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Van Der Valk Mysteries: Set 1 offers up a cruder, more intuitive detective hero than most crime-drama series. This Dutch television show that aired in the 1970s has apparently become somewhat of cult classic, due to its focus on Amsterdam's seedy underground culture at the time. For those who romanticize the glam-rock days when people were left alone to smoke their own hookah and pursue their eccentricities, Van Der Valk Mysteries may feel stylishly punk. The six hour-long episodes included in this collection star Commisaris Simon "Piet" Van Der Valk (Barry Foster) and his underling, Johnny Kroon (Michael Latimer), who solve crimes between shots of whiskey and pints of beer. It's staggering to watch two cops get tanked while they arrive at some new, twisted truth. Few of the scenes adapted from author Nicolas Freeling's novel actually show Van Der Valk without a glass in his hand. He's a renegade, and it makes for a fun watch.
Though Van Der Valk's hard-boiled approach to solving murder mysteries is sarcastically humorous at times, these shows are more noir than comedy. They elucidate the culture of Amsterdam at the time of the series' filming. Episode 2, "Destroying Angel," for example, centers upon, on one hand, a man whose fingerprints have been melted off after he has been poisoned. When he's found in a brothel above the local bar, Van Der Valk suspects the typical underbelly, and interviews everyone from hippies wearing god's eye necklaces to Army evaders to prostitutes. While heroin smuggling does enter the conversation, Van Der Valk discovers that the crime has more to do with botanical prints from a rare, antique book. How Dutch. Episode 3, "Blue Notes," is equally cultured, with a Dutch violinist traumatized by someone who smashes his Stradivarius.
The most enjoyable episode is the fifth, "Thicker Than Water," about a member of the British upper crust who's been sneaking off from London to solicit boys in Amsterdam's red light district. It's nice to watch a show in which the cops are macho, but quite accepting of queer life. Before Van Der Valk visits a tranny bar to question the ladies, he describes the bisexual victim Peter Hackford as "versatile." Indeed. While Van Der Valk is very straight, with his gorgeous, though neglected, wife Arlette (Susan Travers), it is pleasantly rare to discover a vintage show about criminality that doesn't treat homosexuality as a crime in itself. --Trinie Dalton
Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Marcia
TOP 50 REVIEWER
Van Der Valk Mysteries Set 1
DVD: Given it was made in 1972, it's in remarkable shape. There is the ocassional white or black line, but the colour is crisp.
This series is filmed by Thames studio in England with outdoor shots in Amsterdam. If you were there in the 60's and 70' you'll appreciate the nostalgia, like an ad for a Jim Croce concert and Esher pics on the wall of a set, not to mention the clothes. The mysteries are bloodless and have a twist ending. Based on Nicolas Freeling's books of Piet Van der Valk, the mysteries are interesting and rewatchable.
Pros: Stars Barry Foster who you may recognize from Hitchcock's "Frenzy" and John le Claire's "Smiley's People", a fine actor. This preceeds Midsomer Murders "family" drama. Van der Valk is supported by his wife, Arlette, (Susan Trevers) and has two boys who aren't seen often, but provide the sense that he's a family man. His young and enthusiastic sidekick Inspecter Johhny Kroon (Michael Latimer)while every present doesn't banter with his boss, only helps him at home and at work.
Van Der Valk is an intuitive detective before CSI changed detectives solving mysteries thru science. Van der Valk is rather jaded, he's devoted to his job. The pictures of Amsterdam are authentic and the culture reflects the 70's life of drugs, sex and rock and roll. The scenes from the redlight district are fun.
Cons: Every 15 minutes the Van Der Valk title appears to deliniate the time for a commercial that doesn't appear, thank god.
The British actors use English language, e.g. "fancy" to mean desire etc. If you watch Britsh movies a lot you'll recognize the added Dutch dialogue like "Proust" when they drink beer rather than "Cheers", but it was annoying until I accepted this is filmed by by a British film studio collaborating with an Amsterdam studio.
DVD: Given it was made in 1972, it's in remarkable shape. There is the ocassional white or black line, but the colour is crisp.
This series is filmed by Thames studio in England with outdoor shots in Amsterdam. If you were there in the 60's and 70' you'll appreciate the nostalgia, like an ad for a Jim Croce concert and Esher pics on the wall of a set, not to mention the clothes. The mysteries are bloodless and have a twist ending. Based on Nicolas Freeling's books of Piet Van der Valk, the mysteries are interesting and rewatchable.
Pros: Stars Barry Foster who you may recognize from Hitchcock's "Frenzy" and John le Claire's "Smiley's People", a fine actor. This preceeds Midsomer Murders "family" drama. Van der Valk is supported by his wife, Arlette, (Susan Trevers) and has two boys who aren't seen often, but provide the sense that he's a family man. His young and enthusiastic sidekick Inspecter Johhny Kroon (Michael Latimer)while every present doesn't banter with his boss, only helps him at home and at work.
Van Der Valk is an intuitive detective before CSI changed detectives solving mysteries thru science. Van der Valk is rather jaded, he's devoted to his job. The pictures of Amsterdam are authentic and the culture reflects the 70's life of drugs, sex and rock and roll. The scenes from the redlight district are fun.
Cons: Every 15 minutes the Van Der Valk title appears to deliniate the time for a commercial that doesn't appear, thank god.
The British actors use English language, e.g. "fancy" to mean desire etc. If you watch Britsh movies a lot you'll recognize the added Dutch dialogue like "Proust" when they drink beer rather than "Cheers", but it was annoying until I accepted this is filmed by by a British film studio collaborating with an Amsterdam studio.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Duchess
TOP 500 REVIEWER
Amazon Verified Purchase
I bought this thinking that it would be a new and interesting thing to watch partly because it was shot in Holland where my husband is originally from. When we watched it, it was absolutely terrible. The plot didn't even come close to what the "Product description" from Amazon gave. We think it was very poorly put together. It looked like all the scenes were shot using a camera on a tripod. When it came to "investigating" they (Van der Valk and partner), didn't venture out like you would see in other mysteries (like Midsomer Murders). Here again is where the plot of each story didn't even come close to what the "product description" explained. Also, when it comes to the pronunciation of Dutch names etc, the actors didn't pronounce the words correctly. Here we think it would have made a big difference even if you could have had the actors that could pronounce the Dutch words correctly. The acting also looked more like they were looking at the cue cards when saying their lines. I rate it one star because I will never buy the other sets of this (Van der Valk Mysteries).
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.2 out of 5 stars
8 reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Cult Classic Finally Released on DVD
Aug 29 2009
By Stephanie DePue
- Published on Amazon.com
"Van Der Valk,"a classic cult British mystery television series, set on the streets of Amsterdam in the early 1970's, has finally been released on DVD. The series, a police procedural that stars Barry Foster (Bob Rusk in Alfred Hitchcock's "Frenzy,"Alfred Hitchcock The Masterpiece Collection - Frenzy / Family Plot / AFI Salute to Alfred Hitchcock plus other extras Bonus Disc (DVD);Smiley's People, Ryan's Daughter , and The Sweeney - The Complete First Series), plays the title character, based on the novels of Edgar Award-winning British mystery author Nicolas Freeling. The entertainment was made by Thames Television for Britain's ITV (Independent Television stations); debuted in the U.K. in 1972, and ran for five seasons. It was broadcast in the United States on PBS (Public Television stations) in the 1990s. Set 1 is a 2 DVD box set that runs approximately 306 minutes; it includes all six episodes from Series 1 and an interview with the series' creator, Freeling. Unfortunately, as the cast speaks in a mixture of accents, some Dutch, some English, and Foster in best cockney, playing his character as one of the lads, the production does not offer subtitles.
The series was shot largely on location in the charming old city of Amsterdam, all cobblestones and canals; however, neither the visual nor the sound quality is up to what we might expect today. Production values are also lower than we might expect with a similar entertainment today - and there are no guest stars. The dramas are gritty, and make full use of their setting, the peculiarities of the Dutch character, and their time. Van Der Valk smokes like a chimney, drinks hard --doing both in the actual station house -- and is out and about, driving a police car after having had a few drinks, with, of course, no seat belts. It's definitely the 1970's, grass cloth walls, caftans, KLM calendars wherever you look, all brown outfits: the real 1970s, not the Life on Mars: The Complete Series 1970s.
The catchy theme song by Dutchman Jack Trombey was commercially released as "Eye Level:" it became a Top 40 Hit, and sold millions of copies worldwide. To my ear, it strongly echoes the music you could then hear in Amsterdam, played by organs in the streets: I actually visited that city twice in the late 60's, early 70's, during the years of my English exile, and can still hear the notes.
Foster portrays Van Der Valk in a counter-intuitive way: he's not the character we would expect from the Dutch stereotypes we carry, such as phlegmatic, pragmatic: his policeman is excitable, free-wheeling, and rebellious. The policeman has, in fact, been called a Dutch "Columbo." However, the author Freeling (born Nicolas Davidson in London, England in 1927), had Dutch-German blood through his mother, and lived most of his life in continental Europe, in France; he also frequently went to Amsterdam to research its goings on, so let's assume he knew what he was doing. He published 37 books in all, and won the three most prestigious mystery writers awards, the Edgar of the Mystery Writers of America; the Gold Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association, and France's Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere. Unfortunately for us all, he grew tired of his Dutch creation, and killed Van Der Valk off, just as this series was airing, in 1972.
The episodes are:
1. One Herring's Not Enough. A sculptor/art school teacher walks in to confess killing his wife and her young lover, but there's no sign of such a crime.
2. Destroying Angel. An unknown man living above a seedy bar is poisoned to death. Commisaris Van Der Valk considers it a woman's crime, and suspects one of the sex workers in the brothel next door.
3. Blue Notes. A world-famous Dutch violinist returns to Amsterdam for a rare performance. Someone smashes his Stradivarius, and then he ends up dead.
4. Elected Silence. The daughter of a controversial right-wing journalist disappears; where's the ransom note. What's going on?
5. Thicker than Water. A well-to-do young Englishman shows up dead in an Amsterdam canal, and his powerful mother doesn't seem to care. The dead man's trail leads Van Der Valk through the city's seamiest gay, transvestite, and sado-masochistic bars.
6. The Adventurer. A fatal accident; the dead man, a Lebanese, is carrying a gun and a picture of an anonymous local stonemason. The commisaris is troubled.
Now listen, I initially saw this series during the years of my English exile; it was great company for me. And I loved it: and I loved the underlying Freeling books. I believe I read every one of them, up to the 1972 work in which the author killed off his best-loved character. So don't try to argue with my opinion on this.
The series was shot largely on location in the charming old city of Amsterdam, all cobblestones and canals; however, neither the visual nor the sound quality is up to what we might expect today. Production values are also lower than we might expect with a similar entertainment today - and there are no guest stars. The dramas are gritty, and make full use of their setting, the peculiarities of the Dutch character, and their time. Van Der Valk smokes like a chimney, drinks hard --doing both in the actual station house -- and is out and about, driving a police car after having had a few drinks, with, of course, no seat belts. It's definitely the 1970's, grass cloth walls, caftans, KLM calendars wherever you look, all brown outfits: the real 1970s, not the Life on Mars: The Complete Series 1970s.
The catchy theme song by Dutchman Jack Trombey was commercially released as "Eye Level:" it became a Top 40 Hit, and sold millions of copies worldwide. To my ear, it strongly echoes the music you could then hear in Amsterdam, played by organs in the streets: I actually visited that city twice in the late 60's, early 70's, during the years of my English exile, and can still hear the notes.
Foster portrays Van Der Valk in a counter-intuitive way: he's not the character we would expect from the Dutch stereotypes we carry, such as phlegmatic, pragmatic: his policeman is excitable, free-wheeling, and rebellious. The policeman has, in fact, been called a Dutch "Columbo." However, the author Freeling (born Nicolas Davidson in London, England in 1927), had Dutch-German blood through his mother, and lived most of his life in continental Europe, in France; he also frequently went to Amsterdam to research its goings on, so let's assume he knew what he was doing. He published 37 books in all, and won the three most prestigious mystery writers awards, the Edgar of the Mystery Writers of America; the Gold Dagger of the Crime Writers' Association, and France's Grand Prix de Litterature Policiere. Unfortunately for us all, he grew tired of his Dutch creation, and killed Van Der Valk off, just as this series was airing, in 1972.
The episodes are:
1. One Herring's Not Enough. A sculptor/art school teacher walks in to confess killing his wife and her young lover, but there's no sign of such a crime.
2. Destroying Angel. An unknown man living above a seedy bar is poisoned to death. Commisaris Van Der Valk considers it a woman's crime, and suspects one of the sex workers in the brothel next door.
3. Blue Notes. A world-famous Dutch violinist returns to Amsterdam for a rare performance. Someone smashes his Stradivarius, and then he ends up dead.
4. Elected Silence. The daughter of a controversial right-wing journalist disappears; where's the ransom note. What's going on?
5. Thicker than Water. A well-to-do young Englishman shows up dead in an Amsterdam canal, and his powerful mother doesn't seem to care. The dead man's trail leads Van Der Valk through the city's seamiest gay, transvestite, and sado-masochistic bars.
6. The Adventurer. A fatal accident; the dead man, a Lebanese, is carrying a gun and a picture of an anonymous local stonemason. The commisaris is troubled.
Now listen, I initially saw this series during the years of my English exile; it was great company for me. And I loved it: and I loved the underlying Freeling books. I believe I read every one of them, up to the 1972 work in which the author killed off his best-loved character. So don't try to argue with my opinion on this.
10 of 10 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great series finally gets its due
Sep 29 2009
By Kenneth M. Pizzi
- Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase
Van der Valk is truly an absorbing and entertaining detective drama that featured the late talented actor Barry Foster (Alfred Hitchcock's, Frenzy) as Commissaris Piet Van Der Valk of the Amsterdam Police. With an catchy opening theme called "Eye Level," the series was not only shot on location around quaint Amsterdam and its canals, but was filled with a number of engaging stories involving murder, kidnapping, blackmail, illicit drugs, and prostitution with many elite, high-profile suspects.
Those expecting a crime drama on the order of "Mannix" or the popular UK series "The Professionals" are likely to be disappointed. Van der Valk is a detective drama similar to the popular series "Columbo" here in the US or "Bergerac" in the UK. But unlike Peter Falk's exasperating detective from the LAPD, Foster's character has a certain appeal: a cynical and hardened yet sophisticated cop with a taste for fine wines, classical music, and quoting Baudelaire.
Supporting cast is also excellent with Susan Travers as Van der Valk's wife, Arlette, and Michael Latimer as Inspector Johnny Kroon, Van der Valk's rookie detective-in-training clearly recalling the chemistry between Karl Malden and Michael Douglas in the popular "Streets of San Francisco." Fans of British television will also recognize other popular actors as guest stars such as Paul Eddington (Yes,Minister!) and Shane Briant (Hammer Films' "Straight On Till Morning").
The only disappointment with this set is that is is not the complete first season of 13 episodes--only the first six are included in this set. Like so many other classic television series on DVD, Acorn Media has decided to take a more profitable and expedient route by issuing only half of Season One. Those with multi-regional dvd players that can play PAL-encoded discs can purchase the complete series collection of Van Der Valk on Network DVD from Amazon's UK site for around $50-$60 US dollars--perhaps a more cost effective alternative.
Those expecting a crime drama on the order of "Mannix" or the popular UK series "The Professionals" are likely to be disappointed. Van der Valk is a detective drama similar to the popular series "Columbo" here in the US or "Bergerac" in the UK. But unlike Peter Falk's exasperating detective from the LAPD, Foster's character has a certain appeal: a cynical and hardened yet sophisticated cop with a taste for fine wines, classical music, and quoting Baudelaire.
Supporting cast is also excellent with Susan Travers as Van der Valk's wife, Arlette, and Michael Latimer as Inspector Johnny Kroon, Van der Valk's rookie detective-in-training clearly recalling the chemistry between Karl Malden and Michael Douglas in the popular "Streets of San Francisco." Fans of British television will also recognize other popular actors as guest stars such as Paul Eddington (Yes,Minister!) and Shane Briant (Hammer Films' "Straight On Till Morning").
The only disappointment with this set is that is is not the complete first season of 13 episodes--only the first six are included in this set. Like so many other classic television series on DVD, Acorn Media has decided to take a more profitable and expedient route by issuing only half of Season One. Those with multi-regional dvd players that can play PAL-encoded discs can purchase the complete series collection of Van Der Valk on Network DVD from Amazon's UK site for around $50-$60 US dollars--perhaps a more cost effective alternative.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Remember, this is 70's TV!!!!
April 25 2010
By C. J.
- Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase
I just started watching this series and liked it, however it is a little dated, after all, this was done in the seventies. But that in mind, this is quite good, I had never heard of Freeling until now, but I will now look for his books. Amsterdam just does not normally come to mind these days as a setting for a crime drama, but this is different enough to be intriguing!
Anyone that saw Barry Foster in "Frenzy" though surely got to appreciate him (or hate the character)I think I will enjoy this series and continue with it. One just has to remember, totally different from the Rock'em, Sock'em stuff of today!!!
Anyone that saw Barry Foster in "Frenzy" though surely got to appreciate him (or hate the character)I think I will enjoy this series and continue with it. One just has to remember, totally different from the Rock'em, Sock'em stuff of today!!!
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3.2 out of 5 stars
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