October 2006
By MICHAEL IDATO
One of the most fascinating chapters of European social and religious history gets an excellent examination in this documentary. It uses a raft of documents previously locked in the Vatican archives to piece together the story of the Inquisition, an attempt by the Roman Catholic Church to imprint itself across Europe and ensure the unchallenged authority of its Pope.
The first of four parts opens in 1308 as the Vatican sends the Inquisitors of Heretical Depravity to France to deal with all those misbehaving Frenchies. In the village of Montaillou, it looks to be a quick assessment of heresy and a sentence of death by hysterical mob and public pyre.
This is a sharply delivered treatment of a complex but gripping topic. Absolutely outstanding telly.