Review of Saint, The: Volume 3

Introduction

Roger Moore’s version of Simon Templar is regarded by most as the best portrayal of Leslie Charteris`s The Saint. Carlton revives this classic 60’s TV series on DVD, unlike the way Hollywood tried to do by making a new movie, starring on-set psycho/basket case/loony tune Val Kilmer.

Volume 3 contains the four episodes above, which is a big improvement on the first 2-episode volume.

Video

Carlton have cleared up the picture really well – although in black and white and in the original 4:3 ratio, the picture is almost as sharp as any modern disc nowadays.

Audio

Just the mono track.

Features

A commentary track by the lively, and slightly potty, Moore would have been fantastic, but sadly this was not to be. A still gallery and some info on the original novels will keep you busy for 5 minutes, and (if you’re a slow reader) another 5 minutes can be spent reading a few articles. The menus are animated.

Conclusion

The author’s own choice for The Saint was always Cary Grant, but he would not do ‘B-movies’. Moore is very much a similar actor, and has made the role his own. You can see the Bond parallels, with the same quizzical look and debonair atmosphere – Bond girl Honor Blackman (first on-screen Pussy) also appears in an episode. Great TV for Saint fans, and Carlton have done a fine job in bringing this out of the back room.