AboveDeepBuggy
Some things I liked some I did not.
Fairaher
The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.
Beulah Bram
A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.
Artimidor Federkiel
There's a mystery buried somewhere: Somewhere between an embittered, hospitalized writer, suffering from a debilitating skin disease, and the overconfident detective of the pulp novel he once wrote. There's mystery surrounding a betrayed father, a suicide, a son having to cope with the contradictions in his young existence, trying to break free. There's also a dame and a body, there always is in a noir scenario. And there are all those memories, fantasies and nightmares of a tortured soul. Unable to move from his bed, our writer becomes the focal point of the story, who sees, hears and struggles with things between reality, fiction and hallucinations, slowly connecting the dots along with us: Down at the docks a foghorn blares, though it sounds like a whistling train... Make sure to bring your imagination to help him solve the puzzle! Dennis Potter's masterpiece "The Singing Detective" is as good as it gets when it comes to creating intelligent television. Not only does he manage to successfully combine film noir, musical, comedy and drama, he also injects existential depth into it that makes one feel deeply for a cynic on the way to his redemption. Suspenseful and entertaining, the multi-layered spectacle draws the viewer in, a viewer, who might feel lost from the very beginning, but will see sympathy grow, despite or maybe because being thrown around between the hospital reality, a constantly changing book plot, flashbacks and escapist adventures of the mind. Potter's wizardry lies in gradually expanding the context, allowing themes to transcend their confines, bleed into threads of seeming parallel worlds, and resonate more and more with each episode. Actors play multiple parts, scenes are repeated in variations - and we are reminded to look for more than just a plot. Thus "The Singing Detective" continues to grow on the inclined watcher with every repeated viewing, for one because of Potter's ingenious screenplay, but also thanks to Jon Amiel's flawless direction and especially Michael Gambon's towering performance. "The Singing Detective" is nothing short of a landmark, controversial for all the wrong reasons at the time of its release, but well deserving to be rediscovered as the pinnacle of Potter's outstanding career.Side note: There's are of course also mysteries buried somewhere between Dennis Potter and Philip E. Marlow (who seems to have misplaced an "e"), between a writer who suffered from psoriatic arthropathy like a certain character he created and his Chandleresque creation. There's mystery surrounding the outright denial that "The Singing Detective" is autobiographical and the dozens of biographical coincidences. Just one more layer to add to a legacy looking for a hobby detective. Feel free to sing along...
spasmo dunson
The Singing Detective is without a doubt, the best television miniseries ever! That being said, where is the Amazon.com link and the DVD link? What's up IMDb? I read where Amazon owned you guys and I am thinking maybe they don't anymore? I miss those links. Please bring them back. How else am I going to know when stuff is available on DVD? Anyway, go buy The Singing Detective. I pities the fool that doesn't get to see this TV show. "Am I right or am I right?" It follows the exploits of Philip Marlow a writer of detective stories who is bedridden with a terrible skin/joint disease and involves his wild fantasies induced by said disease while lying in bed. The story in his head clashes with the real world and also incorporates memories of his childhood. Sometimes the stories become intermixed. It still packs an emotional wallop after 25 years. Michael Gambon is a revelation as both the writer and as 'The Singing Detective'.
PAUL ROMNEY
Being well aware of the Dennis Potter mystique, and having fond recollections of his first TV play, which I saw prior to emigrating from the UK in 1966, I looked forward to this serial with great anticipation only to be sadly disappointed. It is a remarkable exercise in technical virtuosity, but its ethical content is minimal, by which I mean that it has little or nothing to say about the human condition.This does not mean that there are not brilliant and enjoyable episodes, but they remain episodes -- they do not add up to anything larger than the sum of the parts. My favourite episode is the Dickensian portrait of the sadistic schoolteacher in Part 4 -- marvellous writing, and a note-perfect performance by Janet Henfrey. Generally speaking, the acting is first-rate and the direction enjoyably deft. The selection of 40's hits is terrific, especially Crosby and the Andrews Sisters in "Accentuate the Positive." But it does not jell.In the last analysis, I'm reminded of H. G. Wells's parody of Henry James, quoted by E. M. Forster in Aspects of the Novel. In that instance I'm with James and against Wells, but as applied to The Singing Detective Wells's criticism is spot on.
dickjan-braggaar
When you go to London to stand on the Hammersmith bridge to have your photo taken, when you are in London to search for the Habitat store in Tottenham Court Road to find the 'Habitat knife', when underground in Londen and always having an urge to call 'Philip!', yes, then this series has made a tremendous impact. The adventures of the Singing Detective are unforgettable. On all levels, that is. In the hospital, with Mr Hall and his 'Nurse!', with the beautiful nurse Mills, the girl in all the songs! Even when I think of the death of Ali, when Philip is crying, I feel my eyes getting wet. This is a must-see. It looks slow, but it will completely absorb you. Dennis Potter is my hero! And The Singing Detective is the best. 'Into each life some rain must fall', is one of the songs. So be it. But let it rain, we have The Singing Detective!
