Crime & Punishment (NTSC version) – DVD

The Complete BBC Mini Series Golden Globe and BAFTA Award Winner, John Hurt stars in Dostoyevsky's powerful drama of murder, guilt and redemption. Raskolnikov (John Hurt), a destitute and desperate former student, wanders through the slums of St Petersburg and commits a random murder without remorse or regret. He imagines himself to be a great man, a Napoleon: acting for a higher purpose beyond conventional moral law. But as he embarks on a dangerous game of cat and mouse with suspicious police investigator Porfiry (Timothy West), Raskolnikov is pursued by the growing voice of his conscience and finds the noose of his own guilt tightening around his neck. Only Sonya, a downtrodden prostitute, can offer the chance of redemption. Portraying the murderer Raskolnikov with a sensitivity and sentimentality, John Hurt (Tinker, Tailor, Solider, Spy, The Elephant Man) is mesmerising throughout. Pitted against Timothy West's (Titanic, Bleak House) brilliant portrayal of Porfiry, both actors interact effortlessly, with a subtlety that pulls you into each scene. Acting alongside them are the talents of Sian Philips (I, Claudius, Dune), David Troughton (Outnumbered, The Cafe) and Barbara Young (Last of the Summer Wine, Coronation Street).