I just watched this on TPTV website...... I have seen most of the English versions of Maigret, Rupert Davies, Michael Gambon, Richard Harris and Rowan Atkinson ...... I rate those in that order.....!
I think there is one with Charles Laughton, but I haven't seen it.
This version is my first from France.... and it was nothing like I expected..... all the 'detecting' traits I know of Maigret were not there and to be honest I didn't even think it felt French let alone Parisian.... there was no Dumas, or the usual grunt work from LaPointe and Torrance which I think is a very big part of what Maigret does and how he works in solving the clues that he sees and we are shown....
Overall I felt that Rupert Davies and Michael Gambon versions were more Parisian and evoking of that time period in Paris and especially in Montmatre....
This particular episode didn't even feel like a detective story..... I got no sense of Maigret and his workings generally let alone in respect of this particular story line....
Please don't misunderstand me, this is a decent episode but held against the other versions I mention maybe barring the Rowan Atkinson ones, it seems to lose the 'magic' of Maigret and the characters could be from any 'generic' same period detective show....
I was surprised at the ending, this was not the same killer that I watched in those other versions of the same story line..... I am not sure which is more accurate to the book itself but certainly the character who is the killer here is not the same character from the other English versions I have seen..... so that was completely unexpected, I also remember several more integral characters hovering around the story in the Davies and Gambon versions who weren't in this version of the story.
If you enjoy a decent period detective film to watch then I would recommend this regardless of the main character, if you enjoy the Maigret series then this is certainly a different take on the character and story if you're used to the English versions..... the subtitles don't detract from watching the film or encroach on the experience so please don't be put off by that in deciding to watch or not.
I think there is one with Charles Laughton, but I haven't seen it.
This version is my first from France.... and it was nothing like I expected..... all the 'detecting' traits I know of Maigret were not there and to be honest I didn't even think it felt French let alone Parisian.... there was no Dumas, or the usual grunt work from LaPointe and Torrance which I think is a very big part of what Maigret does and how he works in solving the clues that he sees and we are shown....
Overall I felt that Rupert Davies and Michael Gambon versions were more Parisian and evoking of that time period in Paris and especially in Montmatre....
This particular episode didn't even feel like a detective story..... I got no sense of Maigret and his workings generally let alone in respect of this particular story line....
Please don't misunderstand me, this is a decent episode but held against the other versions I mention maybe barring the Rowan Atkinson ones, it seems to lose the 'magic' of Maigret and the characters could be from any 'generic' same period detective show....
I was surprised at the ending, this was not the same killer that I watched in those other versions of the same story line..... I am not sure which is more accurate to the book itself but certainly the character who is the killer here is not the same character from the other English versions I have seen..... so that was completely unexpected, I also remember several more integral characters hovering around the story in the Davies and Gambon versions who weren't in this version of the story.
If you enjoy a decent period detective film to watch then I would recommend this regardless of the main character, if you enjoy the Maigret series then this is certainly a different take on the character and story if you're used to the English versions..... the subtitles don't detract from watching the film or encroach on the experience so please don't be put off by that in deciding to watch or not.
