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Suspicion falls on the holy, the holier-than-thou, and the unholy when the sacred relics of Saint Winifred are stolen from the abbey and the pious prior of a fallen monastery and a greedy land baron both lay claim to them. Kidnapping, the jewel robbery, and murder only complicate the efforts of Brother Cadfael--worldly monk, medieval detective, secular humanist before his time--to separate holy miracle from worldly conspiracy. Derek Jacobi fills Brother Cadfael with a warmth to match his logic and a passion for justice that stands in contrast to the often fatal superstition of his world (trial by water as binding law). This episode is one of the darkest and most interesting entries in the series.

The DVD features a brief audio interview with Derek Jacobi, historical background to the struggle between King Stephen and Queen Maude over the throne, stills, filmographies, and Ellis Peters bio and booklist. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

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What's a single woman with beauty and property to do in the medieval world? The mercenary attentions of the single village men send the grieving young widow Mistress Pearle (Kitty Aldridge) fleeing town, and her return a year later rekindles the competition with a vengeance. Call on Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi), the spiritual Sherlock Holmes of the Dark Ages, when the young monk tending her rose garden is found dead and the widow herself disappears a day later. Cadfael suspects the brooding bronzesmith (the gruff Tom Mannion) who rents her cottage, but he's not the only man in town with secrets. Jacobi is a delight as the medieval humanist, and he's matched by the worldly Sister Magdalen (Sarah Badel, reprising her role from "The Leper of St. Giles"). Their flirtatious scenes remind us they both led vivid lives before taking the vows.

The DVD features a few minutes of audio comments by Derek Jacobi, who ruminates on the role; a gallery of production stills; brief filmographies on the featured cast; and a biography and booklist for author Ellis Peters. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

Description

Twelfth-century Shrewsbury comes to life in Ellis Peters’ Cadfael stories, a PBS Mystery! favorite starring Sir Derek Jacobi (I, Claudius; Gladiator). When Shrewsbury’s goldsmith is robbed and left for dead, drunken locals decide the guilty party must be Liliwin, an itinerant juggler who was performing at the wedding feast of the goldsmith’s son. The mob pursues the young man through the streets to the abbey where he frantically seeks the sanctuary of the altar. Cadfael believes Liliwin is innocent, but his search for the truth leads to the discovery of an even deadlier sin. DVD special features include exclusive audio comments by Derek Jacobi, Ellis Peters biography and booklist, English subtitles, filmographies and scene index. ... Read more

Reviews (2)

Under the certainty of Heaven nothing is certain.
This is film is part of:

Brother Cadfael Series 1 Box Set: The Sanctuary Sparrow, One Corpse Too Many, Monk's Hood and The Leper of St. Giles (1995) ASIN: 6303316042

From the back cover: When the town's goldsmith is robbed and left for dead, the finger of suspicion is pointed at young juggler who was performing at the wedding feast of the goldsmith's son.

Pursued by the mob, the young entertainer stumbles through the town to the Abby where he seeks the sanctuary of the Alter. Cadfael is given the job of keeping an eye on the youngster while the authorities investigate. But his discrete inquiries are cut short when the goldsmith's neighbor is found dead floating in the river...

Once again the box does not convey the complexity or the beauty in the film as father Cadfael along with my favorite Hugh Beringar (Sean Pertwee) search for truth and justice using forensics, intuition and logic.

A very good Cadfael movie
This is a very good movie. The story is true to the book, and I really liked the book. The reason I gave it four stars instead of five is because a few of the memorable lines from the book that were spoken by characters other than Cadfael were split up in the movie so that he completed some of them. For example, when the crowd comes chasing after the minstrel Lilliwin, it really was more appropriate for the ABBOT to say, "Put up your weapons or court your soul's damnation." I think it would have been presumptious for a lay brother to say such a thing unless he was an ordained priest, who had the power to excommunicate. But other than that, the movie was as good as the book in every respect, and it's worth seeing. ... Read more

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Political passions ran high in 12th-century England, and the Church was often caught in the middle of the feud between King Stephen and Empress Maud. This feud takes its toll in Shrewsbury upon the appointment of a new priest whose political sympathies outweigh his human compassion. With unrequited love and farmland dispossession adding to the local turmoil, the long list of people who wanted to see Father Ailnoth dead keeps both the sheriff and Brother Cadfael (Derek Jacobi) busy for days. As with all episodes in this medieval mystery series, the writing, acting, and production values are of the highest quality, re-creating the 12th century's grand and small passions in rich detail while viewers try to puzzle out who done it.

DVD extras include an audio interview with Derek Jacobi in which he shares his thoughts on Cadfael's faith and sense of guilt, an Ellis Peters biography and book list, and a production scrapbook of behind-the-scenes stills. --Larisa Lomacky Moore ... Read more

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Ellis Peter's intrepid sleuthing monk solves a grisly puzzle in The Potter's Field. The brothers of the Shrewsbury monastery are doing some innocent backyard plowing when they turn up a murder: a body that looks like it may be that of the former wife of their own Brother Ruald. Shrewsbury boils with rumors and accusations as a civil war devastates the countryside. The Potter's Field is a terrific mystery, filled with compelling human drama as well as a knotty riddle with a shocking solution. The production has an authentic feel, showing both the practicalities and the squalor of medieval life, and the direction artfully enhances the story. The acting is excellent across the board, with Derek Jacobi's surehanded embodiment of Cadfael leading the way. This is an excellent, satisfying mystery. Special DVD features include cast filmographies, commentary by Jacobi, a production scrapbook, and a biography of Ellis Peters. --Ali Davis ... Read more

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The first Brother Cadfael mystery to be released on DVD, The Virgin in the Ice captures all of the elements thatmake these adaptations of Ellis Peters's novels a perennial PBS favorite. The performances and sets bring 12th-century England to vivid life (although the series was actually filmed in Hungary). Derek Jacobi portrays Cadfael with a quiet authority and just the right edge of world-weariness one would expect from a Crusader turned monk. His search for two missing children and for the band of outlaws who brutally beat one of his fellow monks turns up intrigues and surprise twists that make this episode a captivating human drama as well as an expertly crafted mystery. From frictions within Shrewsbury Abbey to the ongoing war between Queen Maud and King Stephen, The Virgin in the Ice plunges viewers fully into Cadfael's world and all of its unexpected joys and perils.

The DVD includes several minutes of audio comments by Derek Jacobi about taking on the role and the appeal of Cadfael. Other special features include biographical information about Ellis Peters (a pseudonym for Edith Pargeter), a production scrapbook of behind-the-scenes photos, and English captions for the hearing-impaired. --Larisa Lomacky Moore ... Read more

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Derek Jacobi's Brother Cadfael is a different kind of detective: a 12th-century monk, a healer and herbalist, and former soldier of fortune. His résumé gives him an interesting perspective on the puzzling murders that seem to plague the rural county of Shrewsbury. In "The Devil's Novice," from the second season of the television series, Cadfael defends the order's newest novice, an intense young man who harbors a haunting secret, against a murder charge. Once again he fights dogmatic superstition in the monastery's ranks and even battles the church hierarchy willing to sacrifice an innocent man to bring closure to the murder of a cleric. The generic mystery relies on familiar family melodramatics and romantic complications and even echoes elements of the more compelling Cadfael mystery "The Virgin in the Ice," but the backdrop of cloak-and-dagger intrigue and church politics infiltrating provincial Shrewsbury is compelling. Cadfael's mix of spiritual wisdom and worldly experience makes him a riveting character, and Jacobi invests him with empathy, passion, and a perceptive, clear-eyed vision of the secular world.

The DVD also features a short audio-only interview with Derek Jacobi, a biography of author Ellis Peters (a pseudonym for Edith Pargeter), and a small stills gallery of production photos. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more

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Brother Cadfael, the Sherlock Holmes of the medieval world, discovers a corpse among the parade of the infirm and diseased taking refuge in the abbey on "Cripples Day." Thieves and con men ply their trades among the pilgrims so there is no shortage of suspects, but a few personalities leap from the crowd, namely a bitter young man accompanied by his pickpocket sister, and a dying pilgrim making the trek barefoot while his pious brother pushes him along. The struggle between faith and dogma that rings through all of the Cadfael mysteries takes center stage in this story. The piety of the more judgmental Brothers of the Order comes across as hypocritical in their dealings with the unwashed peasants (who are, much to the monks' dismay, detained within the abbey walls during the investigation), but even their intolerance pales next to Cadfael's terrible discovery in the murder.

The DVD features a brief audio interview with Derek Jacobi, production notes, stills, filmographies, and an Ellis Peters biography and booklist. --Sean Axmaker ... Read more