Crime and Punishment

1979 Ended BBC Two

Drama Crime Thriller

Crime and Punishment is the ultimate psychological thriller with a powerful sense of guilt and retribution, set in St. Petersburg in the second half of the 19th Century. Rashalnikov is a highly intelligent and striking young student who decides to test his courage and integrity by killing a mean old woman whom he is sure nobody will miss. But his crime goes seriously awry and, although there's no clear evidence against him, wily investigator Porfiry sets up a complex series of traps, encounters and conversations which slowly but inexorably allow Rashalnikov to incriminate himself - and eventually confess. Rashalnikov is young, impassioned, lonely and lost. Despite being a murderer, he is a man possessed by both good and evil who cannot escape his own conscience and his inevitable punishment.