Foyle’s
War: The Complete Series One to Five
“To
the delight of millions of fans
everywhere, every single riveting
investigation undertaken by Chief
Superintendent Christopher Foyle
will be included in one box with
the DVD release of the fantastic
Foyle’s War: The Complete Series
One To Five...”
THE COMPELLING AND WELL-STYLED FOYLE'S WAR takes
place in Hastings (where it's also filmed) during the Second World War
and is a wonderful piece of British history combined with fascinating 'whodunit'
dramas involving credible characters and neatly-threaded storylines.
Add the remarkable talent of Michael Kitchen (Fallen, The World Is
Not Enough) as ice-cool Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle and the result
is a classy thriller that cleverly mixes crime with the intrigue of war to make
Foyle's War one of the best ever British television series. The first
series won the Lew Grade Audience Award at the 2003 BAFTA Television Awards
and the second series was nominated for a BAFTA for Best Television Series.
From the acclaimed novelist and scriptwriter responsible for Midsomer Murders
and Stormbreaker — Anthony Horowitz — Foyle's War was
an enormously successful ITV series, becoming an instant hit from the first
episode in 2002. Now the series will be available on DVD as a fantastic box
set, courtesy of Acorn Media.
While the Second World War rages on, the seaside town of Hastings in Sussex
provides a perfect backdrop to the fascinating storylines of the nineteen episodes
that make up Foyle's War.
Injured former soldier, now Police Sergeant Paul Milner (Anthony Howell) helps
Foyle investigate the crimes on the South Coast of England, and they are joined
by Foyle's enthusiastic driver Samantha Stewart (Honeysuckle Weeks).
An early episode looks at the controversial German internment camps in Britain
and the death of Greta (Joanna Kanska), the wealthy and beautiful Austrian wife
of local magistrate Henry Beaumont (Robert Hardy). This episode also features
Edward Fox as Assistant Commissioner Summers, David Horovitch as Thomas Kramer
and Rosamund Pike
as Sarah Beaumont.
Criminals may hope that the distraction of war will keep the heat off them,
but Foyle is on the case. The arrest of a female saboteur leads to a group of
English Nazi sympathisers headed by charismatic Guy Spencer (Charles Dance).
Foyle has to contend with the death of conscientious objector David Beale (Nicholas
Audsley) in police custody in an episode featuring David Tennant as Theo Howard.
Even Foyle's newly-qualified pilot son Andrew (Julian Ovenden) is accused of
passing classified information to the enemy and Sam volunteers for dangerous
undercover work at a fuel depot to investigate an illicit fuel racket and the
death of her colleague Connie. In this episode, David Troughton plays Michael
Bennett and Mark Umber is Rex Talbot.
Murder and the looting of bombed-out buildings, apparent suicides, spies, sabotage
and missing persons — including Foyle's goddaughter Lydia (Kate Fleetwood)
— provide great drama. Apparent suicides include that of William (Mark
Berry), the son of the MI5 chief Sir Giles Messinger (Ronald Pickup) and saboteurs
include those interfering with the pioneering medical treatment for airmen suffering
burns of surgeon Patrick Jamieson (Bill Paterson). The series almost acts as
a showcase for fine British acting and Corin Redgrave features in a story of
a break-in at a food depot. Writer Anthony Horowitz has an amazingly creative
gift for storytelling and character development.
Even the crash-landing of a German aeroplane is not all it seems to be —
and who killed the mechanic who services the RAF planes? Will problems arrive
with the first GI's in Hastings as Foyle investigates the killing of a young
woman who was seen with an American? What does David Barrett (Keith Barron)
know — or is that a red herring?
Along with the physical and psychological damage to people, there is also a
biological warfare experiment at a top secret research plant that goes horribly
wrong and leaves Sam fighting for her life in an episode that features Roy Marsden
as Ted Cartwright. And even Milner is not above suspicion — he becomes
the prime suspect for the brutal murder of his estranged wife.
The murders, theft and involvement in espionage and treason keep Foyle on his
toes and everybody guessing at the outcome. Foyle's War is a rich pageant
of human drama explored through the characters of this magnificent series with
a superb dialogue.
And when the war is all but over, Foyle still cannot rest on his laurels. His
son Andrew says with resignation: "Poor Dad, it could only happen to you. The
whole country preparing for a giant knees-up and you're left with the body in
the library." Foyle calmly dryly: "It was in the museum". "If he'd said who
stuck the knife in," says Sergeant Brooke (Jay Simpson) to Foyle after supporting
a dying man, "we could've all gone 'ome."
One of the most intriguing episodes involves a dreadful secret behind Operation
Tiger. Foyle's old friend Stephen Beck (Alan Howard) — a German Socialist
and 'naturalised Briton' — has a contact in Foreign Military Intelligence,
Hilda Pierce (the wonderful Ellie Haddington), who tells Foyle: "Just remember
a war always hides a great many dirty secrets. This has been a long war and
this secret's very dirty indeed."
Acorn Media is delighted to announce the DVD release of Foyle's War: The
Complete Series One To Five, with every investigation ever undertaken by
Chief Superintendent Christopher Foyle in one stunning collection comprising
of 19 thrilling episodes on 19 separate discs.
• Foyle's War: The Complete Series One
To Five | Catalogue No: AV9908 | Release Date: 15 September, 2008 | Running
Time: 1,811 minutes approx | RRP: £129.99 | Certificate 15.
"A feast for the eyes" — memorabletv.com
"The compelling and well-styled Foyle's War takes place in Hastings during the
Second World War and is a wonderful piece of British history combined with fascinating
'whodunit' dramas involving credible characters and neatly-threaded storylines...
Writer Anthony Horowitz has an amazingly creative gift for storytelling and
character development" — MotorBar
