Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders

Another person here said that, having read all of the Dee mysteries, he thought this was a bad adaptation.

I very strongly disagree. I have also read them all, and love them all. The film is different because it is a film. But the warmth, the humor, and the clever detecting is the same. I give the books a 10 and I give this film a 10.

This film bears the same resemblance to it's originating books as the Charley Chan film series did to Earl Derr Biggers novels. It's nearly if not actually impossible to get everything into a movie that is in a novel, and when it's a series of novels and short stories, as here, one gets a collective sense of the central characters that no single film can possibly produce. It is true that Judge Dee written doesn't match Judge Dee filmed entirely, but then, neither did Charley Chan. The only thing I ask of a film is that it be well done, and either or both informative or entertaining.

I think this film more than satisfies on all counts.

There have been a number of fine films made for television over the decades since public-network TV was rushed into being. "Judge Dee and the Monastery Murders" is one of them, on just about every count. It has that rare quality, style, a literate script by Nicholas Meyer, based on Robert Van Gulik's novel, and interesting performances, lighting and sound. Leonard Rosenman supplied above-average music; and director Jeremy Kagan kept the action going non- stop even though the structure of the investigational mystery required him to deal with many scenes of questioning, discovery and reaction. The story takes place in the 7th Century. On his way to a provincial capital, Judge Dee and his three wives are forced by a heavy rainstorm to ask for shelter at a rural Taoist monastery. The Judge, China's greatest detective, discovers that the late abbot of the institution, very recently deceased, had been murdered, that he had not died of natural causes. The monastery is host to a group of guests of various sorts, as was usual in those days; and many secrets, lies, evasions and suspicions have to be dealt with before the Judge solves not only one murder but several more attempts and deaths. This rare and intelligent production starred Khigh Dhiegh as the Judge, Mako as Tao Gan, his assistant, Miiko Taka as his First Wife, Keye Luke as Lord Sun Ming, and such luminaries of the Oriental acting fraternity as Irene Tsu, Soon-tek Oh, Frances Fong, James Hong, Beverky Kushida, Yuki Shimoda and others appearing in the talented cast. Do not miss a chance to see Judge Dee at work in this popular classic; the East's Nero Wolfe is as fascinating as Charlie Chan and as cool as Inspector Morse. It is to be regretted that no other films about this fabulous character of Van Gulik's have been made to date. This example of the Judge's work was extremely well- done for a television achievement. Jan Scott's production design and the acting alone rendered it worth worth seeking, and viewing more than once.

Watching this movie with my family was pure enjoyment. The movie does full justice to van Gulik's masterful creation: fidelity to the original story, good casting, perfect dialog, taut pacing, authentic atmosphere, etc.

Lord Sun Ming was particularly interesting: flawless acting and an arrogance to match his reputed past power. Judge Dee has a voice so like David Jason of Inspector Frost fame that at times, I thought I was listening to Jason!

It was sheer enjoyment by immersion into another world. Urbane, entertaining, cerebral, and riveting.

Not only have I read all 16 of van Gulik's Judge Dee books, but also his translation of "Dee Goong An", which was the Chinese literary source for the Judge, and also a number of van Gulik's other works and source materials (including a very tedious novel in a contemporary setting). Khigh Dhiegh made an acceptable Judge, but I felt that Mako as Tao Gan was a bad piece of casting - he played the character as too fawning and not quite clever enough. Motai (Mo Mo-te in the book) was a bit overplayed. Probably the best bit of casting was Keye Luke as the arrogant Sun Ming.

On the other hand, it was refreshing to see and not a complete disappointment. I have a fairly decent tape I made from a rebroadcast of the movie in the mid-'80s with fairly good picture and sound quality.

The A&E Nero Wolfe series set a gold standard for faithfulness to sources that the '70s just weren't up to. I can only hope that someone will turn up to be for Robert H. van Gulik what Timothy Hutton was to Rex Stout.

Unbelievably faithful adaption of the. Robert van Gulik novel- something as rare in the seventies as it is today. Many of the lines of dialogue taken directly from the novel. The tone and the pacing completely authentic, and Khigh Dhiegh, playing Judge Dee, exactly mimics the exacting nature that character exhibits in the novels, down to side glances and puzzled looks, which often led to eventual brilliant insights into crimes. It would be nice to have been a fly on the wall during production meetings , because there was definitely someone in control who was a real enthusiast of the Dee books. Even with the patchy quality of the video it was a pleasure watching.