Young Montalbano Series 1 & 2 [DVD]

Well deserved promotion brings Salvo Montalbano back to his birthplace, he probably Vigato's youngest ever Chief Inspector. His being Sicilian through and through, the whole area seems his home - he understanding the people and getting on well with most of them. Admittedly he is no angel and can be brusque, but at heart there is compassion - he not immune to bending rules to steer minor lawbreakers towards lives more worthy. Criminals regarding him as a pushover are making a great mistake - many murderers (at least one per episode) to be brought to book. Despite so much success in the job, highlights of his days involve early morning swims, seafood and girlfriend Livia.Twelve feature length episodes. The pace may be too leisurely for some, but it did not worry me. Admittedly there are a few reservations. Not, though, with charismatic Michele Riondino as Salvo. In contrast, the relentless womanizing by Deputy Mimi Augello quickly proves tiresome (and a bit creepy to be honest). Then there is the absurdity of having the police switchboard manned by one who forever gets the messages wrong. Catarella, although entertaining, seems to have strolled in from another type of show altogether. Far more credible are Fazio father and son, and many incidental characters. (Welcome here several great cameos of locals never short of a word or two.)Although admiring several police series where so much is solved at considerable speed, I greatly enjoy what is on offer from Montalbano (young and older). Humanity is at the show's heart - victims of crime assured of a fair deal, perpetrators with every reason to fear. Those swims and the fine eating are truly earned.

I am a huge fan of this Sicilian detective series ever since watching the original series of 'Inspector Montalbano'. It reminds me of the British 'Inspector Morse' and 'Endeavour' series in which adventures of the young detective are aired AFTER the original series. Morse is very popular throughout the World and Montalbano seems to have attracted the same loyal following. The Montalbano storylines are very different to the Morse storylines because they have a very strong Sicilian flavour. I think what attracts me most are the beautiful and striking filming locations and the sheer age and history of Sicily where the series is filmed. I originally thought the language barrier would destroy my enjoyment but it has not proven to be the case. If anything, it has improved my speed reading ability. I can easily keep up with the captions as they are flashed up on my TV screen. The captions are not the actual words spoken by the actors and translated into English. Rather they are actually carefully crafted summaries, which any English speaker can follow.I have the original DVD boxed set of 'Inspector Montalbano' and now I have this boxed set. I will not hesitate to buy future boxed sets of the 'Young Montalbano' series, which I do hope are in production. It is refreshingly different to the great many American detective series, which can become a little boring and tedious after repeated reshowing. I would love one day to visit the Sicilian filming locations, which have become an industry unto itself. It is now possible to go an a 'Montalbano holiday' and visit many of the locations by tour bus.I cannot recommend this series, or the original, highly enough.

simply addicted to these series!: ) wish there was more to watch, more dvds on Young Montalbano.The films have an interesting plots, actions are swift with sudden, unexpected twists, sometimes themes are lighthearted, funny , with good sense of humour, the other times serious and touch upon a very important issues of the sicilian mafia and their crimes , plus beautiful vistas of Sicily and of course excellent acting of Michele Riondino and the rest of the cast.What else is there to say? I recommend these series I and II , now I m gonna watch another series of Inspector Montalbano, with Luca Zingaretti: ) also an excellent actor.

If you enjoyed the stories of the older Montalbano with Zingaretti, you will love this different but very consistent take on the detectives earlier years. I had some doubts whether seeing a group of different actors would jar with impressions from the novels and from the Zingaretti series. But these were dispelled by this fine cast and its well done episodes. Really enjoyable stuff. North American purchasers should not hesitate to buy, even though these disks are European format and so are not playable on North American DVD players. You can buy a European region DVD player for chump-change and open up a world of Euro disks that you can't get in North America but can get from Amazon.uk and other sources. The Young Montalbano is one such set. Good stuff!

Unlike ITV's Endeavour, The Young Montalbano doesn't really work as a look-back in time. There's no attempt to think things through at all : after the first couple of episodes, when we see Mimi and Fazio arrive, everyone is present and correct in the same roles and ranks as in the main series. Even the long-suffering Livia is there to be imposed upon. "Young Montalbano" is therefore best viewed as a continuation of the Montalbano franchise (like Sherlock Holmes or Philip Marlowe) with different actors playing the familiar characters. Speaking for myself, there's nothing wrong with that.