Rebus - Black And Blue/Hanging Garden/Dead Souls [DVD]

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Customer reviews

review by: date: 2007-09-21 rating:
The best of the Rebus series
This 2-disc DVD set of 'Rebus' is the first series from the ITV show based on the books by Ian Rankin. John Hannah plays the miserable and bad tempered Inspector John Rebus in three episodes of some of the best books in the long-running series. br / br /The first episode, "Black and Blue" introduces the Scottish Detective Inspector John Rebus to the screen, and he is looking into the case of a serial killer dubbed 'The Disciple' who appears to be a copycat of a murderer from the past, known as 'The Preacher'. br / br /In the second episode, "The Hanging Garden", a young mother, Candice, is kidnapped from Cosovo to work as a prostitute, and time is of the essence if Rebus going to help her see her young son again. Sammy, Rebus' 19-year-old daughter, provides a safe-house for Candice. Then shortly after the young refugee moves in, Sammy becomes the victim of a hit-and-run accident and is in a coma in hospital. Rebus is convinced that she was a deliberate target because of his efforts to keep Candice safe and bring down two of Edinburgh's most dangerous gangs. br / br /In the third and final episode on this DVD, "Dead Souls", Rebus is devastated by the death of a close colleague, which appears to be suicide until he takes a closer look. But he's distracted by an unexpected visit from an ex-girlfriend with an offer he cannot refuse. br / br /All three episodes are good adaptions of the books, even if a fair bit has been changed to fit the length of the show and to cut corners from having a too deep storyline. In my humble opinion, John Hannah is the better Rebus, as opposed to Ken Stott (who took over the role in series 2 and 3), as he is exactly as I pictured him being in my mind when reading the books (if a little young) and it is a shame he was replaced. br / br /Overall this is one of the best gritty British crime drama shows on DVD. If you like shows like Cracker, Prime Suspect, Messiah, Murder in Mind, Silent Witness and Waking the Dead, I can guarantee you will enjoy Rebus. Fans of the books should also love this set too. br / br /(Also, strangely, the forth episode ("Mortal Causes") from this first series of Rebus is missing from the UK release, so it might be worth buying the Region 1 set instead as all 4 episodes are included for the same price). br / br /

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review by: date: 2006-10-19 rating:
A superior series
I too much prefer the John Hannah series to the Ken Stott ones. They are far more faithful to the original stories, portray Edinburgh beautifully--and who says John Hannah looks too young? I'm 60 an I look as good a him (well almost). These are highly recommended. The later ones are poor in my opinion.

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review by: willireid date: 2006-07-10 rating:
Grows in comparison with later versions
Like many reviwers, I wasn't entirely convinced by having John Hannah as Rebus, though he was to an extent, pressured to do them. However, I must say that these are far superior to the later adaptations with Ken Stott. They take a more authentic look at the character, and spend more time working through the complexities of the stories, than the 70 mionute Stott versions;in the last of these,"The Falls" and "Fleshmarket Close", the stories were so changed that the titles didn't make any sense!

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review by: date: 2006-05-12 rating:
John Hannah - Rebus - Gie's a' break
John Hannah is completely miscasted as the world weary, cynical bear of Ian Rankin's novels. Hannah is a very good actor but he is too lightweight, too young and too pretty to be anywhere near this role. Thank God for Ken Stott. He is exactly how Rebus should be potrayed. br / br /If you are not a fan of the Ian Rankin books then John Hannah may well be right up your street but if you have read the novels save your money and watch the real Rebus when the Ken Stott stories come onto DVD.


review by: echosnare date: 2006-04-20 rating:
Where is the 4th episode?
This does suffer from the usual Scottish Television practice of trying to cram too much into a feature length tale... bring back the old days when "Taggart" was on over 3 nights... br / br /It also suffers from John Hannah being much to lightweight to be Rebus, and Edinburgh not looking dramatic enough. br / br /But worst of all, they filmed FOUR episodes for this series, only THREE are included on this set..... in my opinion they left the best one off! br / br /I look forward to getting my hands on the "NEW" Rebus set, with the wonderful Ken Stott in the part he ws born to play...

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