British TV on DVD: "Foyle's War" Set 7 Starring Michael Kitchen

Post World War II intrigue and drama take center stage in the recently released Foyle's War Set 7 DVD collection. The three full length films included in the set mark my first exposure to the long running British television series, starring Michael Kitchen as Christopher Foyle, a former police superintendent, who is reluctantly recruited to work for MI5, the British Intelligence service. In the first film, "The Eternity Ring," Foyle is tasked with investigating a Soviet spy ring in London, but soon learns that enemies and allies are sometimes difficult to distinguish.

In the second feature, "The Cage," Russian defectors working for British Intelligence are being murdered in alleged safe houses. After a fourth agent dies in the hospital, Foyle arranges a meeting with the doctor who treated him. However, the doctor is soon murdered and the only clue Foyle has to work with is a phrase the dying Russian blurted out before he died - "Ten-eye." The final feature, "Sunflower," finds Foyle having to work with a former Nazi, Karl Strasser, who is providing important information to MI5. Soon thereafter, American authorities arrive and demand that Strasser be handed over to them. Foyle is then torn between helping the intelligence agency and protecting a war criminal.

All three films are well made and intelligent and there is a lot going on in each of them, so viewers must pay close attention. That is easy to do considering the performances are generally outstanding. Michael Kitchen is superb as the low-key, but cerebral Foyle, who is not afraid to bend the rules or disobey his superiors in order to get to the truth. Foyle is always the smartest person in the room. Kitchen is ably supported by Honeysuckle Weeks as Samantha Stewart, Daniel Weyman as Adam Wainwright and Ellie Haddington as Hilda Pierce.

There are a large number of characters introduced throughout each film and I initially found that to be distracting. However, they each play an important part in the intricately woven stories that demand your attention. In addition to the strong writing, direction and performances, Foyle's War boasts outstanding costume and set design that allows viewers to feel as though they have stepped back through time to the beginning of the Cold War. Overall, the three films in this collection are equally good and highly recommended.

Foyle's War Set 7 DVD collection is now available from Acorn/RLJ Entertainment.