Foyles War Set 1 The German Woman The White Feather | Desertcart Ireland
Foyle's War: Set 1 (The German Woman / The White Feather / A Lesson In Murder / Eagle Day)
4.6/5
Product ID: 9464824
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Product Description The time is the early 1940s; the place is England's southern coast. As WWII rages around him, duty calls Christopher Foyle. Much to his frustration, however, the stalwart detective's responsibilities are on the home front, not the battlefront. Michael Kitchen (Reckless) stars with Edward Fox (The Strauss Dynasty) and Robert Hardy (All Things Great and Small) in a fast-paced four-part drama heavy on suspense and somber atmospherics. 6 hours 52 min. on 4 DVDs. .com Foyle's War is the rare mystery series that does more than plop a good detective into the middle of a decorative and bygone era. Created by writer Anthony Horowitz, Foyle's War makes profoundly resonant use of British society in 1940, a terrifying time in which the threat of an Axis assault on England disrupted ordinary life in often horrible ways, from the resettlement of city children (into the care of rural strangers) to a spike in xenophobia to a loss of personal freedoms. Against this heady backdrop is the near-solitary figure of Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle (Michael Kitchen), a London investigator who would rather be fighting Hitler abroad but is stuck solving domestic homicides--generally sparked by wartime fervor--with the help of a plucky driver (Honeysuckle Weeks) and a steadfast assistant (Anthony Howell). Kitchen's magnificently measured performance and Horowitz's masterful grasp of the moral and dramatic issues of his battle-scarred milieu make Foyle's War a must. --Tom Keogh
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Review Classy entertainment. -- London Daily TelegraphFor mystery fans, Foyle is a must-see. -- The Houston ChronicleThe most engrossing Masterpiece Theatre enterprise to come along in years. -- The Wall Street Journal See more
Reviews
4.6
All from verified purchases
P**E
Astonishingly terrific -- here's why (details)
Here's what you get:Four discs [color episodes] at 100 minutes each (more-or-less each one is a feature-length film); 16:9 widescreen, close captioned, not rated, *broadcast edition* [2001-02]. The Special Features include an interview with talented screenwriter of the series, Anthony Horowitz
].All the entries are characterized by atmospheric locations within a war setting, a host of compelling subplots, spot-on casting, a superb soundtrack [by Jim Parker:
A Rather English Marriage
], and terrific cinematography. I had grown in my appreciation of the PBS *Mystery* genre with
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Boxed Set Collection)
to the more recent Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 2
and
Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Definitive Collection
series but the multi-mysteries of *Foyle's War* are even better and considerably more sophisticated in the overall production qualities.*The German Woman* -- As World War II looms over England, the Aunt and Uncle (an aged German professor of music living in Sussex) of a young English soldier are both incarcerated in a local internment facility -- the Aunt drops dead of a heart attack over her unjust captivity. The nephew personally appeals for his Uncle's release to a local Magistrate, his former employer, whose often unpleasant wife happens to have been a recent native of the German culture Sudetenland. Even though the brothers of the Magistrate's wife are full-fledged Nazis she has remained free of any significant restrictions due to a purported heart ailment but she rides her horse like the wind.Meanwhile, a bored Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle's [Michael Kitchen] days are filled with investigating a cornucopia of war-related crimes ranging from profiteering to treason. All the while he worries about his only son, an RAF pilot-cadet. It's at about this time that the Magistrate's attractive wife is practically decapitated by a piano wire strung between two trees as she gallops her horse across her husband's vast estate.Foyle had previously asked his superior officer (played by an aging but still very talented Edward Fox:
The Day of the Jackal
.) for a transfer to a livelier assignment but then changes his mind in view of the murder case and at the prospect of unveiling widespread corruption within the local alien classification board of officials. But things aren't looking up for the Detective Chief Superintendent as his former beloved Sergeant [Anthony Howell as Sgt. Paul Milner] loses a leg in combat -- then Foyle is assigned a chatty and ebullient female driver [Honeysuckle Weeks as Samantha Stewart] who is initially not much to his tastes. But she soon proves herself to be a solid assistant.*The White Feather* -- A mousey English servant girl astonishes everyone when she is arrested for sabotage, sacked as she is discovered cutting telephone wires. Soon the sleepy Sussex hamlet is astir with a pack of Nazi sympathizers who are conducting a meeting at the local hotel where the girl worked and which is operated by a man [played by the delightful actor, Paul Brooke,
Saving Grace
] who resents his domineering wife's involvement with the group. One of this nefarious faction falls to murder and Foyle has to investigate. The anxiety of a prospective German invasion of England subtly, but effectively, boosts the dramatic mercury.In the meantime, one of the hottest murder suspects, the servant girl's boyfriend, needs to be temporarily excused from the local jail to assist his fisherman father in participating in the boat flotilla rescue of the defeated English and French soldiers at Dunkirk, just across the English Channel.*A Lesson in Murder* -- There was little public sympathy for conscientious objectors in England at the outbreak of World War II. One such young man is brought before a local board to decide his fate and the officials find his arguments to be unpersuasive. When he becomes disorderly at the hearing he is immediately jailed... where he is found hanging in his cell on the following morning.During the same period, Foyle has the unpleasant task of investigating the murder of an inquisitive young boy, a war evacuee from London -- but was a local judge the real target? Foyle has to work it out.*Eagle Day* -- A tenement house in London is bombed by the Luftwaffe and a man is found dead under the rubble with a knife in his chest!Foyle's son is assigned to a top secret military project but is soon suspected of espionage.Valuable art may be missing from a shipment to Wales where it's to be held for safety during the course of the war.A reported suicide sounds very suspicious and more murder ensues. Foyle has a full plate!Where does *Foyle's War* come down in the vast realm of British mysteries? One could categorically compare, in many ways, these superb episodes to those from The Golden Age of the genre: Christie, Marsh, Tey, Sayers, Upfield, Freeman, and so on. Everything for which we mystery lovers drool for within that savory literary genre seems manifest in the Foyle yarns - quaint rural settings, a focus on atmosphere, eccentric characters, subtle levity... on and on.But what separates this praiseworthy screenwriting from the works of the Past Masters is, in a phrase, intricate complexity: dead-end subplots; multiple and non-traditional crimes; the backdrop of the sacrifices necessitated by war; a heightened focus upon justice; cultural actualities; a broader taste of forensic science... in other words, reality. In fact, if no murders whatever occurred during these episodes then the audience would still find the background stories to be compelling.The crusty and elite characters (all portrayed by actors of The First Water), the manorial estates, the bubbling trout streams, the period hallmarks [Foyle discusses novelist Graham Greene with his infirm Sergeant at one point], the universal detritus of war - and so it goes.If I sound somewhat overly-emphatuated or extremely enthusiastic about *Foyle's War* it's only because every one of these episodes is really that outstanding. We can easily buy into these mysteries and it seems as if we're revisiting a time and place where most of us have never actually been and which existed before most of us were even born.My highest recommendation!
A**R
Superb Murder/Mystery Drama
I have indicated on this Board many times that I am a very intense fan of the English Murder/Mystery. "Foyle's War" is one of the very BEST that I have ever seen! I've come rather late, for some unknown reason, to this series. My loss! In the previous reviews to this series the writers have done a superb job of describing the "goings ons" in this presentation. I won't regurgitate their synopsis. However, I must say that I totally agree with their praise of this drama. It is truly wonderful! I plan on purchasing the other DVDs in the series. I like it that much. The acting, direction, scrip, etc. are sublime. I feel that Michael Kitchen is great as inspector Christopher Foyle. Likewise, Honeysuckle Weeks as Samantha "Sam" Stewart (Foyle's driver) and Anthony Howell as Paul Milner, Foyle's assistant are superb in their roles. The relationship between the characters is portrayed very realistically.I don't feel that there is one "false step" taken in this series. Everything is presented realistically and, to me, in a most truthful manner truly reflecting the era. There, to me, is no "updating" in the presentation to make it more commercially appealing for today's audience, A prime example is the relationship between Foyle's son and himself. Although, we the viewing audience get the feeling that they truly love each other a great deal, there is no overt displays of this affection. Anyone having a male relative coming from the 1940's (or immediately before or after) realizes that it just was NOT the thing, in most cases, for male relatives to do that is to display any kind of affection towards each other no matter the true feelings envolved. It simply wasn't too socially acceptable! (At least, in my own personal experience) Anyway, one really gets the feeling that Foyle loves his son; however, it is expressed in a most subtle manner.If you are into great drama and/or Murder/Mysteries buy this DVD; there is none better!
R**S
Highly Detailed, Tightly Contexualized
A beautifully turned bit of television. The research that contributed to the production of this series of four episodes centers on touching human details. The vets of World War I are the mature characters in this set of period pieces, and their recollections of what they did and saw in that prior war provides an overlay of feeling that subtly yet tellingly colors their dread of the conflict that was coming in the later months of 1940. Michael Kitchen's portrayal of the recently widowed Chief Detective Inspector Foyle has an added layer of subdued sadness and world-weariness that is punctured first by the taut energy and keenness of his driver, Samantha (adorably portrayed by Honeysuckle Weeks), then by the sad grief and disorientation of a young policeman returning from the war in Norway who has lost a leg in combat, and finally by the exhuberant naivite of his son. His wry humor and frank approach to those he interrogates and whose guilt he confronts is so low-key it takes one's breath away and provides a vehicle for his gradual emergence from a grief that is barely mentioned, yet permeates Kitchen's beautifully modulated characterization.The entire cast received careful direction to portray the coiled fear and concern of ordinary humans caught in a situation where an invasion can happen any time.Echoes of the current unlawful detention of "combatants" crop up as a subplot in the first episode, where a pair of worthy German immigrants are abused by busy xenophobes driven by misguided patriotism and fear. Indeed, the plot of every one of these four episodes has deep relevance in our own time of conflict and political uncertainty. Interestingly complex and puzzling.I checked these episodes out from the public library, and still ended up buying them for their layered complexity and engaging characterizations. Highly recommended.
い**い
語る日本
D**I
Five Stars
If you like Foyle's War. what are you waiting for? Get it.
G**S
Five Stars
Xmas gift for my friend in Alberta. Arrived safely.
Common Questions
Trustpilot
TrustScore 4.5 | 7,300+ reviews
Yusuf A.
Fantastic experience overall. Will recommend to friends and family.
1 month ago
Farhan Q.
The delivery time was excellent, and the packaging was secure.
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The Special Features include an interview with talented screenwriter of the series, Anthony Horowitz \n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n ].All the entries are characterized by atmospheric locations within a war setting, a host of compelling subplots, spot-on casting, a superb soundtrack [by Jim Parker: \n \nA Rather English Marriage\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n ], and terrific cinematography. I had grown in my appreciation of the PBS *Mystery* genre with \n \nThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (Boxed Set Collection)\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n to the more recent Agatha Christie \n \nAgatha Christie's Marple: Series 2\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n and \n \nAgatha Christie's Poirot: The Definitive Collection\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n series but the multi-mysteries of *Foyle's War* are even better and considerably more sophisticated in the overall production qualities.*The German Woman* -- As World War II looms over England, the Aunt and Uncle (an aged German professor of music living in Sussex) of a young English soldier are both incarcerated in a local internment facility -- the Aunt drops dead of a heart attack over her unjust captivity. The nephew personally appeals for his Uncle's release to a local Magistrate, his former employer, whose often unpleasant wife happens to have been a recent native of the German culture Sudetenland. Even though the brothers of the Magistrate's wife are full-fledged Nazis she has remained free of any significant restrictions due to a purported heart ailment but she rides her horse like the wind.Meanwhile, a bored Detective Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle's [Michael Kitchen] days are filled with investigating a cornucopia of war-related crimes ranging from profiteering to treason. All the while he worries about his only son, an RAF pilot-cadet. It's at about this time that the Magistrate's attractive wife is practically decapitated by a piano wire strung between two trees as she gallops her horse across her husband's vast estate.Foyle had previously asked his superior officer (played by an aging but still very talented Edward Fox: \n \nThe Day of the Jackal\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n .) for a transfer to a livelier assignment but then changes his mind in view of the murder case and at the prospect of unveiling widespread corruption within the local alien classification board of officials. But things aren't looking up for the Detective Chief Superintendent as his former beloved Sergeant [Anthony Howell as Sgt. Paul Milner] loses a leg in combat -- then Foyle is assigned a chatty and ebullient female driver [Honeysuckle Weeks as Samantha Stewart] who is initially not much to his tastes. But she soon proves herself to be a solid assistant.*The White Feather* -- A mousey English servant girl astonishes everyone when she is arrested for sabotage, sacked as she is discovered cutting telephone wires. Soon the sleepy Sussex hamlet is astir with a pack of Nazi sympathizers who are conducting a meeting at the local hotel where the girl worked and which is operated by a man [played by the delightful actor, Paul Brooke, \n \nSaving Grace\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n ] who resents his domineering wife's involvement with the group. One of this nefarious faction falls to murder and Foyle has to investigate. The anxiety of a prospective German invasion of England subtly, but effectively, boosts the dramatic mercury.In the meantime, one of the hottest murder suspects, the servant girl's boyfriend, needs to be temporarily excused from the local jail to assist his fisherman father in participating in the boat flotilla rescue of the defeated English and French soldiers at Dunkirk, just across the English Channel.*A Lesson in Murder* -- There was little public sympathy for conscientious objectors in England at the outbreak of World War II. One such young man is brought before a local board to decide his fate and the officials find his arguments to be unpersuasive. When he becomes disorderly at the hearing he is immediately jailed... where he is found hanging in his cell on the following morning.During the same period, Foyle has the unpleasant task of investigating the murder of an inquisitive young boy, a war evacuee from London -- but was a local judge the real target? Foyle has to work it out.*Eagle Day* -- A tenement house in London is bombed by the Luftwaffe and a man is found dead under the rubble with a knife in his chest!Foyle's son is assigned to a top secret military project but is soon suspected of espionage.Valuable art may be missing from a shipment to Wales where it's to be held for safety during the course of the war.A reported suicide sounds very suspicious and more murder ensues. Foyle has a full plate!Where does *Foyle's War* come down in the vast realm of British mysteries? One could categorically compare, in many ways, these superb episodes to those from The Golden Age of the genre: Christie, Marsh, Tey, Sayers, Upfield, Freeman, and so on. Everything for which we mystery lovers drool for within that savory literary genre seems manifest in the Foyle yarns - quaint rural settings, a focus on atmosphere, eccentric characters, subtle levity... on and on.But what separates this praiseworthy screenwriting from the works of the Past Masters is, in a phrase, intricate complexity: dead-end subplots; multiple and non-traditional crimes; the backdrop of the sacrifices necessitated by war; a heightened focus upon justice; cultural actualities; a broader taste of forensic science... in other words, reality. In fact, if no murders whatever occurred during these episodes then the audience would still find the background stories to be compelling.The crusty and elite characters (all portrayed by actors of The First Water), the manorial estates, the bubbling trout streams, the period hallmarks [Foyle discusses novelist Graham Greene with his infirm Sergeant at one point], the universal detritus of war - and so it goes.If I sound somewhat overly-emphatuated or extremely enthusiastic about *Foyle's War* it's only because every one of these episodes is really that outstanding. We can easily buy into these mysteries and it seems as if we're revisiting a time and place where most of us have never actually been and which existed before most of us were even born.My highest recommendation!"},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"5.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"A***R"},"datePublished":"Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2005","name":"5.0 out of 5 stars\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Superb Murder/Mystery Drama\n \n","reviewBody":"I have indicated on this Board many times that I am a very intense fan of the English Murder/Mystery. \"Foyle's War\" is one of the very BEST that I have ever seen! I've come rather late, for some unknown reason, to this series. My loss! In the previous reviews to this series the writers have done a superb job of describing the \"goings ons\" in this presentation. I won't regurgitate their synopsis. However, I must say that I totally agree with their praise of this drama. It is truly wonderful! I plan on purchasing the other DVDs in the series. I like it that much. The acting, direction, scrip, etc. are sublime. I feel that Michael Kitchen is great as inspector Christopher Foyle. Likewise, Honeysuckle Weeks as Samantha \"Sam\" Stewart (Foyle's driver) and Anthony Howell as Paul Milner, Foyle's assistant are superb in their roles. The relationship between the characters is portrayed very realistically.I don't feel that there is one \"false step\" taken in this series. Everything is presented realistically and, to me, in a most truthful manner truly reflecting the era. There, to me, is no \"updating\" in the presentation to make it more commercially appealing for today's audience, A prime example is the relationship between Foyle's son and himself. Although, we the viewing audience get the feeling that they truly love each other a great deal, there is no overt displays of this affection. Anyone having a male relative coming from the 1940's (or immediately before or after) realizes that it just was NOT the thing, in most cases, for male relatives to do that is to display any kind of affection towards each other no matter the true feelings envolved. It simply wasn't too socially acceptable! (At least, in my own personal experience) Anyway, one really gets the feeling that Foyle loves his son; however, it is expressed in a most subtle manner.If you are into great drama and/or Murder/Mysteries buy this DVD; there is none better!"},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"5.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"R***S"},"datePublished":"Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2004","name":"5.0 out of 5 stars\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Highly Detailed, Tightly Contexualized\n \n","reviewBody":"A beautifully turned bit of television. The research that contributed to the production of this series of four episodes centers on touching human details. The vets of World War I are the mature characters in this set of period pieces, and their recollections of what they did and saw in that prior war provides an overlay of feeling that subtly yet tellingly colors their dread of the conflict that was coming in the later months of 1940. Michael Kitchen's portrayal of the recently widowed Chief Detective Inspector Foyle has an added layer of subdued sadness and world-weariness that is punctured first by the taut energy and keenness of his driver, Samantha (adorably portrayed by Honeysuckle Weeks), then by the sad grief and disorientation of a young policeman returning from the war in Norway who has lost a leg in combat, and finally by the exhuberant naivite of his son. His wry humor and frank approach to those he interrogates and whose guilt he confronts is so low-key it takes one's breath away and provides a vehicle for his gradual emergence from a grief that is barely mentioned, yet permeates Kitchen's beautifully modulated characterization.The entire cast received careful direction to portray the coiled fear and concern of ordinary humans caught in a situation where an invasion can happen any time.Echoes of the current unlawful detention of \"combatants\" crop up as a subplot in the first episode, where a pair of worthy German immigrants are abused by busy xenophobes driven by misguided patriotism and fear. Indeed, the plot of every one of these four episodes has deep relevance in our own time of conflict and political uncertainty. Interestingly complex and puzzling.I checked these episodes out from the public library, and still ended up buying them for their layered complexity and engaging characterizations. Highly recommended."},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"1.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"い***い"},"datePublished":"Reviewed in Japan on February 22, 2024","name":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n 語る日本\n \n \n","reviewBody":""},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"5.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"D***I"},"datePublished":"Reviewed in Canada on July 21, 2015","name":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Five Stars\n \n","reviewBody":"If you like Foyle's War. what are you waiting for? Get it."},{"@type":"Review","reviewRating":{"@type":"Rating","ratingValue":"5.0"},"author":{"@type":"Person","name":"G***S"},"datePublished":"Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 8, 2016","name":"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n \n \n Five Stars\n \n","reviewBody":"Xmas gift for my friend in Alberta. Arrived safely."}],"aggregateRating":{"@type":"AggregateRating","ratingValue":4.333333333333333,"bestRating":5,"ratingCount":6}}
