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Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection, Set 5 (2010) |  | Actor: David Suchet
Studio: Acorn Media
Category: DVD
List Price: $49.99
Buy New: $34.16
as of 9/8/2010 23:22 CDT details
You Save: $15.83 (32%)
New (6) Used (2) from $34.16
Seller: moviemars
Rating:  reviews
Sales Rank: 469
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, Widescreen, NTSC
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Discs: 3
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Running Time: 279 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.4 x 0.9
UPC: 054961841790
EAN: 0054961841790
ASIN: B0028AENVC
Release Date: July 27, 2010
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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Description
David Suchet is back as Hercule Poirot. The dapper Belgian detective takes on three more cases in these wildly popular adaptations of Christie’s acclaimed classics. As seen on the PBS Mystery! series. Murder on the Orient Express -- Onboard the Orient Express, an unsavory traveler (Toby Jones) requests Poirot’s protection; after the man is stabbed to death, Poirot searches for the killer on the now snowbound train. The star-studded cast includes Barbara Hershey, Hugh Bonneville, and Dame Eileen Atkins. Third Girl -- Poirot collaborates with crime novelist Ariadne Oliver (Zoë Wanamaker) to help a young heiress who thinks she may have committed a murder. When the woman’s childhood nanny is found dead, Poirot believes he has the victim--but he still has a long list of suspects. Peter Bowles and James Wilby guest star. Appointment with Death--Hercule Poirot is visiting an archaeological dig in the Syrian Desert when the wife of Lord Boynton (Tim Curry) is murdered. Poirot carefully sorts through the woman’s many enemies to unearth the truth about her death. Also starring John Hannah and Elizabeth McGovern.
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| Customer Reviews:
 3 feature-lengths Suchet/Poirot/Agatha Christie at their finest July 6, 2010
Harold Wolf (Wells, IN United States)
61 out of 65 found this review helpful
POIROT set 5 is just plain GOOD murder mystery. Agatha Christie suspense perfect. David Suchet acting excellence. Combined they make any British Mystery viewer salivate. Add top guest stars in each, SUBTITLES for the hearing and dialect challenged, and kick in some of the best filmed period mystery ever produced. It's what fans have come to expect with Poirot, Agatha Christie, Masterpiece Mystery, and the untouchable as Hercule Poirot--David Suchet. The best Poirot yet, of what I've seen.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS--
Perhaps the best of A. Christie's books. It was written in 1934 and the story begins Sep. 26, 1938.
Poirot is allowed to fill an unoccupied birth as the Orient Express moves out from Istanbul to England. The luxury car he rides includes American Samuel Ratchett (Toby Jones), a princess (Eileen Atkins of `Cold Mountain'), railroad director Bouc, a doctor,&...well a dozen travelers. The Orient Express gets stuck in a snowdrift (a true event that inspired A. Christie) and the group is also visited with a murder in the train car. There is proof the murderer is yet on the train and Poirot (with the help of the railroader and doctor) intends to find him/her. That's the plot, simple enough, but the deed, and the unveiling of the killer is what makes this story so exceptional, memorable, and emotional. You'll want to watch it a second and third time.
...47 minutes of Suchet hosting a tour of the present Orient Express is an interesting documentary added. He took the ride prior to playing the part for this movie. Also bonus on this disc includes `120 years with Agatha Christie', a list of Poirot books, & filmographies. 89 minute feature.
THIRD GIRL--
The 1966 published book begins with Norma Restarick (Jemima Rooper) asking Poirot for help as she MAY have murdered. Poirot's crime writer friend, Ariadne (Zoe Wanamaker) gets in on the case after Norma's ex-nanny's suicide proves to be murder. Peter Bowles plays a blind uncle, James Wilby plays Norma's father, and these and other fine stars make the excellent suspense and mystery come to life--or should we also say `to death?' Top mystery and crime drama.
...bonus is only filmographies, but the feature is 93 minutes.
APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH--
The book was published in 1938, but the story is Syria, 1937. An archaeological dig after the head of John the Baptist is visited by Lord Boynton (Tim Curry) the dig head, domineering Lady Boynton (Cheryl Campbell), son Leonard Boynton, adopted adult children Raymond, Carol, Jinny, writer Westholme (Elizabeth McGovern), Dr Sarah King, a nun, an aged nanny, others, and of course Poirot. Lady Boynton is about as popular as the sand fleas and ends up dead, giving Poirot a case, and plenty of suspects. Also plenty of bodies begin to pile up looking something like an episode in "Midsomer Murders." A fascinating finish, as expected from Agatha Christie.
...some film written notes by Curry, and cast filographies make up the bonus. 93 min. feature.
There is perfection in these Agatha Christie Poirot stories.
There is finesse in the acting from Suchet and many, many others.
There is quality in the production of these DVDs by Acorn Media.
There are subtitles provided by Acorn Media.
And personally, my wife and I enjoyed the documentary and history of riding on the Orient Express train as much as we did the movies. An opportunity to see David Suchet without his Poirot make-up and clothing. You can also get a different look at this famous actor in the Athena DVD titled "Playing Shakespeare."
Acorn Media delivers the original uncut U.K. versions. June 25, 2010
Paul J. Mular (San Carlos, CA USA)
29 out of 31 found this review helpful
First I want to make it clear that I have compared the Acorn Media DVDs to the PBS broadcast. The Acorn Media DVDs clock in from 89 to 94 minutes long while the PBS broadcast ended around the 85 minute mark, and this includes their Masterpiece Mystery open & host introduction. There is a Masterpiece Mystery logo at the beginning, but I think Acorn Media had to tag that on to connect it to PBS. This is the UK Version. I did not do a scene by scene comparison to see what PBS cut.
Regardless of the sequence listed on the box, I feel the first viewing should be THE THIRD GIRL (2009 - 94 minutes). Even though in the book canon it is much later that Orient Express, here it feels earlier. Poirot is at home in his apartment & full of the zest to excite his "Little Gray Cells" to solve a mystery. One almost expects to see Captain Hastings & Inspector Japp turn up even though they are well gone from the series. Of the three mysteries in this set, this one most feels like the earlier hour-long episodes. Production values, while good, are not as high as on the latter two destination mysteries. The action is mostly indoors, restricted to a dozen or so sets, just as in the short story adaptations. I found this to be the most fun to watch in this set, maybe because it felt familiar. A psychological mystery of a girl who thinks she may have committed a murder & the strange people around her will keep you wondering just what is up. Clocking in 4 minutes over an hour and a half guarantees that the PBS version will be missing scenes that are on this DVD.
Next I recommend watching APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH (2009 - 93 minutes). Some liberties were taken here while adapting Agatha Christie's 1938 novel, but I feel it makes for a great cinematic mystery. Serious Christie fans have a right to complain about taking liberties with her work since atrocities have been done in the past. I have read the book and seen this DVD and this time I feel it is for the better. I am not saying they are improving on the original book, I am just saying the book would not have directly translated well to a mystery movie. Poirot appears in this movie right from the start and the mystery of who these characters are and what brings them there is withheld for a while in the movie, helping to build the atmosphere & character. The book gives Poirot an obligatory appearance at the start & then he disappears while the mysterious characters of the story are introduced right away. A transcript interview with David Suchet reveals that they veered away some what from the original story in adapting the book. While he wishes to stay true to the mysteries he seems to feel the same way as me. Guest-star Tim Burton also has a transcripted interview talking about how he wanted to do a Poirot mystery with David Suchet & how he got on it. Again, this runs over the Hour and a Half mark.
In MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS (2010 - 89 minutes) David Suchet now portrays a more troubled & aged Poirot, one who no longer seems to get the pleasure of using his "little gray cells". He battles between the concept of Truth & Justice while upholding the written law when the law seems unjust. Poirot also looks ill, much like the last episodes of Jeremy Brett's Sherlock Holmes. Yet when you watch the bonus documentary with David Suchet traveling on the present day Orient Express you see that the actor is energetic & well. It is also fun to hear David talk in his true voice in this documentary.
MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS was produced in Hi Definition & Acorn will be releasing a Blu-ray version later this year. Agatha Christie Poirot: Murder On the Orient Express (2010) (Blu-ray) I did a comparison of this standard DVD, using a Blu-ray player to unconvert it to 1080p, to PBS's Hi-Def 1080i broadcast on a HD-TV. I saw little difference over all, the many lush exterior shots of the train and the landscape seem to take advantage of the Hi-Def picture more that the interior shots. In both cases grain was at a minimum, but the trees & landscape took on more depth in the HD broadcast. Keep in mind that the Blu-ray presentation will be in 1080p as opposed to PBS's 1080i broadcast, and I was watching a "Clear QAM" transmission of the PBS signal over a Cable TV system. These factors mean that the Hi-Def picture I watched over PBS would not be as sharp as a Blu-ray disc. However this presentation looks fine over a HD-TV monitor smaller than 36". Since the Blu-ray release is planned to be a stand-alone disc, you may want to consider your screen size before dishing out the extra bucks.
The other two mysteries are hold-overs from last year and were not produced in Hi-definition. While they look good, they are not quite as sharp.
All are Anamorphic Widescreen presentations with optional subtitles to help with the accents.
I love Murder on the Orient Express David Sichet Rocks! July 28, 2010
bugsbuni70 (Tonawanda, NY United States)
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
I watched both versions of this movie and the David Suchet , version is soo much better. It makes Poirot more human has he struggles with the decision to lie to the police. I will watch many times over bravo.
On the contrary, Mr. Walsh July 13, 2010
Scott Kirby (Chatsworth, CA USA)
8 out of 11 found this review helpful
I saw the 1973 Albert Finney version of "Murder on the Orient Express" again recently and still think it's overblown and overly dramatic. All the nonsense with the newspaper headlines and the orchestral flourishes to set up the story of the Daisy Armstrong kidnapping and murder? Please. Plus all the name-that-actor cameos in fact detract from the story telling. I've seen that version at least three times (not always by choice) and have never believed Finney as Poirot.
On the other hand, this version with David Suchet was concise, beautifully shot and edited and well acted all the way around. The final revelation and Poirot's decision are much more powerful than in the 1973 telling. But that's just one man's opinion. I cannot comment on the other two episodes because I haven't seen them yet.
Suchet is the best! July 3, 2010
Tom (Brooklyn, NY USA)
10 out of 14 found this review helpful
I love the Poirot series with David Suchet. I watch all the DVDs over and over again. They are well worth the price. 3 quality movies for $44? I don't see what there is to complain about.
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