often cast as bad guys or stuffy, mean oafs, but
he shines here in one of his best roles as the great detective. The 12 hour-long time-slotted shows featured
in this terrific set are:
1) The
Patience Of Maigret (title short story from the 1964 book Five
Time Maigret)
2) Maigret
& The Burglar’s Wife (from the 1951 book)
3) Maigret
Goes To School (short story from the 1966 book)
4) Maigret
& The Mad Woman (from the 1970 book)
5) Maigret
On Home Ground (from the 1932 book)
6) Maigret
Sets A Trap (from the 1955 book)
7) Maigret
& The Nightclub Dancer
8) Maigret
On The Defensive (from the 1964 book)
9) Maigret
& The Minister (from the 1954 book)
10) Maigret & The Hotel Majestic (from
the 1942 book)
11) Maigret’s Boyhood Friend (from
the 1968 book)
12) Maigret & The Maid
This should have been a phenomenal success akin to the
recent Poirot and Sherlock Holmes TV shows that have been celebrated and
overrated. Gambon should have
experienced much bigger breakthroughs in his career and greater gains for how
terrific he is in this role. The
supporting casts are also great and this DVD set could help revive Maigret in
general. Maybe we’ll get those other
versions on DVD. A few came and went so
quickly, they did not have a chance. The
Maigret Collection is your chance to see a classic detective brought to
remarkable life.
The 1.33 X 1 full frame image is slightly dated, but looks
good, with color consistency and above-average detail and depth. The Dolby Digital 2.0 is a simple stereo
that is effective and just fine. Nigel
Hess’ score and theme song are just right for the show. The only extra aside from the essay you can
read when you fold out the DigiPak 4 DVD case is a weblink on DVD 1 and cast
and crew on all four discs.
- Nicholas Sheffo
