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Dick Francis - The Racing GameRating:
Release Date: 03 December, 2002 Retail Price: $19.98 Sorry, this product is not currently available. Cast: Complete Cast (9 total) |
Dick Francis - The Racing Game Reviews
Sid Halley & Chico Barnes
This British TV series from 1979 was first viewed by me in 1980 on our local PBS station. I found them interesting enough that I began to read Dick Francis. It didn't hurt that WHIP HAND, which went on to win an Edgar, was the first book I chose to read.
I remembered them down through the years, and when the VHS came out, I waited for the DVDs. Finally I was able to get them on DVD. My only two problems encountered in the rewatching was the video and audio quality. Neither, however, is insurmountable. After watching them a couple times, you really don't notice it as much as at first.
But, since I enjoy both Francis' work and the Sid Halley character I'm more than willing to overlook these small problems.
Though Mike Gwilym has been seen by some as lackluster or remote, I don't find that to be true. The character of Sid Halley is uncomfortable not be able to race any longer, and in his new role as investigator is somewhat ill at ease. Gwilym brings this to reality. And with Chico Barnes on hand for the judo, Halley can take on the bad guys and survive.
If you like quick moving detective films, with exciting horse racing shots mixed in, this series may please you.
I have no hesitation in recommending it to either horse racing fans in general, or Dick Francis readers in particular.
A very good series. I keep wishing BBC or PBS will do more on the other Francis books. But if they don't, we at least have a couple sets of DVDs to savor.
Worth seeing but poor video and sound
I had vague memories of enjoying this series on TV when it was originally released on TV. Having ordered this item from another supplier (only to be told it was unavailable) I ordered from Amazon. I waited for nearly two months it to arrive in the UK - why can't we buy UK produced drama on region 2 DVDs in the UK ??? I will never understand why most British stuff is released in the US and not in the UK. (End of whinge)
The story lines are quite good - but a little too short to have the complexity of Dick Francis's books.
Sid Halley seems to be a dominant figure in Francis's writing but in fact there were only a couple of books based on the character and his side kick Chico. The rest of the series is based on story ideas from Dick Francis and he acted as consultant to the series.
Halley is quite understated in the books and this is, if anything, over done in the series where he seems so detached from the world around him that he can be difficult to engage with as a character.
Chico is quite well portrayed but don't expect any stunning judo based fight scenes as the limited violence in the series is pretty poorly done (it reminded me slightly of fight scenes in school plays where teachers are very keen not to get prosecuted for injuries caused).
All that said the stories are still worth watching.
The big problem with the series however is the picture and sound quality. The picture is generally below par - grainy, washed out in places and showing its age. Imagine a worn out VHS tape and you won't be too far off.
The picture, however, is superb compared to the sound quality. One of the episodes is completely unwatchable unless you can lip read! The sound quality really is that bad on that one episode - sounding like the whole thing is tranmitted through a bucket of muddy water. The other episodes are merely poor (but at least you can hear what the characters are saying).
I can understand that the studio wanted to release this series but they could have done something about the sound (there must be a better quality copy somewhere in the world to transfer from) or at acknowledge the problem and provide subtitles on the really bad episode.
It deserves more than 2 stars but the sound alone couldn't warrant any more.
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