Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection - Set 4
by Ashley Pearce, James Kent
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: David Suchet, David Yelland, Joe Absolom, Richard Hope, Simon MolloyDirector: Ashley Pearce, James Kent
Brand: POIROT
Producer: David Suchet
Producer: Damien Timmer
Producer: Karen Thrussell
Writer: Agatha Christie
Writer: Mark Gatiss
Writer: Nick Dear
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 186 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-07-07
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Acorn Media
Movie Reviews of Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection - Set 4
Movie Review: After 20 Years and 59 Mysteries, Another Triumphant Series for Poirot.
Summary: 5 Stars
David Suchet reprises his role of Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot in Series 9 of "Poirot", which dramatizes two of Agatha Christie's later novels. "Mrs. McGinty's Dead", published in 1952, and "Cat Among the Pigeons", published 1959, have been moved to the interwar years, as is customary in this series. It's called Season 11 in Britain and comprises four films there. PBS is only showing the first two films in the US this year, so this DVD set contains two films and a bonus disc with a 47-minute documentary. These are David Suchet's 58th and 59th personifications of Hercule Poirot since he stepped into the role in 1989. Suchet is visibly older now, having moved closer to the correct age for the ageless Poirot over the past 20 years.
It could be conceded that Poirot is an irritating little man. He is in the novels. And the detective's solutions seem conjured out of thin air. But he's fantastic to watch. This long-running Poirot series never fails to be visually captivating. Credit is due the actors, costumers, production designers, and cinematographers that make Poirot and his world look so fascinating. Of course, the 1930s are exotic-looking now, and, just as I loved the modernist designs of the series' early episodes, I found these new episodes have their own striking style. The focus is a little soft -perhaps to combat the effects of HD. Interiors tend to be quite dark, and the camera work out-of-doors is sometimes surprising. Both films have the same distinct visual style, but I'm not sure who is owed the credit, as they have different directors. They do have the same camera operator, Paul Donachie.
Screenwriter Mark Gates increases Poirot's presence in his adaptation of "Cat Among the Pigeons". Poirot visits the prestigious Meadowbanks School for girls where his friend Miss Bulstrode (Harriet Walter) is headmistress. After his ceremonial duties are done, Miss Bulstrode asks Poirot to help her choose a successor, as she is planning retirement. But the school's sadistic games mistress Miss Springer (Elizabeth Berrington) is murdered, and there is no shortage of people with motive. Or perhaps it has something to do with their celebrity student, Princess Shaista (Amara Karan), whose homeland has just suffered a coup d'êtat. This film's atmosphere and the detestable Miss Springer make it a big improvement over the book.
Agatha Christie vented a little frustration at decades of writing the Poirot character in "Mrs. McGinty's Dead". Ariadne Oliver (Zoe Wanamaker) is a mystery novelist frustrated with one of her popular characters as she tries to write a play. Poirot has been asked by Superintendent Spence (Richard Hope) to re-investigate a murder. A young man, James Bentley (Joe Absolom), is sentenced to hang for murder of an elderly charwoman with whom he lodged. Spence is unsure of his guilt. So Poirot is off to Broadhinny to find someone with a motive. He finds a lack of transport, his friend the novelist, as well as a cast of eccentric, agitated suspects. Zoe Wanamaker is a real scene-stealer as the outspoken Ariadne and reason enough to see the film.
The DVDs (Acorn 2009 3-disc set): The two 90-minute films have their own discs. The third disc contains a "Super Sleuths" documentary (47 min) about the series, from its debut in 1989 to its final episode, which has not yet been seen. David Suchet, Philip Jackson (who played Chief Inspector Japp), Hugh Fraser (who played Captain Hastings), Pauline Moran (who played Miss Lemon), producer (1989-2001) Brian Eastman, writers Anthony Horowitz and Clive Exton, and others talk about the character Poirot, Agatha Christie's creation of her most popular detective, how Poirot developed in the books and TV series, and how the series has evolved. Worth watching if you're a fan of the series. Subtitles available in English SDH.
Summary of Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection - Set 4
David Suchet returns as Hercule Poirot--the Belgian sleuth of unsurpassed deductive powers and peerless viewer appeal--in two fresh adaptations of Christie classics. As seen on PBS?s Mystery!
Mrs. McGinty?s Dead--With help from mystery novelist and old friend Ariadne Oliver (Zoë Wanamaker), Poirot tries to save a man from hanging for a murder he might not have committed. As the famous sleuth tracks down the real killer, he finds his own life at risk.
Cat Among the Pigeons--As Meadowbank School for Girls begins its term, a new student causes the headmistress unease. Princess Shaista is a political refugee hiding from revolutionaries in her native land. Fortunately, when the bodies start turning up, Poirot is on hand.
EXCLUSIVE BONUS PROGRAM: Super Sleuths, a documentary about the series featuring stars David Suchet, Philip Jackson, Hugh Fraser, and Pauline Moran; producer Brian Eastman; director Ed Bennett; writer Anthony Horowitz; and others.
David Suchet continues his definitive (and supremely entertaining) portrayal of Agatha Christie's Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot in Mrs. McGinty's Dead and Cat Among the Pigeons. Poirot is one of those classic characters of fiction who would be intolerable in real life, yet is delightful on the page (or in this case, the screen). Suchet, with his heavy-lidded but piercing eyes and an absurd little mustache, perfectly captures the balance of narcissism and nosiness--how Poirot uses his superciliousness to make himself seem harmless and unthreatening to the murderers and other criminals who meet and underestimate him. Accompanying the two mysteries is an engaging behind-the-scenes documentary that, among other thoughtful observations from the actors and writers of the series, points out that Poirot's foreignness allowed Christie to gently mock the peculiarities and obsessions of the English.
As Poirot strives to rescue a young man unjustly sentenced to death in Mrs. McGinty's Dead, he survives an assault on his own life as well as the brusque and pushy manners of his friend, crime novelist Ariadne Oliver (Zoe Wanamaker). The character of Oliver gave Christie the opportunity to poke fun at her own career, such as when the grumpy novelist bickers with a playwright in an attempt to infuse an adaptation with more sex appeal. Mrs. McGinty's Dead is entirely enjoyable, but it suffers a bit from excessive directorial flash with the camera. Cat Among the Pigeons, on the other hand, is a perfect fusion of story and style, where subtle visual flourishes enhance the plot's forward movement and mood of anticipation. The headmistress of a girls' school asks Poirot to help her choose her successor--but when a tyrannical teacher is murdered in the sports pavilion, Poirot soon unravels a tapestry of hidden rubies, a faraway revolution, a voodoo doll, and a missing tennis racket. Flashes of wit increase the fun (The headmistress huffs, "Mr. Poirot has an international reputation"--"So does Mussolini," grumbles the local constable). Suchet's skilled performances in Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection - Set 4 will please long-time fans and would be an excellent starting point for any beginner. --Bret Fetzer
Stills from Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection - Set 4 (Click for larger image)
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Beyond Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection - Set 4
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