The Singing Detective
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 specials
Photo gallery
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 this British miniseries starring the inestimable Michael Gambon. Gambon plays a mystery writer named Philip E. Marlow, who is suffering a torturous bout of psoriatic arthritis in a British hospital, where he is a victim of both his disease and the national health plan. 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 of this British miniseries fly by like some fantastic fever dream. --Marshall Fine
The Singing Detective Accessories
 Pennies from Heaven (1978 British Miniseries)
Music From The Singing Detective 1-CD Version
House of Cards Trilogy (House of Cards / To Play the King / The Final Cut)
I, Claudius/The Epic That Never Was
Mad Men - Season One
Blade Runner (Five-Disc Ultimate Collector's Edition)
Twin Peaks - The Definitive Gold Box Edition (The Complete Series)
State of Play (Miniseries)
The Singing Detective
No Country for Old Men
The Singing Detective Reviews
Michael Gambon is just flat superb. It reeks of originality & excellence. I could not bear to make a comparison to this gem of a production. British humor has its own reason for being. I did not see the movie with Robert Downey Jr. It is a combo of suspense, wit, pathos all rolled into one. This is magical work. The original writer Potter is no longer with us - what a pity.
Their is nothing I enjoy more then British movies and TV series. The Singing Detective meets both of these criteria, but with a lot of difficulity in figuring out what the hell he was trying to convey in his misery and to what purpose. I am a true anglophle when it comes to their excellent entertainment and unusual productions. Go for it and be ready to scratch your noggen enough for your hair to fall out. I guess. I didn't understand a hell of a lot until the very end of the film, but it was still entertaining in it's unusualness to keep my interest because that's what the Brit's can do so well.
Good Lord was I disappointed. It dragged its foot in lamed fashion and I heard myself screaming "Get on with it". I'm a fan of Dennis Potter and when I first saw The Singing Detective I thought it was nothing short of brilliant. That weekend came a day ago and I sat down eager to revisit a much loved classic. I bought the dvd when it came out and put it on the shelf to watch some rainy weekend. Spare yourself and if anyone is interested I've got a perfectly good copy for sale.
This is the series that almost made me buy a TV. While I still don't have a TV, I'm delighted to be able to rewatch this excellent series on my computer.
A gripping plot, much of it autobiographical to Dennis Potter this IS the best thing that has ever been on television. I thought that TSD was in somewhat the same jaundra. Some have suggested that "The Singing Detective" is the greatest production ever done for television; I could not even suggest a close number two. Wouldn't it be nice if television aspired to all the crafts that brought us "The Singing Detective".
Find out what you've been missing. Well, I was plesently surprised. I originally was inspired to look at The Singing Detective because I enjoyed the "Maigret" series so much. It's not a `Mystery' but a psychodrama of the highest caliber.
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