Spoonatects Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

Murphy Howard I enjoyed watching this film and would recommend other to give it a try , (as I am) but this movie, although enjoyable to watch due to the better than average acting fails to add anything new to its storyline that is all too familiar to these types of movies.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

hrbuildingblocks Yes the sets and costumes are great/historically appropriate, and yes Michael Gambon is a good actor, BUT the BRITISHNESS of this 1992 series, is almost too much...very very strong English regional accents are at odds with the supposed French setting. The acting is actually a bit plodding too, despite the good actors. Perhaps this is a faulty script/direction, but I can't see how the 1992 series got so popular..perhaps it was the BRits watching other Brits and who cares about authenticity of accent or pacing of plot line/direction. Have seen Gambon in many movies, series and even he cannot completely 'save' this from being a bit underwhelming.,..and a bit boring...

jjb-9 Having read most of the short and long Maigret stories and seen a number of Bruno Cremer's version (French with subtitles), I had looked forward to this version if only because it did not require me to read subtitles. But I was very disappointed.Essentially, the BBC has transformed Maigret into a hard-boiled British detective with none of the subtlety of Georges Simenon's French detective. Of course they take liberties with the stories, and this is normal and to be expected with TV / movie dramatizations of books, but the dialog is very disappointing and not at all the Maigret of Simenon.It's not terrible, but Michael Gambon's Maigret is not good either. Better to obtain and watch the Bruno Cremer version, even though it requires you know French or read subtitles.

john-3939 This is a splendid series which I have recently obtained on DVD. Memories of when I first watched it seventeen years ago have come flooding back. But so did the irritation over one particular episode - Series 1 Ep 4. Maigret returns to his home village on All Souls Day (2nd November) a day when a priest is allowed to offer three Masses. Here the priest for a requiem Mass is dressed not in black vestments (appropriate for Masses of the dead in the 1950's) but in green vestments and not vestments for a priest but those of a deacon. When so much authenticity is captured in a production it was a pity that woeful ignorance of simple ecclesiastical matters was allowed to have such free rein. If those concerned in production are unsure about church customs then it is usually easy to find out for certain. But, all in all, a great series - delightful to watch and I give it 8 out of 10.

lucy-66 Filmed I think in Budapest, it has the shabby, faded look of the 50s. Writing, directing and acting are all top-notch. Many respected thespians pass through: Peter Blythe, Edward Petherbridge, Betty Marsden, Toyah Wilcox, Anne Todd - yes, that Anne Todd. Like the Simenon novels, the episodes are thick with atmosphere and explore the seedy realities of life. The characters are not nice middle class people who appreciate classical music and whose children go to good schools. They are a spendthrift playboy in a mouldy chateaux, or a stripper with - not a heart of gold but a few moments of tenderness. They are dentist's assistants, schoolboys, mendacious antique dealers, toyboys, prostitutes. See it if you can. xxxx