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The Singing Detective [1986]


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Editorial
Amazon.co.uk Review

The late Dennis Potter was a master at mining the popular songs of the 1930s and '40s for dramatic effect, but he never did it better than in The Singing Detective. The inestimable Michael Gambon plays a mystery writer named Philip E Marlow, who is suffering a torturous bout of psoriatic arthritis in hospital, where he is a victim of both his disease and the National Health Service. Unable to move without pain, he escapes into his imagination, plotting out a murder tale in which he is both a big-band singer and a private eye. But Potter and director Jon Amiel also mix in flashbacks of Marlow's youth and his unhappy marriage to explain how the real Marlow reached this sorry pass. Flawlessly, intricately, kaleidoscopically assembled, the six one-hour episodes fly by like some fantastic fever dream. –Marshall Fine


Great drama
Review date: 2008-01-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

The Singing Detective is certainly one of the best things ever to be seen on TV. It certainly caused a stir in the UK at the time because of its explicit treatment of sexuality. The story certainly is multi layered and fascinating and the acting is superb down to really minor characters. Usually the success is attributed to Potters's writing. When you read the screenplay which was published by Faber & Faber you certainly read an interesting story (although somewhat influenced by DH Lawrence) but you are not as overwhelmed as you are when seeing it on screen. So from my point of view The Singing Detective is at least as much the product of Jon Amiel and the mesmerizing pictures he creates plus his direction of actors. I find it amazing that the beautiful Alison Steadman never became the English Catherine Deneuve.


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Reviews


very very real
Review date: 2007-07-15 Rating: 10 out of 10

When this was first aired I was in about the same dermatalogical state as the central character: bedbound, in agony, hallucinating, and unable to move enough to do anything but think for the best part of a year. This is the most brilliant depiction of what it is like to go through that. I may have been only twelve years old at the time, and a girl, but it was still like someone had made a movie of my mind.

Of course I agree with all the plaudits of other fans, but I thought you might like a different perspective! ;-)

BBC drama at its best
Review date: 2007-03-27 Rating: 10 out of 10

Though the years have not necessarily been kind to Dennis Potter's reputation (his misogynism and somewhat twisted view of the world live on), many of his plays and series, perhaps excluding Blackeyes, Cold Lazarus and Karaoke, have faded elegantly leaving a warm nostalgic halo. Maybe his technique of having actors surrealistically lip-synching 30s pop songs seems somewhat twee, but nonetheless he gives great pleasure wherever he goes. Ironic really, given the frequently hard-bitten satire of many of his works.

The Singing Detective may seem in retrospect somewhat overextended but to many, myself included, it is his seminal piece, working successfully in multiple levels - the dramatic equivalent of filo pastry! In fact, this is a huge and multifaceted kaleidoscope of a drama series, darting across three time periods in a combination of real time, guilty memories and a fictional film noir detective story in the mind of Philip Marlow - and how often have playrights bitten off more than they can chew in this kind of endeavour? Potter and his entourage succeed by getting the basics right - the dialogue is crisp and cutting, the human tragedy and psychoanalysis placed in sharp relief by humour and the fictional allegory around which the story has been intertwined. And then of course there is the autobiographical element associated with Potter's own youth in the Forest of Dean. How much of the man himself went into the characters we may never know for certain.

But this was not a one-man show: don't forget some tight direction by Jon Amiel and a superb cast - Gambon is as breathtaking as you'd expect, but Joanne Whalley and Bill Paterson among many more deserve plaudits for excellent performances. Stylisticially, this is Auntie Beeb at her absolute best, but the depth and subtlety of the comments and allusions, particularly around sexuality and psychosematic illness, make this a complex series of dramas that repay rewatching. The perfect addition to your DVD collection, in fact!

LIFE CHANGING ..
Review date: 2007-02-27 Rating: 10 out of 10

You have, I'm sure read the reviews that proceed mine so i will skip the detail and concentrate on the mysterious . This is probably the most unique piece of theatre you will ever see, a musical detective story set in two time zones with a psychedelic autobiographical subtext that somehow connects everything with subtle artistic class. Through Phillip Marlow's search for an understanding to his life, his illness and his desires we are taken on a roller coaster ride through Dennis Potters vivid brilliant imagination. A must see for everybody who inhabits the world. ...

Sheer brilliance
Review date: 2004-10-17 Rating: 10 out of 10

This series of six episodes is a gripping spectacle. Which spins a thrilling web.
The story is quite simple: A writer with a skin disease slowly slips away into insanity.
But it's brilliance lies in the fact that the story plays on four different levels and each has it's own plotline.
A definite must for any lover of tv since it is probably one of the best things ever produced for tv.
The DVD is high quality with good extras, if not great. And it's definitly worth the price.

Also ignore the Robert Downey Jr. remake. I liked the film, but those ninety minutes just don't compare to the real thing.

Product Details/Specifications


Actor(s):
Lyndon Davies
Michael Gambon
Joanne Whalley
Patrick Malahide
David Ryall

Creators:
Michael Gambon (Primary Contributor)
Patrick Malahide (Primary Contributor)

Director(s):

Recording label: 2 Entertain Video
Manufacturer: 2 Entertain Video
EAN: 5014503122225
Binding: DVD
Number of items: 3
Format: PAL,
Release date: 2004-03-08
Number of discs: 3
Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
Audience rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
Region code: 2
Running time: 392 minutes
Theatrical release date: 1986
Language: English (Subtitles For The Hearing Impaired)
Language: English (Original Language)

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