Añade un argumento en tu idiomaTelevisations of the Maigret novels by Georges Simenon.Televisations of the Maigret novels by Georges Simenon.Televisations of the Maigret novels by Georges Simenon.
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Watching Maigret played by Rupert Davies when I should have been doing my homework is one of the reasons I did not so well at school. Others are, The Saint, Danger Man, Quatermass and the Pit, The Avengers, and so on. All the products of UK TV. But perhaps they were in fact produced by the Soviets to undermine the education of British kids like me. I have recovered but would really like the BBC to release the surviving Maigret episodes. They cant be doing any good stuck where they are.
Maigret showed me a France that excited my imagination and caused me to read every book that George Simenon ever wrote. I was not disappointed by Simenon. And Rupert Davies would have had a hard time convincing me that he was not genuinely French if we ever met. As for Ewen Solon, I could never see him as anything but Lucas in any subsequent appearances.
Maigret showed me a France that excited my imagination and caused me to read every book that George Simenon ever wrote. I was not disappointed by Simenon. And Rupert Davies would have had a hard time convincing me that he was not genuinely French if we ever met. As for Ewen Solon, I could never see him as anything but Lucas in any subsequent appearances.
I have waited over 50 years for what I believed to be the definitive Maigret only to be very disappointed.
Not all is bad. Over 52 episodes there is of course some variation in quality. Generally, the standard of acting, direction, and scripting improves as the series progreses but there is plenty of room for it to do so. Line fluffs, bumping into scenery, claustrophobic sets, ham acting, and aimless direction were all common occurrences in taped studio drama of the 60s but here the depths are really plumbed, especially in the earlier episodes and given the supposed prestige nature of the project this really is not excusable in the degree exhibited.
Davies does a largely excellent job in the central character, being everything he should be as a star detective and as Maigret in particular: relaxed, likeable, thoughtful, avuncular. But too often he has to carry things when surrounded by seeming amateurs (many of whom had been on the professional stage for 30 years or more but patently had no clue as to how to act on TV) and wading through a leaden script in a grim, depressing set.
Of the three regular supporting roles, Ewen Solon as Lucas is the only one to offer a standard of performance that actually does support Davies; Helen Shingler as Madam Maigret and Neville Jason as Lapointe are as dull and monochrome as the sets.
All these deficiencies might have been offset had the stories been better but here we come to the root of the problem which is Simenon. I can't claim to have read all the stories but the ones I have read are all very similar and the famed depiction of low life psychoanalyzed by the thoughtful Maigret palls quite quickly. It seems that the BBC were so in thrall to Simenon that they dared not knock his limited creations into a shape suitable for television and so were stuck with thin gruel in the plot department and tried to make up for it by portraying the atmosphere of the stories - a near impossible task even with today's technology but suicidally ambitious for 1961.
Why then was it so popular? Because: the reputation of the author and character was such that people wanted to believe that the TV version was better than it really was; despite the dramatic failings around him, Davies did make an attractive central figure; the idea of a who dunnit set in Paris was exotic to millions of people who had never been abroad; and there was little choice on TV at the time.
The simple fact is that the Michael Gambon version is infinitely better; it's a tragedy that he made so few episodes.
Not all is bad. Over 52 episodes there is of course some variation in quality. Generally, the standard of acting, direction, and scripting improves as the series progreses but there is plenty of room for it to do so. Line fluffs, bumping into scenery, claustrophobic sets, ham acting, and aimless direction were all common occurrences in taped studio drama of the 60s but here the depths are really plumbed, especially in the earlier episodes and given the supposed prestige nature of the project this really is not excusable in the degree exhibited.
Davies does a largely excellent job in the central character, being everything he should be as a star detective and as Maigret in particular: relaxed, likeable, thoughtful, avuncular. But too often he has to carry things when surrounded by seeming amateurs (many of whom had been on the professional stage for 30 years or more but patently had no clue as to how to act on TV) and wading through a leaden script in a grim, depressing set.
Of the three regular supporting roles, Ewen Solon as Lucas is the only one to offer a standard of performance that actually does support Davies; Helen Shingler as Madam Maigret and Neville Jason as Lapointe are as dull and monochrome as the sets.
All these deficiencies might have been offset had the stories been better but here we come to the root of the problem which is Simenon. I can't claim to have read all the stories but the ones I have read are all very similar and the famed depiction of low life psychoanalyzed by the thoughtful Maigret palls quite quickly. It seems that the BBC were so in thrall to Simenon that they dared not knock his limited creations into a shape suitable for television and so were stuck with thin gruel in the plot department and tried to make up for it by portraying the atmosphere of the stories - a near impossible task even with today's technology but suicidally ambitious for 1961.
Why then was it so popular? Because: the reputation of the author and character was such that people wanted to believe that the TV version was better than it really was; despite the dramatic failings around him, Davies did make an attractive central figure; the idea of a who dunnit set in Paris was exotic to millions of people who had never been abroad; and there was little choice on TV at the time.
The simple fact is that the Michael Gambon version is infinitely better; it's a tragedy that he made so few episodes.
I have just finished the first five episodes from the new Network Video release. Since I am an American and have never seen these episodes on-air, my opinion may differ from theirs.
As this new DVD format is the one most likely to be encountered by a modern viewer, I will address that directly. The video quality of the episodes is comparable to perhaps the earliest "I Love Lucy" episodes you may have seen, or very early "Super Man" shows. Unlike them, the exterior shots are fine and they seem to have actually taken Rupert across the Channel to film them (unlike Roger Moore in "The Saint"). But the interiors are a different story. There were sometimes issues with the video transfer process and it shows in the interiors (especially Episode 1). The interior sets look very much like something put together week by week. The standing sets for his office are a bit more detailed. The sound is like a stage production recorded. Even for 1960 some of the acting is very stage-like, with unrealistic speech and exaggerated mannerisms.
So if you can get past the late 50's production quality Rupert Davies and Ewen Solon are fine and the stories seem as effective to me as modern Maigret renditions of them (I've never read the books). Most of the supporting actors are good enough.
All 52 episodes are available, so there's quite a lot to enjoy if this is your cup of tea. But I must warn you that the production values are not even vaguely comparable to a show like 1958's "Peter Gunn", much less more modern versions.
As this new DVD format is the one most likely to be encountered by a modern viewer, I will address that directly. The video quality of the episodes is comparable to perhaps the earliest "I Love Lucy" episodes you may have seen, or very early "Super Man" shows. Unlike them, the exterior shots are fine and they seem to have actually taken Rupert across the Channel to film them (unlike Roger Moore in "The Saint"). But the interiors are a different story. There were sometimes issues with the video transfer process and it shows in the interiors (especially Episode 1). The interior sets look very much like something put together week by week. The standing sets for his office are a bit more detailed. The sound is like a stage production recorded. Even for 1960 some of the acting is very stage-like, with unrealistic speech and exaggerated mannerisms.
So if you can get past the late 50's production quality Rupert Davies and Ewen Solon are fine and the stories seem as effective to me as modern Maigret renditions of them (I've never read the books). Most of the supporting actors are good enough.
All 52 episodes are available, so there's quite a lot to enjoy if this is your cup of tea. But I must warn you that the production values are not even vaguely comparable to a show like 1958's "Peter Gunn", much less more modern versions.
I don't care if its b&w & old. This will transport you to France -- Paris and the seaside and the countryside. I am so glad this series is available. It has an amazing cast of characters that you will believe are all French. I watch a lot of "foreign" films and have a higher tolerance for subtitles than most but it is a joy not to have to struggle with subtitles for once and still get the full flavor of another culture. Btw, I had no idea there were so many evil old ladies in France. Love the cafes, the food, the wine and Maigret's constant attempts to keep his pipe going. I found the first 3 seasons on Kino. Hoping the 4th will show up.
Nowadays TV drama is mostly the same as cinema drama, just with a smaller budget, and apart from news and current affairs, TV stations just play pre-recorded items. How different it was when this series was made. I'm not sure if the programmes went out live, but even if they didn't, they were made "as if" live, since editing early video tape was extremely difficult and expensive. So what you get with these shows is similar to what you get when you go to a live theatre performance: a company of actors working together in real time to present a story. Fabulous! And, yes, there are going to be the odd little errors, just as in the theatre. The only difference from live theatre is that, in this series, we have the addition of wonderfully evocative filmed sequences made in Paris in an era when it looked extremely Parisian. It's exciting. I don't mind at all about the small and rather cheap sets.
¿Sabías que...?
- CuriosidadesGerman-speaking viewers will not hear the theme music by Ron Grainer; instead, a musette theme composed by Ernst August Quelle is used for all episodes. On soundtrack samplers, e.g. "Strassenfeger", only this most popular theme is usually presented in Germany.
- ConexionesFeatured in Shades of Grey (2009)
- Banda sonoraThe Maigret Theme
Composed by Ron Grainer
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- How many seasons does Maigret have?Con tecnología de Alexa
Detalles
- Duración50 minutos
- Color
- Mezcla de sonido
- Relación de aspecto
- 1.33 : 1
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By what name was Maigret (1960) officially released in India in English?
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