Product Description Golden Globe Winner Idris Elba (The Wire, American Gangster) stars as Detective John Luther in this thrilling new crime series from BBC America. A self-destructive near-genius, Luther might just be as dangerous as the depraved criminals he hunts. Luther follows his own moral code as much as the rules of criminal law. But he quickly becomes locked in a lethal battle of wits with Alice (Ruth Wilson, The Prisoner, Jane Eyre), a beautiful, highly intelligent mass murderer, and his decision-making process becomes increasingly murky. The strain begins to tell as he’s drawn deeper and deeper into a series of horrific murders, and the shadow of a former case threatens to bring him down. Forced to face his own capacity for violence, he struggles with why his wife left him and what draws him to Alice. As the stakes get higher and more personal, Luther’s lonely path pulls him towards the very edge of temptation. Is he a force for good or a man hell bent on self-destruction? .com Idris Elba is the magnetic star of the thrilling BBC police series Luther, a gritty, captivating drama that will impress fans of British TV, police procedurals, and knotty character studies. Elba (The Wire, The Big C, The Office, 28 Days Later) is a nuanced, tortured presence as DCI John Luther, a detective focused on understanding the most horrifying criminal mind. Luther also has sacrificed a normal personal life for his work, and Luther focuses on his back-story as much as on the plot at hand. The supporting cast is as brilliant as Elba, especially Indira Varma as his estranged wife, Zoe, and Ruth Wilson as the fragile-seeming but only marginally sane Alice, with whom Luther has been having a secret affair. The episodes are fairly straightforward police procedurals, including serial killers and other creepy bad guys. But what keeps Luther extra engaging is the superior writing, direction, and production design--making watching Luther an immersive experience for the viewer. And it's not always a comfortable one--this is not the cleaned-up New York of Law & Order, where most bad things happen off screen. Luther's bad guys (and gals) commit their evil deeds on camera and sometimes in slow motion--which only heightens the suspense and deep feeling of immersion. Luther and its focus on its leading character's personal life owes a lot to Helen Mirren's Prime Suspect, but Elba and the supporting cast of Luther do even more to make the viewer feel a part of the imperfect British law-enforcement system. The boxed set includes an excellent documentary with interviews with series creator Neil Cross and the directors and cast members discussing how they deliberately designed the series to be more "impressionistic" than "realistic" in terms of plot. (The interviews would have more impact if they weren't streamed onto a computer screen, but that's a small quibble.) Catch Luther while he tries to catch the bad blokes, and enjoy every twisted step of the journey. --A.T. Hurley
L**E
Awesome series
This was an awesome series. I wish they'd made more.
J**C
QUIRKY, INTENSE, MESMERIZING, UNPREDICTABLE
LUTHER is a surprise treat. The big disappointment is that there are only 6 episodes in Series One and they are powerful. Idris Elba was the perfect choice for the role of John Luther, and emotionally torn and conflicted police detective. He's out to get the bad guys but morality will never get in the way of him saving innocent lives.There is nothing too exceptional about the first episode but everything that happens is the set up for the rest of the series. Layers build upon layers, each piece, each character is part of a large puzzle. It all falls into place in episode 5 when Luther is confronted with his biggest life-changing event. The writer has created a fine mix of main and back stories that all rely on each other.Luther is back on the force after a leave of absence for psychological stress and some questionable activities regarding a dangerous criminal. Luther's marriage is destroyed and his wife has found a new love. These conflicts resound throughout Series One. A fourth person enters in the form of psychopath Alice, played the remarkably beautiful and talented Ruth Wilson. Luther knows she is guilty of murder but can't prove it. They form a most unusual relationship that touches on contempt, respect and a weird sexual attraction. Wilson plays her role remarkably well.,,a beautiful yet unstable killer who hold all the cards in her hands. In the end, Alice may be the only person that can save Luther.Supposedly good cops can go wildly bad and start a chain reaction that jeaopardizes lives and careers. A truly good cop can break rules to save a friend being set up. Decisions and choices have to be made. The series ends with a tantalizing cliff hanger and a long wait for Series 2.
K**.
LUTHER = Fascinating Psychological Cop Drama Thriller!!!!!!!!
No Spoilers contained herein: Purchased this on strength of actors: Idris Elba (movie: Obsessed) and Ruth Wilson (Showtime: The Affair) & both of their appearances on The Graham Norton Show - In addition to viewing the trailer for LUTHER, which sold me! Anyone thinking about purchasing but possibly hesitating re: British accents, don't let that dissuade you, b/c this is Excellent viewing : you will comprehend & Won't be disappointed. Outstanding performances by the leads as well as the supporting cast, all doing extraordinary work with the excellent scripts they're provided.LUTHER is deeply engrossing, having psychological elements/human character study along with the crime drama. It focuses on Luther & his team's investigation of a different crime each episode running alongside his & Alice Morgan's (Ruth Wilson) complex relationship throughout. It's amazing how complex and deep it's able to go in a one-hour format. I will say the trailer isn't entirely explicit/graphic. I find that I need to view something light afterwards, which I've been alternating with Ally McBeal and Good Girls Revolt in order to bring body out of tense, clenched position!! during LUTHER. To me...that's a sign of outstanding suspense movie/tv!My highest endorsement for LUTHER - By Episode 3, I'd ordered Seasons 2 & 3!!!!!
A**R
INCREDIBLE (NEW TO ME) BBC DETECTIVE SERIES
"Luther" is an incredibly and fantastically written British detective/mystery series that kept me poised on the proverbial "edge of my seat" with its gritty and intense stories. In this season one (1) of BBC's "Luther" we are introduced to the character of a super and kind of violent detective Luther fantastically played by Idris Elba along with his estranged wife (that he remains madly in love with) wonderfully acted by Indira Varma, many very strong and well acted characters and side-kicks. Most unusual and, to me, what makes this program so VERY good is the "Nemeses-type" character of Alice which is brilliantly played by Ruth Wilson who is really a rather crazy psychopath that Luther is very strongly attracted to although he knows that she is well capable of murder. They really "play" each other very well not hiding that they have the knowledge of what each other is about plus the two actors that play Ruth and Luther are so very good together--the sparks do fly.This series is indeed "new" to me reminding me alot of the series "Prime Suspect" because of its intensity. I am just very glad that I purchased it; I do hope that there are future seasons because I am hopelessly "hooked".Please be advised that Episode five (5) is really really riveting, exciting and heartbreaking with all of the actors giving overwhelming performances especially Steven Mackintosh (of Our Mutual Friend. Better for Girls, etc) who is simply wonderful. What performances. This episode had me almost on the floor in total awe of its greatness.
N**E
A MUST HAVE !!!!
I have never in my life seen the most well written, well acted, well directed show in my life. I consider myself a thriller buff, if you feel that you share the same genre this is definitely for you. I started backwards with seeing the Luther 2 season. There was a little confusion with why Alice was relevent to Luther? Does Luther have a wife? By getting this you will understand Luther a little better. Idris Elba does a stella preformance along with Ruth Wilson who plays Alice, is brillant. I could not wait to see if my cable network was going to show Luther 1st season so I found it on Amazon. It is a 6 ep - 2 disc set. Luther is an edge of your seat- non-predicable psycho-thriller. On most drama/thrillers I usually solve the case or have some sort of theory of what will happen next,not this show! I love that there is a full 60 minute program but the down side is there is only 6 ep. I wish there was at least 6 more. Neil Cross who is the author of Luther and of many other books will come out next month with a Luther prequel as you can see I am now on this Luther Journey (lol). I am also waiting on the 3rd season. Don't hesitate, Luther is Guaranteed to Please!!!
T**Y
A little disappointing.
We'd heard great things about the series, so there's always scope for falling short of hype. But even so, there are quite a few flaws.The series is an obvious homage to Cracker and Prime Suspect (you only have to look at the cast, main and occasional, to see that), but falls short in these ways:- Stories not given room to develop, as they are each crammed into a single episode.- Some very OTT 'actorishness', particularly from the internal investigation chap and female lead.- Some fairly poor acting - Luther's boss in particular.- An anti-hero who's perhaps less convincing than should be the case.Some of it is dramatic enough and the series does improve as it goes along, but if you last watched crime drama in the form of something like The Bridge (as we did), you might find these faults hard to ignore.
M**Z
Luther Season 2 Steelbook.
Lovely steelbook. Series is great. The chemistry between Idris Elba and Ruth Wilson is off the charts. Only complaint is why didn't they make steelbooks for the other seasons.
M**O
Brilliant
Loved all series of this drama, menacing, exciting, full of twists, great soundtrack.
M**E
Great gritty offbeat detective...stands out from the norm!
Great gritty offbeat detective...stands out from the norm!
T**A
Fantastic Show !!!!
Amazing show and fantastic acting. Fast pace so keep your eyes on the screen you may miss something that you need to pick up on in order to follow the plot😊
