VAN DER VALK - SERIES 1, EPISODE 3: DEATH IN AMSTERDAM (ITV)

Marc Warren (Beecham House, Hustle) stars in the title role of Van der Valk, a 3 x 90-minute crime drama which aired this spring in the U.K. on ITV.

« 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).  

 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/04/van-der-valk-series-1-episode-1-love-in_30.html  (Episode 1)

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/06/van-der-valk-series-1-episode-2-only-in.html  (Episode 2)   

 

[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

VAN DER VALK - SERIES 1, EPISODE 2: ONLY IN AMSTERDAM (ITV)

Marc Warren (Beecham House, Hustle) stars in the title role of Van der Valk, a 3 x 90-minute crime drama which aired this spring in the U.K. on ITV.

« You like certainty, don't you? You're very black and white. I can relate to that. »

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 is the absence of Arlette Van der Valk.

Piet Van der Valk lives on a sailing barge and holds his briefings in a café. He leads a team composed of Inspector Lucienne Hassell (played by Maimie McCoy), his second-in-command and close friend, the laid-back Sergeant Brad de Vries (Luke Allen-Gale) and the young Lieutenant Job Cloovers (Elliot Barnes-Worrell) － who's eager to impress and likes stats. Their boss is the Chief Commissaris Julia Dahlman (Emma Fielding). Hendrik Davie (Darrell D'Silva) is the hard-drinking, full-mouthed pathologist.

A young woman named Aamina Jabara is murdered in a hotel room and her wound is very peculiar. A strange notebook leads Commissaris Van der Valk and Inspecteur Hassell to a museum the victim regularly visited because of an interest for mysticism and religious erotica. Aamina worked as a nurse in a drug addiction clinic. A nun shared with her the same interest for religious erotica. The family issues of the Jabaras disrupt the investigation to an unexpected level.

Only in Amsterdam is basically an episode of Midsomer Murders or Lewis (Chris Murray worked on both) in the Dutch capital with some action, a bit of humour and nice twist and turns. The friendship between Piet and Lucienne gets developed. We learn (a bit) more about Dahlman and Brad provides the comic relief. Job is definitely the most likeable character. Of course, the locations are beautifully filmed by director Max Porcelijn and cinematographer Coen Stroeve.

With Taj Atwal (Aamina & Zafira Jabara), Juliet Aubrey (Sister Joan Pauwels), Tim Dutton (Klaas Gilbert), Taheen Modak (Zaim Jabara), Paul Tylak (Talib Jabara), Eva Marie de Waal (Femke de Haan), Teun Kuilboer (Otto Nelissen), Mike Libanon (Cliff Palache), Martijn Nieuwerf (Lionel Veith), Martijn Oversteegen (Spike), Anniek Pheifer (Janneke Paulis) and Jeroen Spitzenberger (Isaak Graaff).

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 is the line producer. Ian Strachan is the head of production. Music composed by Matthijs Kieboom. Editing by Annelies van Woerden. 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 started this week 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).  

 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/04/van-der-valk-series-1-episode-1-love-in_30.html  (Episode 1)   

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/06/van-der-valk-series-1-episode-3-death.html  (Episode 3) 

 

[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/).

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-04-24/van-der-valk-itv-locations-amsterdam/
https://www.matthijskieboom.com/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1436726/Nicolas-Freeling.html

VAN DER VALK - SERIES 1, EPISODE 1: LOVE IN AMSTERDAM (ITV)

[Favourite of the Month] A classic British TV detective is back. And he's Dutch.

Created by English novelist Nicolas Freeling (1927-2003), Simon "Piet" Van der Valk is a cynical and intuitive Amsterdam police commissioner. Married to a French woman named Arlette, the Commissaris appeared in 11 books from 1962 to 1989. Freeling, who spent most of his life in continental Europe, was an admirer of Belgian author Georges Simenon. Called the "Dutch Maigret", Piet Van der Valk was first portrayed on-screen by German actor Wolfgang Kieling in the British film Amsterdam Affair (1968). Frank Finlay starred in three German/French TV movies between 1972 and 1975 (1). Bryan Marshall played the role in Because of the Cats/Niet voor de poezen, a Dutch-Belgian film released in 1973.

The best remembered version is the Thames Television series Van der Valk (1972-1973, 1977, 1991-1992), with Barry Foster. Eye Level, its theme music, is remembered too. Composed by Jack Trombey (2) and played by the Simon Park Orchestra, it became #1 in the UK charts in 1973. Some novels were adapted in the 1990s by BBC Radio 4. Now the character returns in Van der Valk, a 3 x 90-minute series produced by Company Pictures (Agatha Raisin) for ITV. Filmed entirely in Amsterdam last year, it stars Marc Warren (Beecham House, Hustle) as Piet Van der Valk. Dutch company NL Film (Penoza), Germany's ARD Degeto, Masterpiece (United States) and All3Media International co-produce. Scriptwriter Chris Murray (Agatha Raisin, Midsomer Murders), who exec produces with Michele Buck, brings back the detective for a modern and international audience.

"The original series was gritty, with stories of sex and drugs, and reflected the Amsterdam of its time. We wanted to develop stories about contemporary Amsterdam," explained Chris Murray to French journalist and TV series expert Alain Carrazé at MIPCOM 2019. "The city has always been this amazing cultural melting pot, with a tolerance for different religions.  We wanted to reflect that in a character who is non-judgmental and tolerant. He's interested in art but he also works in the streets. We certainly want to honour the "brand" of Van der Valk but we move it forward. The novels were quite existential and the stories wouldn't work for the TV audience today. So it was more appropriate to start afresh."

One of the notable changes is the absence of Arlette Van der Valk. Piet Van der Valk lives on a sailing barge and his briefing room is a tad unusual. He leads a team  composed of Inspector Lucienne Hassell (played by Maimie McCoy), his second-in-command and close friend, and the laid-back Sergeant Brad de Vries (Luke Allen-Gale). They are joined by the young Lieutenant Job Cloovers (Elliot Barnes-Worrell), who's eager to impress and likes stats. Their boss is the Chief Commissaris Julia Dahlman (Emma Fielding). Hendrik Davie (Darrell D'Silva) is the hard-drinking, full-mouthed pathologist. In Love in Amsterdam (3), the first episode, politics and art are linked when two seemingly unrelated men are found murdered on the same day and a young left-wing activist is missing.

The fresh approach of Chris Murray, who wrote the three episodes, works brilliantly. It doesn't exclude a bit of humour. Marc Warren is great as the moody detective. The excellent Maimie McCoy and him succeed in making the relationship between Van der Valk and Lucienne interesting. The rest of the regular cast is very good. With Frances Grey (Claudia Oosterhuis), Daniel Lapaine (Paul Oosterhuis), Stephanie Léonidas (Eva Meisner), Vineeta Rishi (Therese Remecker), Frieda Barnhard (Agatha Vos), Kees Boot (Bartel Peters), Reinout Bussemeker (Ed de Klerk), Mike Libanon (Cliff Palache), Peter Van Heerigen (Frank), etc. Director Colin Teague and Tibor Dingelstad, the Director of photography, know how to take advantage of the locations, especially the canals and the Rijksmuseum.

The talented Dutch composer Matthijs Kieboom (Master Spy) did a perfect job with the soundtrack. His superb theme intro, entitled Dutch Detective, nods to Eye Level. 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 is the line producer. Ian Strachan is the head of production. Edited by Sándor Soeteman. Jaap Hoek is the art director. Production designed by Alfred Schaaf. The beautiful main title sequence was designed by Planet X Title Design. Production supported by the NL Film Incentive. Distributed by All3Media International, Van der Valk will be shown in Germany next month on Das Erste as Kommissar Van der Valk.

(1) Van der Valk und das Mädchen, Van der Valk und die Reichen and Le bouc émissaire, aired in France as episodes of Pas de frontières pour l'inspecteur.
(2) A pseudonym of Dutch composer Jan Stoeckart (1927-2017).
(3) Love in Amsterdam is also the title of the first Van der Valk novel.

Special thanks to Alain Carrazé (8 Art Global).

 

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/06/van-der-valk-series-1-episode-2-only-in.html  (Episode 2)   

https://tattard2.blogspot.com/2020/06/van-der-valk-series-1-episode-3-death.html  (Episode 3) 

 

[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/).

https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2020-04-24/van-der-valk-itv-locations-amsterdam/
https://www.matthijskieboom.com/
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1436726/Nicolas-Freeling.html

See also:

https://www.rijksmuseum.nl/en
https://www.programme-tv.net/tag/previously/ (Alain Carrazé's podcast about TV series)

MASTER SPY (MEESTERSPION, 2016)

[Favourite of the Month] A young boy discovers a secret agent cryogenized forty years ago. Directed by Pieter van Rijn, Master Spy (MeesterSpion) is a wonderfully pleasant Dutch adventure/comedy movie for the whole family.

Released in the Netherlands during autumn 2016, the film has become a favourite of children's film festivals. Master Spy can be watched since last month in France on the channels of Canal +.

The bottom line: 007 meets John Hughes.

1973. Simon Floret, a dashing agent of the NGD (Nederlandse Geheime Dienst, a fictional Dutch secret service), is on assignment in a coastal hotel where a "Diner diplomatique" is given. Assisted by tech whiz Lexie, his mission is to take photos of a traitor who sells information to the Soviets. Much to his surprise, the man he's looking for is a colleague named Freek Dekker. Simon escapes with his photographic proofs but Freek shoots him a poisoned dart before he can tell Lexie where he hid them. Her only solution is to cryogenize Floret until she finds an antidote.

40 years later, Tim de Wolf, aged 10, and his little sister, move to the old seaside hotel bought by their parents and Tim must do his best to adjust to his new home. Chased by three classmates, he unexpectedly finds a secret basement where Simon Floret lies in a cryogenic chamber. As the box opens, the young boy breaks by accident the antidote left by Lexie. Back in a world which has changed a lot, the master spy needs help from Tim to contact the NGD and get another dose of antidote. But there's a problem: the boss of the secret service is none other than Freek Dekker, the traitor.

Master Spy (MeesterSpion) was written by Tijs van Marle, a scriptwriter behind two successful children movie franchises: Mister Twister (Mees Kees), launched in 2012 and based on the books by Mirjam Oldenhave. And the film adaptations of Tosca Menten's Dummy the Mummy books (Dummie de Mummie) since 2014. Pieter van Rijn directed several television series, including Flikken Maastricht (2007-2017) and Celblock H (2014-2017), the Dutch adaptation of the Australian drama Wentworth. He also helmed movies like Pluk van de petteflet (co-directed by Ben Sombogaart), a 2004 adaptation of the book by Annie M.G. Schmidt, and Familieweekend (2016).

Simon Floret carries on his mission after a 40-year interruption, with outdated gadgets and a very special car. Not a BMW roadster but an irresistible 1970s blue DAF 44 having something more. TV, stage and movie actor Beau Schneider, well-known by Dutch viewers for his role in Goede tijden, slechte tijden, plays the secret agent in a blend of elegance and (soft) derision. Simon is a tenacious Roger Moore kind of James Bond who has a little bit of Inspector Clouseau's clumsiness. This fish out of water in tuxedo finds welcome allies in the enthusiastic Tim, played by Stijn van der Plas, and "Lexie", who now sells flowers under her true name Alexandra Markies (Lieneke Le Roux).

Aus Greidanus sr (De Zaak Menten) portrays Directeur Dekker. One of the actor's sons, Kay Greidanus, was cast as the younger Freek in the pre-credit sequence. Presenter and actress Nienke de la Rive Box is Karin MacKenton, a NGD agent with a dog problem. Fun and smart, MeesterSpion can be enjoyed by both children and adults. There are nods to North by Northwest, Mission: Impossible or Get Smart. The NGD logo reminds of SHIELD and U.N.C.L.E. The NGD security guards and Freek's idiotic Russian goons seem straight out of a Home Alone film. The excellent Bondian music was composed by Matthijs Kieboom and Martijn Schimmer. The cool title song Give You All I Got is performed by Maan, winner of The Voice of Holland in 2016.

Also starring Simone van Bennekom (Young Lexie), Patrick Stoof (Leonard de Wolf), Cynthia Abma (Tine de Wolf), Bianca Krijgsman (Juf), Frits Lambrechts (Henk), Mike Weerts, Fabian Jansen & Steef Cuijpers (Security guards), Ad van Kempen (Henk's brother), Liz Vergeer (Eefje de Wolf), Brennan Wilkes (Tommie), Brian Worm (Dave), Julian Ras (Jules), Leonid Vlasov (Serguei), Oleg Kovalev (Boris), etc. Produced by PV Pictures with Avrotros and the support of CoBo and Netherlands Film Production Incentive. Cinematography by Joris Kerbosch. Editing by Michiel Boesveldt. Production designed by Dimitri Merkoulov. Costumes by Margriet Procee. Title design by Brat Ljatifi (Brat Creative).

Distributed by Entertainment One. Master Spy won the Gryphon 6+ award at the Giffoni Film Festival 2017 and the Jule Price at Kinder Film Fest Münster 2017. Dutch author of young readers books Marcel van Driel wrote the novelization (published by Van Goor).

http://www.pvpictures.nl/films/meesterspion/
http://tijsvanmarle.nl/
http://www.beauschneider.com/

See also: 

http://www.marcelvandriel.nl/
http://maanofficial.nl/