Rating: 
Summary: Haunted past....
Review: PBS frequently broadcasts Poirot's Christmas over the holidays, but never mind, the story is so wonderful and filled with so many characters it's fun to watch any time of year. And, it's simply beautiful. I for one am glad to see the DVD arrive.Hercule Poirot is not a religious man, nor a particularly sentimental man. He had planned to spend a quiet Christmas holiday alone. Ms Lemon is away visiting her sister, and Hastings is seeking his fortune in South America. A day or two before the Christmas, a disagreeable and wealthy old man, used to others responding to his bidding, insists Poirot spend his holiday with him at his country estate near a small village. The old man says someone wants to kill him and he wants Poirot to find out who it is and put a stop to it. Poirot declines the job, not only because he would prefer the comfort his own apartment and the cold damp weather outside makes the prospect of traveling unpleasant, but because he instantly dislikes the old man. However, Poirot's apartment heat fails (we see his vintage dripping radiator) and as his landlord cannot make repairs until after the holiday, Poirot is soon on a train out of town. Poirot arrives in the little village via a vintage London train and there he meets the old man's relatives including a prodigal son and a never-seen-before granddaughter who turn out to have been Poirot's train companions. Are these children to be trusted? Why did the newly arrived son return? Can the apparently pleasant and "good" son and daughter-in-law who have been caring for the old man be trusted? Why does the old man keep a large diamond in a safe in his room? Before long, someone is dead and Poirot and a local police inspector are on the case. This story is not the usual game of "clue" played in the big country house. In a preview scene, a pair of young men have been shown sitting before a campfire somewhere in Africa discussing which of them will travel to town to register a diamond claim. Disaster strikes and before long one man is dead and the other dying. The dying young man is rescued by a less than beautiful woman whom he later seduces and abandons. Of course the survivor from Africa is the nasty old man with the fortune who has engaged Poirot to protect him, but how does his past figure into the current plot--or does it? The wily Christie has been known to drop a red herring or two along the way. The mystery takes place in a snowy village from a Currier and Ives print. Poirot stays at a local inn (where he picks up an invaluable clue) where one can almost feel the warm fire in the old fireplace, hear the crackling pine cones, and smell the lovely Christmas greenery and plum pudding. A sweet exchange of sentiments and gifts takes place between Poirot and Japp (who is called in when the local police cannot solve the crime). A vicarious thrill for Anglophiles.
Rating:
Summary: Poirot gets his Christmas Wish
Review: Poirot doesn't want to play bodyguard to a miserly old man, but circumstances force him to do so. When the rich man, Simeon Lee, is murdered, Poirot has a brilliant mystery set in front of him. A scream, furniture knocked around, diamonds missing, blood on the floor. Poirot knows something is wrong. After all, the man was old and weak (he was in a wheelchair). I've read the book and loved this film version. The beginning segment describes how Simeon Lee got his diamonds and how manipulative and seductive he was, even in his youth. A nice bonus to this movie is a scene where Poirot and Japp exchange gifts. The ending is a little easier in the film version, but it still is very interesting! Suchet does it again!
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Conversion, Book to Film
Review: They did an extraordinary job on this one. By eliminating a few of the characters from the book, I believe they actually made the story easier to follow with better flow. Though my favorites of the film series are ABC Murders and Peril at End House, this comes in third, tying with Death in the Clouds. I don't think they took anything away from Agatha Christie's work by changing it a bit. Of course, they had a great story to work with. This is one of her most interesting books with great history worked into the motive and plot. Great job on this film. Recommended to watch over and over again.
Rating:
Summary: 'ercule is...how do you say...just perfect
Review: This is one of my three favorite movies. We watched it so many times when we first got it, it's too embarrassing to tell you how many times.
David Suchet is Dame Agatha Christie's fussy and very likeable Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot. He's so much fun. "Hercule Poirot's Christmas" is a 1930s Christmastime wealthy British in-the-country murder mystery with all the trimmings, including diamonds. It needs no other intro--just watch it. It's really wonderful, and it's not too Christmasy to watch at any time of the year. If you're really good at figuring out whodunnits, like I am, you can get this one a little less than midway through. However, it's worth it to the end because you have to see if you, indeed, are correct. And there is another little twist that you just couldn't ever figure.
What makes this a movie that you can watch over and over despite knowing whodunnit, is the wonderful 1930s costumes, the mansion that gives Chief Inspector Japp "the creeps," and all the simply fabulous characters, including Hercule's trusty Chief Inspector James Japp, Pilar Estrabados and Harry Lee.
If you love this movie, you simply must get all the David Suchet as Hercule Poirot murder mystery movies, which total a lucky 13 and include four other of my favorites "Evil Under the Sun" (Poirot is supposed to be recovering at a coastal resort from what only seems like 'obesity,' when he ends up embroiled in a look-alike murder); "Peril at End House" (a seance brings out the murderer); "Death in the Clouds" ("Death by poison dart on a British airplane; bizarre isn't the word," says Japp); and "Dumb Witness" (a fox terrier assists our Belgian sleuth.)
There are also 9 other series sets of David Suchet as Hercule Poirot in 50-minute shows which are quite good.
Lastly, if you like this stuff, you will probably also like three other sets of British light mystery movies: (1) Joan Hickson's collection of movies as she plays Dame Agatha Christie's Miss Marple. (2) Ian Carmichael plays Dorothy Sayer's Lord Peter Wimsey, a collection of movies filmed in the 1970s that are broken down into parts, set largely in 1920s England, absolutely wonderful believable stories, fabulous characters, exquisite attention to story details, and wonderful filming, albeit a bit quirky with using film outdoors and videotape indoors. (3) Dorothy Sayers Harriet Vane mysteries, a trilogy of multi-part movies that shows how Lord Peter Wimsey met and fell in love with Harriet Vane. Absolutely wonderful viewing, all three of these sets of movies. Well worth the money and time spent watching over and over.
Rating: 
Summary: A story with many twists and turns.
Review: Very funny and often suspenceful murder mystery as Hercule Poirot and his friend, Cheif Inspector Chapp (David Suchet and Philip Jackson) investigate the murder of a rich man who murdered his partner over a bag of diamonds years before, and the suspects are the man's many sons who hated their father so much that anyone of them could have done it, but you would be surprised who the real killer is when it's revealed.
Rating:
Summary: An excellent Poirot movie
Review: When the boiler in his building breaks down, Monsieur Poirot (played by David Suchet) faces the prospect of a very cold Christmas. So, when he receives a call from the wealthy Simeon Lee (Vernon Dobtcheff) to come and investigate his suspicion that he is the target of a murder plot, Poirot boards the next train. However, Mr. Lee is a spiteful old man who has left behind him a trail of used and angry people, and when he turns up murdered, it is up to Poirot to find out who did it and how. [Color, released in 1994, with a running time of 1 hour, 43 minutes.] I must admit to having bought this video sight unseen. I am a big fan of David Suchet's Poirot, and had faith that I would like this film as much as the rest. Well, I was not disappointed. Perhaps even more than some, this episode kept me on the edge of my seat, guessing at who did it and what he or she would do next. Plus even though Hastings (Hugh Fraser) wasn't in it, the redoubtable Chief Inspector James Japp (Philip Jackson) was! So, let me just say that this is a very good Poirot movie, an excellent one in fact. If you are a David Suchet/Poirot fan, then I highly recommend this movie to you.
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