Customer Reviews

The Killing - Series 1 [DVD] [2010]

For me, Saturday night has always meant Match of the Day. Never thought I'd say this but not any more. The Killing is one of the most intense, brooding and dark thrillers ever to make UK TV. If you want slick and superficial dialogue and lots of fast-moving action scenes this is not for you. What it offers is mystery and intrigue that is both a challenge and something to draw you in to such an extent that you feel unable to miss a word of the dialogue (or at least the sub-titles).

What a contrast between the characters and personality of the two main detectives - poles apart yet inextricably bound together. Politicians full of outward charm, mastery of spin and easy deceit. The bereaved family are the third part of this outstanding series. The father mostly dark, silent and brooding - his emotions waiting to erupt. The mother so desperately trying to hold herself together after her daughter's murder drawing on every ounce of her physical and mental resources to keep the family together. And the two small brothers, part innocent and part aware of what might have happened to their elder sister. Like another reviewer, I watched the funeral with tears pouring down my cheeks - quite an admission from an unreconstructed follower of football.

Mad Men, rightly, may have got all the drama plaudits so far but everything about the production of The Killing - action, direction, lighting, dialogue - is absolutely right. Hidden away on a minority channel on a Saturday night is anout as close as you can get to wasting an exceptional production. Absolutely unmissable whatever the alternatives. If I could buy the DVD now I would yet there's something satisfying about seeing two episodes a week and then having a sense of anticipation for the next 7 days.

This is astonishing TV in an age when crime drama is so formulaic and unchallenging. This drama takes place over 20 consecutive days and I for one cant wait for Saturdays! Delayed gratification! If you are a fan of Wallander and the brooding and Goth(emburg)ic then this is something not to be missed. For some reason the Scandinavians seem to have leapt far ahead of the world in realistic crime drama featuring features the lives of believable people on all sides. Highly recommended.

After feeling bereft that Wallander had finished on BBC4 I tuned into the The Killing. As with Wallander, you get a sense of being treated as a reasonably intelligent adult, refreshing and brings into sharp focus how dumbed down the majority of t.v is. The story unfolds in a slow burn fashion, drawing you in to the point you can't wait until the next installment. Like other reviewers I avoid making plans on a Sat night, sad maybe, but if you have not seen The Killing, please reserve your judgement ;-). A big thank you to BBC4, I would pay my licence fee for these european crime thrillers alone.

The Killing is a 20 episode detective drama set in Denmark. It's subtitled in English which doesn't detract from the tension of each hour-long programme at all. This is high-class drama with an intricate plot and credible characters. There are moments of extreme poignancy, some sexual and violent scenes, and all manner of red herrings, misleading clues, dead ends and subtle twists. It makes for compelling viewing, even if it starts to feel just a little implausible as the plot unfurls...
The action starts with the murder of a teenage girl after a wild school party. Her friends obviously have something to hide, and all is not well with her traumatised family. A charismatic politician, running for local office, is embroiled in the investigation when the car containing the dead body is linked to his campaign. He is being betrayed by a member of his staff in a nasty political brawl -- and there's more to the bereaved father's life than initially meets the eye, too.
At the centre of this tangled mess is the female detective, Lund, who should be leaving to start a new life with a new man. Her departure is postponed time and again as she becomes personally involved in the search to find the killer, to bring to justice the person (or people) who brutalised a young woman on the brink of adulthood. Lund is a magnificent character: blunt, straightforward, thoughtful, pragmatic and intensely delicate when required. She is the absolute contrast to the detective brought into replace her, a bullying, shouting action man who puts his big foot into almost every situation he goes near. However, all the characters are deeper than the usual fictional 2D personalities; they are revealed to be flawed, multi-faceted human beings. Lund, for all her strengths, is detached from her own personal life and seems to care more about a dead girl than her own living son and lover. Troels, the politician, is just a little too good to be true, and exhibits an unfortunate tendency to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

The Killing is immensely satisfying. It can be bleak and brutal but also shares a realistic twist of gentle humour to offset the grim subject. Each episode moves the plot along and develops different characters, introducing new possibilities each time that an investigative avenue closes down. There are some stunning performances, not least from the actors playing the bereaved parents. The series feels semi-realistic -- it's obviously fiction, but it's not overblown or full of Hollywood hype. The characters' development through the series reflects the impact of the investigation on all aspects of their lives; some of the protagonists mature under stress while others disintegrate in exquisite slow motion.
Finally, the conclusion rewards those who have watched carefully throughout. The only thing I didn't enjoy was the political shenanigans of the election campaign. It forms an important backdrop to the spine of the story but the voting and council hearings all got a little bit much.
Highly recommended for anyone who enjoys gritty crime fiction, especially the Millennium trilogy, Wallender, etc. Just don't watch too many episodes at once; they can be very intense and emotionally involving. Best to let the twists and turns sink in for a couple of days between each instalment.
9/10

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I have read all the reviews about The Killing and as I agree with every single word written, I can merely reiterate the general opinion in that this is without doubt one of the finest series ever shown on TV. That may seem an extravagent claime but I have been watching TV for some forty years now and really cannot recall anything so good. The only other series I can think of which come anywhere near The Killing for addiction are the Wire and West Wing but these pale into significance when measured against this fine show.

Having watched Wallender, complete with subtitles, I can confirm that for those of you who might be put off because of this, they make no difference. Within one minute of watching Episode One I was tuned in and gripped. I have just returned from a month long visit to Australia visiting my daughter and I made sure my box was set to tape the episodes I would be missing. I spent the weekend catching up and after watching them all slowly came back to the real world. The last two episodes I watched, 17 and 18, had me pinned to my seat and also in tears at the end. Though I am looking forward to discovering who murdered Nanna (I have had my culprit in mind since Episode One and cannot wait to see if I am right!) I will also be deeply sad that this series has come to an end. I will be buying the DVD and am also looking forward to the next series. I gather a third series is in the making.

Brilliant, wonderful, superb.

DO NOT MISS

We've watched many a crime series -- and this one has to be the best. Good, solid police investigation and with some local politics mixed in. No far-fetched plot twists. It will keep you on the edge of your seat!

I see myself as a new breed of "selective" television viewer. By this, I mean that I only watch programmes that I have recorded, downloaded or purchased. I understand that "The Wire" was one for the first shows that gained a following in the U.K. by virtue of Amazon sales rather than television viewing. Four series of "The Wire" viewed twice over a period of 6 months, followed by "Breaking Bad" and "Mad Men" was turning me into some kind of t.v. addict. Just when I thought that I was going to get withrawal symptoms, somebody bought me "Deadwood" and all was well again. Suddenly, "Deadwood" was over and I was soon chewing the carpet, waiting for next fix.
I hadn't picked up on "The Killing" at first, but thankfully, iPlayer enabled me to catch up. Both my wife and I thought that we could eke it out gently, but we soon resorted to "Go on, just one more episode!" Now we are up to date and have to wait a whole week for our two-hour fix.
One murder - twenty episodes. I know that with this format, we are going to be manipulated with many red herrings and blind alleys, but bring it on! This really is a great, great show. The casting and acting is so superb, that one doesn't realise that one is reading sub-titles. Every character is wonderfully realised. However Sarah Lund is not only drop-dead gorgeous, but absolutely believable and totally cool. I rate her as the best female cop ever.
This is one box-set that will be going straight in to my collection, when it comes out.

The depth and complexity of this series is just a joy to behold. The Killing treats its viewers with intellectual respect with the long-drawn out nature of the plot. In a era of dumbed down TV and pretty much dunmbed down everything, the Killing stands out like a oasis in a desert.

For those who like richness in their lives not shoved down their throats, I utterly commend the Killing. For those who think British drama is the apex of everthing, you will soon appreciate that we have no ambition to match the scale of the Killing, Spiral or the Wire. Shame on us.

I must admit that I would have completely missed this had it not been for my Danish fiance. I'd never heard of it, and I only generally watch BBC 4 for science documentaries.

I've followed quite a few of the main US dramas such as Lost, Heroes and so on, but I eventually tired of them, because the plots ended up becoming somewhat convoluted, and I just ended up losing track. And with Lost in particular I felt cheated by the ending, having followed it for so long.

Forbrydelsen (The Killing) is a prime example of how you create that type of multi-episode show. It never loses it's focus, and you never feel overwhelmed by the plot (and sub-plots). It also gives enough away of the plot every week for you not to lose interest. This really deserves to be shown on prime-time mainstream UK telly, but I guess people just don't want to read subtitles on Saturday evening!

Actually because all the dialogue is in Danish (and if you don't speak the language), you really pick up on all of the nuances of the acting, because you're not distracted by the dialogue, and it makes you realise just how good the performances are. This is just as good (if not better) than anything along the same lines the UK or USA produce. The series has really high production values, is beautifully filmed, and the acting is fantastic and absorbing at all times.

The action mainly centres around three groups of people, the police, the affected family and Copenhagen's city administration. The three separate story strands are weaved together very well, and it's always easy to keep track of the story.

Stand-out performances for me are the character Theis who is the father of the murdered daughter, the CI Sarah Lund and the mother of the murdered daughter Pernille. The actor who plays Theis fleshes out the character amazingly well. Theis appears to have a dodgy history and you really sense that he could he go off the deep end and go on a massacre at any time. You really get a sense of his hidden, almost psychotic nature, and when this does surface, it's actually quite disturbing and harrowing to watch.

Anyway, if you haven't had chance to see this programme yet, make sure you buy this DVD when it's released (as I will be doing) as it's truly compelling television, and will be looked on as a classic in the future.

we watched this like kids in a candy store, just one more episode.......

The killing was riveting, the twists and turns, realpolitik, Danish jumpers.....who could want more?
There is little that can be said that will not quickly fall into a morass of superlative adjectives describing,
possibly the best crime TV series ever made. Although it derives many aspects from those series that
have gone before, the intertwining and interleaving of the plot, acting and camerawork can only leave
one gasping for just one more episode.....even when bed and a 6am start beckons.......