slabihoud

It is hard to believe that this French,German/Italian/Yugoslavian coproduction became such a hit in France. Today, such mix of nationalities is nothing uncommon, but in those days it was often a sign of compromise, since one company could not finance an expensive shoot like this. Therefore, we have a German star in the lead, and otherwise mostly french character actors, with a few italians as well, and the majority of Yugoslavian extras. Curd Jürgens looks like the classic arian the nazis have dreamed about but never ever convince me to be Russian.

But this is only one of many weaknesses in this film. Shot in Yugoslavia, the scenery never really looks convincingly siberian. The fighting scenes took much to long and have been badly staged, most action is filmed from far away, you were left to guess what was going on. And there are enormous plot holes. I assume the films first cut was much longer and has been drastically shortened. These cuts made it difficult to understand the narrative. On the other hand we have to watch unnecessary long battle scenes that bring the story nowhere. The film is a very annoying experience.

Compared with other crime series protagonists, Morse has a lot of unsympathetic sides. He likes bullying his sergeant, correcting his manner of speech and his limited knowledge in music specifically and in art generally whenever he is in the mood. Regular policemen and constables have to take a lot of this too. He is very sure of himself and tends to go more with his intuition as with facts. Cannot hold back his criticism about other colleagues and superiors. His behaviour often turns alienates people who try to back him up. Has a weak spot for female suspects that can lead to wrong decisions. Morse is very clever and he knows it, but he overestimates his judgement. He drinks too much and during office hours. He loves classical music, especially opera and does the Times crossword puzzle every day. He drives an old Jaguar and hates modern cars and computers.

Now compare this with e.g. Midsomer Murders. There, DCI Barnaby always is right and if not he will find out on his own. His sergeants only help him but never solve a case on their own. When there are illegal things to do, like searching a house without a warrant, they just look, and then do it, never seriously question the decision.

Inspector Morse' sergeant Lewis is very different. Though Morse gives him a lot to dislike him, he remains loyal most of the time, but does not hold back when he sees some wrongs and is bold enough to speak up to his boss and resists doing what he things is outside the law. And Lewis is often right in challenging Morse, and he also is quick in paying him back when Morse corrects his grammar.

There is a development in the relationship through the episodes and you can see that Morse trusts Lewis more and more. Still the problems between them do not vanish and getting even bigger since Morse' health begins to decline towards the end of the series. All in all, it was a very fitting decision to give Lewis his own show as he was fit to do his own investigations, together with his very clever sergeant Hathaway.

I watched "Lewis" first, on German TV dubbed, and loved it. I became curious about "Morse" and bought the DVDs in English and loved them too. Then I saw "Endeavour" and everything seems to come together, another great show. Now I am watching all "Morse" episodes for the 2nd time. Still great!

I saw the Rockford Files (dubbed into German) as a teenager in the seventies and as far as I remember I liked them. Though, as some of you will probably agree, this could change when you see them a considerable time later in life. In my case, over forty years later. What strikes me a lot are the long sequences when nobody talks and no music is heard. This is something you don't get anymore in today's shows. And there are those long car chases, one at least in every show. They are done quite well but still look rather outdated, together with the cars. I found the music sometimes annoying, it often sounds as if pulled from some generic archive that does not fit to the current show. What I still like is the way the stories unfold, something I could not remember. Not only is the a small pre-title sequence of exciting scenes to come, and the titles Rockford is usually already into an investigation and it takes some time this we find out what is going on. Which I think is quite clever and makes sure the there is no dull start. And of course James Garner has always some smart lines to help him through difficult moments. So, all in all, still worth watching!