« I thought Van der Valk had the monopoly on cynicism in this office. »
Van der Valk is based on a character created by Nicolas Freeling (1927-2003), an English novelist who spent most of his life in continental Europe and admired Belgian author Georges Simenon. Simon "Piet" Van der Valk, a cynical and intuitive Amsterdam police commissioner married to a French woman named Arlette, appeared in 11 books from 1962 to 1989. The "Dutch Maigret" was popularized by the Thames Television series Van der Valk (1972-1973, 1977, 1991-1992) starring Barry Foster. Composed by Jack Trombey (1) and played by the Simon Park Orchestra, its theme music (called Eye Level) became #1 in the UK charts in 1973.
Filmed entirely in Amsterdam last year, Van der Valk is produced by Company Pictures (Agatha Raisin) with Dutch company NL Film (Penoza), Germany's ARD Degeto (Der Donnerstags-Krimi), Masterpiece (United States) and All3Media International. Scriptwriter Chris Murray (Agatha Raisin, Midsomer Murders), who exec produces with Michele Buck and wrote the three episodes, brings back the detective for a modern and international audience. One of the notable changes of this new series concerns Arlette Van der Valk. Dutch director Jean van de Velde helmed Death in Amsterdam, the third episode.
Ed Loman, a fashion vlogger/influencer, is murdered and his eyes are sewn. Intrigued by a graffiti signed "Omega 616", Van der Valk investigates with his team in the hip world of the ethical and ecologically sustainable clothing brands. Inspector Lucienne Hassell (Maimie McCoy) notices that the Commissaris looks preoccupied. An adversary from Piet's past wants to take revenge on him and Chief Commissaris Julia Dahlman (Emma Fielding). Sergeant Brad de Vries (Luke Allen-Gale) looks for "the invisible man". Hendrik Davie (Darrell D'Silva) keeps an eye on Julia and Lieutenant Job Cloovers (Elliot Barnes-Worrell) saves the day.
« Stat man's got a hobby. Who knew? »
Death in Amsterdam is a splendid conclusion to this first series of Van der Valk masterfully crafted by Chris Murray. An impressive shootout at the REM Eiland restaurant and a big reveal about Piet Van der Valk are the highlights of the episode. Murray's fresh take on the classic British TV detective works brilliantly. Marc Warren is great as the moody commissioner amongst an excellent regular cast (especially Elliot Barnes-Worrell). The talented composer Matthijs Kieboom (Master Spy) did a perfect job with the soundtrack. His superb theme intro, entitled Dutch Detective, and a magnificent piece called Arlette both nod to Eye Level.
Also with Mike Libanon (Cliff Palache), Peter Van Heeringen (Frank), Frieda Barnhard (Agatha Vos) and Christina Cole (Heidi Berlin), Tom York (Dani Nioh), Saman Amini (Chacko Moghadam), Claire Bender (Mila de la Parra), Marieke Heebink (Claudia Cabrera), Maarten Heijmans (Gustav Schneider), etc. Produced by Keith Thompson. David Swetman and Louise Pedersen exec produce for All3Media International. Ronald Versteeg, Kaja Wolffers and Sabine Brian co-produce for NL Film. Alexander Blaauw and Pascalle Kleingeld are the line producers.
Ian Strachan is the head of production. Cinematography by Willem Helwig. Editing by Sandor Soeteman. Jaap Hoek is the art director. Production designed by Alfred Schaaf. Main title sequence designed by Planet X Title Design. Production supported by the NL Film Incentive. Distributed by All3Media International, Van der Valk is aired in Germany on Das Erste as Kommissar Van der Valk. France 3 will show the series in France.
(1) A pseudonym of Dutch composer Jan Stoeckart (1927-2017).
[Update - October 6, 2020] Aired by pubcaster France 3 as Les enquêtes du commissaire Van der Valk, this contemporary adaptation of the character created by English author Nicolas Freeling is available here on DVD from this week thanks to L'Atelier d'images (https://www.latelierdimages.fr/produit/les-enquetes-du-commissaire-van-der-valk-saison-1/).
http://dramaquarterly.com/walk-the-valk/
https://www.remeiland.com/en/ (The REM Eiland restaurant)
https://www.matthijskieboom.com/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1436726/Nicolas-Freeling.html
http://dramaquarterly.com/walk-the-valk/
https://www.remeiland.com/en/ (The REM Eiland restaurant)
https://www.matthijskieboom.com/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1436726/Nicolas-Freeling.html
1 comment:
Just noting that all three episodes also aired in USA in September on PBS and are now available to stream by PBS members on Passport: https://www.pbs.org/show/van-der-valk/
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