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(More customer reviews)THE SINGING DETECTIVE is a compelling, funny, and heart wrenching mystery starring Michael Gambon as Phillip Marlowe: writer, protagonist, and hospital patient. Patrick Malahyde (Middlemarch) flawlessly plays Marlowe's nemesis (nemeses)-three different characters with three different British accents. The cast also includes Janet Suzman as wife, lover and vamp; Alison Steadman (Mrs. Bennet in the recent production of `Pride and Prejudice') as wife, mother, lover, and vamp (Marlene Dietrich lookalike), Joanne Whalley (ex-Kilmer) as nurse, etc.; and the housekeeper from the BBC television series `As Time Goes By' as the school teacher from your worst nightmare.
In addition to the superb cast and wonderful settings filled with vintage WWII elements, one can watch `The Singing Detective' for the pure entertainment provided by a convoluted plot, quirky characters, musical segments, and many humourous moments. One of my favorite scenes occurs when Marlowe responds to the ministrations of a group of Christians who attempt to impose their musical doctrine on the hapless ward patients. Another angle for viewing this film is provided by the drama of Marlowe's medical condition. Is it mental, physical or both? Will he improve or not? Will the psychiatrist be able to break through his defenses or is he defenseless? A third avenue for exploring the film is the depiction of the creative writing process. How do Marlowe's characters take form? What is the source of his plot elements? How much does he remember and how much does he imagine? Can one find the line between fiction and nonfiction.
Probably the most interesting angle from my perspective is the parallel between the Singing Detective and Shakespeare's Hamlet: the play within a play within a play (the play's the thing); the dead Ophelia floating in the Thames (who is she anyway-at least three different women turn up as the same corpse); the different `ghosts' who haunt the protagonist; unfaithful and spurned lovers; and two nameless hit men who try to assassinate the hero over and over from the beginning to the end of the story. I believe this BBC production (1986) must have inspired many of the deconstructed and now classic plays and films produced in the 1990s including `L.A. Confidential'; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'; `Pulp Fiction'; Reservoir Dogs'; `The Spanish Prisoner'; `Mulholland Drive'; and others.
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A gripping murder mystery. A lavish musical. An intense psychological thriller. A warped romance. Dennis Potter's legendary, award-winning mini-series is all this and more. Hailed by the Chicago Sun Times as "The greatest production in the history of television," this genre-deying masterpiece is soon to be a major motion picture starring Robert Downey Jr. and Mel Gibson.DVD Features:Audio Commentary:Audio commentary with star Michael Gambon and director Jon Amiel Documentaries:2 Behind-the-scenes specialsPhoto gallery
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