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MovieMail's Review
This exciting set contains the television adaptations of the first and second books in the Sally Lockhart series, written by the revered novelist, Philip Pullman.
The Ruby in the Smoke, adapted for the screen by Bafta-winning writer Adrian Hodges, is an innovative period thriller set in Victorian London. A newly orphaned Sally Lockhart (a spirited Billie Piper) is left to unravel an intricate web of death and deceit in her bid to uncover the perpetrators of her father’s murder.
She also must escape the grasp of the terrifying Mrs Holland (Julie Walters), a woman determined to mastermind Sally’s demise. This intoxicating tale, which combines mystery, opium merchants and even a maharajah, translates beautifully to television.
The Shadow of the North has yet to be aired, but with Sally dragged deeper into the soot-blackened underbelly of Victorian London as she probes the mysterious Axel Bellman’s darkest secrets, it promises to be another thrilling tale of murder, mayhem and magic.
Two episodes starring Billie Piper as the eponymous heroine, in tales adapted from the Philip Pullman novels. Also starring Julie Walters and Hayley Atwell. Comprises The Ruby in the Smoke (2006) and The Shadow in the North (2007).
"Sally Lockheart Series" -
P/Canada on 21st September 2009
I have just finished viewing both dvds in the series and I have to say that it is well worth the investment of both time and money. In fact, I was so enjoyed the serie... more >
I have just finished viewing both dvds in the series and I have to say that it is well worth the investment of both time and money. In fact, I was so enjoyed the series, the first one in particular, that I intend to seek out and read the hardcopy versions of this series.
I think that the first one in the series is the better of the two because it appears that more time and effort was spent on the filming and screen play. I say this because after viewing the second dvd in the series, there just seemed to be something lacking in both the story and the actor's efforts to capture our imagination.
In additon, the second dvd jumps into the story in such as way as to make the viewer think there must be one or two other dvds in the series that they had not seen.
Having not read the books, I don't know if this is how the story was written but I highly doubt it. The second begins with a wedding between the two most unlikely of individuals as well as Sally's relationships with the other characters are so well advanced as to leave the viewer wondering how they got to this point. The character of Sally Lockheart is also so well developed to be far beyond where she was at the end of the first dvd that again makes one feel that something is definately missing in the plot preparation.
In spite of the above, I think that it is time well spent and one will have an enjoyable couple of evenings lost in the depths of Victorian London society and those that live and survive on the fringes of it. < less
