Finished watching A Morbid Taste for Bones, in which the monks set out to Wales to retrieve the bones of a virgin martyr to bring to their monastery. I must confess that this is the first Brother Cadfael book I read--yes, I read the entire series out of sequence many years ago because the books were not readily available in the Philippines, and they still are not. It was this book that got me hooked on the series. Ellis Peters gives us an interesting look at Catholicism during the medieval period. Interesting because nothing seems to have changed between then and now. A must-read for every Catholic. A study in mythology and paganism.

As for the DVD, I enjoyed it. It has a precious, lyrical, and unforgettable exhumation scene. This is one episode not set in Shrewsbury, and without Hugh Beringar. Love that reliquary, and how the monks' robes are cut on the bias. Some of those tonsures are disturbing to me, though, because they look like latex skull caps.

When I was reading the book, the chapel was bigger and was exquisitely built, as opposed to rustic, in my imagination. Also, in the DVD, the apparition of St. Winifred is not convincing. It uses trite superimposition and utilizes a simple, medium shot against a black BG at that. The woman with loose hair who appears in the shot looks like she is modeling for shampoo. No saint would appear to a "visionary" in 3/4 view, even if the "visionary" were in a hypnotized state, as the director interpreted it--it's too artsy. Not at all the way the unfolding takes place in the book.

I had high expectations before watching the DVD, but I'm not disappointed. Because, as in other episodes, the performances are excellent.