The Crow Road [DVD]

So glad to be able to source this on DVD. I first saw this when it was on tv and was spellbound. It is a brilliant portayal of Iain Banks book, with a stellar cast of some of Scotland's finest actors. Can't recommend it enough. It's intriguing, enticing, and highly enthralling. Hugely atmospheric and haunting. I first saw this before I'd read the book, or even heard of Iain Banks, which then caused me to seek out the book and subsequently become a huge fan of his writing so I am especially endebted to this series, but as a standalone piece of drama it is thoroughly excellent in its own right.

I just had to add my "hear, hear" to the first reviewer- Banks has one of the most eceentric, beautiful and cruel of literary outputs (let's ignore the SF stuff with the middle initial), and The Crow Road is perhaps in the Top Five of British Novels of the last 20 years. For the BBC to have somehow made an adaption of such skill and care is remarkable- it genuinely adds to your experience of the story and is compelling, chilling and moving. Special words should be said for Joseph McFadden as Prentice and Bill Paterson as Ken; McFadden is a charismatic narrator, and you never lose sypmpathy with him, even when he seems to be going off the rails. Paterson's peformance is perhaps a lifetime best, and Dougray Scott, Peter Capaldi and Valerie Edmond all atmosphere as part of an excellent ensemble. The Crow Road is everything that the British Novel and British TV Drama can and should be- challenging, entertaining, and serious in it's artistic intentions. Truly a landmark production.

I bought The Crow Road on DVD primarily because the BBC chose, for whatever reason, contractual or otherwise, not to repeat or put on iPlayer any episodes, but they were apparently happy to flog parts 3 & 4 for download at £7.75. The sheer effrontery of their choosing to profit from it, when by rights every quality drama should be available for viewing stunned me almost as much as the vague and nonsensical reply from the producer to my question about this reckless omission. Thankfully, the DVD was available and at a smaller sum than the download price. The timing of this adaptation of The Crow Road, a novel I have never read, was apposite in view of the tragically early death of Iain Banks. Clearly the Beeb felt the same way, since a fine cast (presided over by the mythical presence of Uncle Rory in the shape of the new Doctor Who, Peter Capaldi) has been assembled to bring to life the words of Banks. As Wikipedia describes the plot: "A pivotal period in Prentice McHoan's life is described, seen through his preoccupations with death, sex, his relationship with his father, unrequited love, sibling rivalry, a missing uncle, relationships, drink (and other intoxicants) and God, with the background a celebration of the Scottish landscape." And so it is that each of these ingredients are wrapped into an intriguing mystery and whodunnit, with elements of dark comedy thrown in for good measure. What makes this 4-part drama so fascinating is that the characters are beautifully fleshed out, quirky and eccentric to a man and woman, bouncing off one another like snooker balls against the rich backdrop of Scottish scenery and architecture. It seems grossly unfair to single out any of them for praise, since they all contribute equally to the journey experienced by young Prentice in the person of Joe McFadden, but the playing is uniformly admirable by the likes of the archetypal craggy Scot Bill Paterson, Dougray Scott, Simone Bendix, Ashley Watt, David Robb and Paul Young, among many others. The only real criticism I have is that the denouement, when it comes, is something of an anti-climax. Like an Agatha Christie and a Chinese takeaway, you wanted more to consume within the hour, so the ending seemed unfulfilling, as endings often are. Maybe, like Twin Peaks, it should have gone on and preserved the mystery while the characters continue to grow and mature, though sadly Banks is no longer around to write sequels with the same characters - unlike Stephen King and Roddy Doyle, who in the past week have respectively published sequels to The Shining and The Commitments. Unquestionably worth watching, and likely to encourage further dips into the Banks oeuvre, both for reading and TV adaptation purposes. This is the review I published on my own website, andyflavoured.co.uk (copyright)

The Crow Road is essentially a story about growing up. But while most productions on this theme tend to be mawkish, the Crow Road is a brilliantly suspenseful, moving drama mixing elements of murder mystery, comedy, tragedy, love, sex and faith. The series comprises 4 hour-long episodes that follow Prentice McHoan, a young lad brought up by his father to question things in life. So when friends and family start dying, his older brother steals off with the woman of his dreams, and his beloved Uncle Rory goes missing, Prentice starts casting round for answers. Is there some spiritual meaning to all these people leaving him or is there a more human, and sinister, reason? Aided by his old friend Ashley Watt and imaginary visitations from the missing Rory, Prentice tries to solve the McHoan mysteries. The acting here is superb, particularly from Bill Paterson. The story skips deftly between the present, Prentice's younger days, and even the childhood of his father and uncles, allowing the relationships between the characters to be fully realised and making it all the more heartbreaking when they break down. The extras don't amount to much unfortunately, with the audio commentary from the director and other crew a bit dry. Some contribution here from the charismatic cast (including such faces as Peter Capaldi, and even Supergran!) would have helped. Quite how this TV series compares with the book it's based on I don't know as I haven't read it but here's the author Iain Banks' opinion: "annoyingly better than the book in far too many places". There you go. Do watch this.

I am so glad Crow Road has finally made it on to DVD. I have been enjoying a version I taped from TV for years. What a pleasure to see a decent copy and enjoy this mystery,comedy, drama all over again. Great characters and fun situations. Lots of Scottish humor.

Very satisfied with purchase

Vielen dank

The Crow Road is a 1996 BBC Scotland production, adapting the novel by Iain Banks into a mini-series four episodes long, each about an hour in length. Young Prentice has family members dropping like flies (he decides to begin the story "the day my grandmother exploded") and begins to casually and then more fervently investigate one thing in particular: the disappearance of his uncle Rory, who set off on a brief motorcycle journey and disappeared with a trace. Along the way, he begins to discover family secrets, stumbles through awkward attempts at love, and has imagined conversations with his missing uncle. The narrative device of conversations with someone who isn't there has been seen since, lessening the impact, and the story unfolds a little slowly over the four episodes, but overall it remains engaging. And though Prentice is a trifle petulant, particularly with his patient father (and as a result, we don't always sympathize with him) the acting is solid and the score is haunting. There are also some nice character moments along the way, and a few interesting conversations about the search for patterns and meaning. We're also treated to some excellent scenery, though scenes shot on film contrast with scenes shot on video, and I think the DVD could have used English subtitles, for those few moments someone speaks quickly in a Scottish accent. Overall, not a pace that everyone would enjoy, but certainly a rewarding production if you're patient, and sit back with a mug of tea. I'm now pretty curious to read the novel.

Ziemlich geniale Verfilmung eines ziemlich genialen Buchs. Sehr schottisch, aber weniger Fremdenverkehrswerbung als in 'Local Hero' und weniger garstig als 'Trainspotting'. Zur Ausstattung der DVD: In der Ausgabe vom April 2008 sind inzwischen englische Untertitel verfügbar, außerdem gibt es es für die erste Folge (von vieren) einen Audiokommentar von Regisseur und Drehbuchautor sowie ein Interview mit dem Autor der Vorlage, Iain Banks.