It's important to note that the gripping three-part drama "Red Riding" -- a saga about crime, punishment and the corruption that allows both to happen to the wrong people -- was originally made for Britain's Channel 4 television network, which aired it this time last year.

Somehow, that's fitting, because this astonishing drama represents the kind of long-form storytelling that most filmmakers don't attempt anymore in feature-length films. But it has flourished on TV programs such as HBO's "The Wire" or AMC's "Breaking Bad."

"Red Riding," adapted by screenwriter Tony Grisoni ("Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas") from a four-novel series by David Peace, is set in the northern British province of Yorkshire, where the cops proudly declare "we do what we want," regardless of whether it's legal. Corruption runs deep in the West Yorkshire Constabulary, as police are not above torturing suspects, faking evidence to gain a conviction or looking the other way when it's in their financial interest.

The three parts of this story are set in different years, with different cameras (16mm, 35mm and digital) and by different directors:

» The first part, "1974," starts with an ambitious young reporter, Eddie Dunford (played by Andrew Garfield), who is assigned to cover a little girl's murder -- and finds a connection to two previous missing-person cases. The director is Julian Jarrold ("Becoming Jane," "Brideshead Revisited").

» The second part, "1980," follows the case of the Yorkshire Ripper, who murdered 13 women from 1975 to 1980. It is told through the eyes of a dogged London police inspector, Peter Hunter (Paddy Considine), who is investigating the Yorkshire police's handling of the case. This segment is directed by James Marsh, who made the Oscar-winning documentary "Man on Wire."

» The third part, "1983," centers on solicitor John Piggott (Mark Addy), who agrees to represent the mentally disabled man (Daniel Mays) convicted of the 1974 killing. This segment also features three characters seen in the first two parts: Maurice Jobson (David Morrissey), a detective with a nagging conscience; the Rev. Martin Laws (Peter Mullan), a clergyman with a distrust of the police; and BJ (Robert Sheehan), a gay prostitute and witness to many dirty dealings. This part is directed by Anand Tucker, and is enough to forgive him for making "Leap Year."

The performances are first-rate, with compelling work by Garfield, Mullen, Considine, Addy, veteran actor Warren Clarke ("A Clockwork Orange") as the bulldog police commander at the center of many shady enterprises, and Rebecca Hall ("Frost/Nixon") as the grieving mother of a missing child.

Taken separately, each segment of "Red Riding" works as a cracking good detective story, loaded with twists and turns and shocking revelations. Together, they are a shattering portrayal of power -- legal, financial, journalistic and spiritual -- corrupting at all levels.

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