Rating: 
Summary: A&E Home Video ruins another one.
Review: As hard as it may be to believe, A&E home video, who accquired the American rights to the more recent episodes of the wonderful BBC POIROT series, is actually releasing them on disc in their edited-down U.S. broadcast versions (You know, the ones with 10+ minutes hacked out of them so they can run burger and soap ads), rather than the original complete U.K. versions. From most companies, this would be startlingly incompetent, but apparently it's just an ordinary day at the office for the bright professionals at A&E. Since they released the Royal Shakespeare Company version of NICHOLAS NICKLEBY in an edited-down, arbitrarily hacked-apart version, nothing these goofs do surprises me. Once again, thanks for nothing, A&E!
Rating: 
Summary: Great stories - shame about the U.S. editing
Review: David Suchet as Poirot is always a delight to watch, and I would love to recommend this DVD collection... but there is one major problem, at least as far as I am concerned. These versions were issued in the US and, I suspect, because of the ruthless hacking to accommodate commercials, these stories are each about 10 minutes shorter than the original U.K. versions. This is particularly damaging to Evil Under The Sun: In the edited-down version, characters inexplicably crop up and disappear and threads are left hanging. There is also a tendency to edit out scenes which are intended to exploit Poirot's little eccentricities which make the character so appealing. In the full version it all makes sense, with events unfolding as the director intended, rather than according to the dictates of the hacks who subsequently cannibalized it! If this irritates you even half as much as it assuredly does me, you might want to consider getting a region-free DVD player or a multi-format VCR (because this doesn't only happen with Poirot, but ALL films which cross the Atlantic), and then ordering British-made movies from amazon.co.uk, or any other reputable British supplier - it will be well worth the trouble.
Rating: 
Summary: You can enjoy it on VHS players sold in Japan.
Review: Hercule Poirot is one of the most famous detectives in literary history. Yet, strangely, except for his portrayal by Albert Finney in the star-studded movie version of "Murder on the Orient Express," for a long time, there did not seem to be an actor who could convincingly bring to life the clever, dignified little Belgian with his unmistakable egg-shaped head, always perched a little on one side, his stiff, military, slightly upward-twisted moustache, and his excessively neat attire, which had reached the point that "a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet," as Agatha Christie introduced him through his friend Captain Hastings's voice in their and her own very first adventure, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (1920). But leave it to the BBC to finally find the perfect Poirot in David Suchet, who after having had the dubious honor of playing a rather dumbly arrogant version of Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Japp in some of the 1980s' movies starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot, was now finally allowed to move center stage.And the match is spot-on, not only physically but also, and most importantly, in terms of personality. Suchet shares Poirot's inclination towards pedantry: "I like things to be symmetrical ... If I put two things on the mantelpiece, they have to be exactly evenly spaced," he once said in an interview, comparing his real-life persona to that of Poirot, but adding that unlike his on-screen alter ego, "I don't need the same sized eggs for breakfast!" Although previously not interested in mysteries, his habitually meticulous research allowed him to quickly become intimately familiar with Christie's Belgian sleuth and the workings of his little gray cells - and to slip so much into Poirot's skin that I, for one, can no longer pick up a Poirot book without instantly hearing Suchet's voice as that of the great little detective. This collection contains feature-length dramatizations of four mysteries, supplementing the nine Poirot movies and the TV series' shorter episodes, which are currently (as of March 2003) being transferred to DVD, in twelve sets of three episodes each (Sets 1 - 3 have been released; Set 4 is awaiting release in April). As usual, Philip Jackson stars as a rather sturdy, down-to-earth incarnation of Chief Inspector Japp, Pauline Moran is Poirot's epitome of a secretary, Miss Lemon (whose role, like Japp's, is added into a number of stories not originally featuring them, thankfully without greatly disturbing the narrative flow and setting of Christie's originals); and Hugh Fraser takes on the role of Captain Hastings, whom the screenplays, unfortunately, make come across as more of a well-educated but vacuous gentleman than do the novels narrated from his point of view, such as "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" and "Lord Edgware Dies." (And this although the BBC did so well in debumblifying Sherlock Holmes's friend and chronicler Dr. Watson!) "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (1926) is one of the most remarkable entries in all of Christie's collection, not least because of its completely unexpected turntable conclusion. The BBC version moves the story towards the end of Poirot's career to better explain his retirement to King's Abbot, an archetypal English village like those that later became so crucial to Christie's Miss Marple mysteries (the first of which, "Muder at the Vicarage," dates from 1930). Roger Ackroyd is an industrialist, the richest man around and "more impossibly like a country squire than any country squire could really be," as village doctor James Sheppard describes him in the novel. When he is found murdered, Poirot steps out of his retirement to investigate his death - and its connection to that of Ackroyd's friend, the recently widowed Mrs. Ferrars. In "Lord Edgware Dies" (a/k/a "Thirteen at Dinner," 1933), Poirot is asked to intervene on behalf of beautiful young actress Jane Wilkinson, Lady Edgware by marriage, who now seeks her husband's consent to a divorce. When shortly thereafter Lord Edgware is found murdered, Lady Edgware is Inspector Japp's obvious suspect. Rightly so? Poirot, somewhat dazzled by the Lady, is not sure - and unfortunately, his little gray cells do not work quickly enough to prevent a second murder, that of American actress Carlotta Adams, and even a third one, of a young playwright. "Murder in Mesopotamia" (1936) is one of several stories based on the impressions Christie gained while accompanying her second husband, archeologist Sir Max Mallowan, to the Middle East; and it features a classic "closed room" riddle: Poirot and Hastings are invited to visit an excavation site not far from Baghdad. During their visit, Louise, the beautiful wife of expedition leader Dr. Eric Leidner is found murdered - in her room, behind a closed door and closed window, and although nobody has been seen entering the courtyard and staircase leading to her room. Lastly, "Evil Under the Sun" (1941) likewise features a now classic pattern, in assembling Poirot and all suspects in a hotel on a small island off the English coast, with no possibility to leave until after the murder it solved. Christie herself had already employed such a setup in 1939's "And Then There Were None," where the murderer killed one person after another in the style of the "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme, and she repeatedly returned to it, probably most famously in the 1965 Miss Marple story "A Caribbean Mystery," which - tropical setting aside - is similar to "Evil Under the Sun" not only in its primary setup but also in its solution; and which I find the more successful of the two stories: If there are ever easily-detectable red herrings *and* obvious hints in an Agatha Christie mystery, "Evil Under the Sun" is it; and it is probably one of the few stories where at least those familiar with Christie's writings have a decent shot at solving all or part of the mystery before the famous final conclave. Nevertheless, in closing ... regardez, mes amis: There is something of great interest to our little gray cells here. Eh oui, yours, too!
Rating:
Summary: Poirot in perfection.
Review: Hercule Poirot is one of the most famous detectives in literary history. Yet, strangely, except for his portrayal by Albert Finney in the star-studded movie version of "Murder on the Orient Express," for a long time, there did not seem to be an actor who could convincingly bring to life the clever, dignified little Belgian with his unmistakable egg-shaped head, always perched a little on one side, his stiff, military, slightly upward-twisted moustache, and his excessively neat attire, which had reached the point that "a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet," as Agatha Christie introduced him through his friend Captain Hastings's voice in their and her own very first adventure, "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" (1920). But leave it to the BBC to finally find the perfect Poirot in David Suchet, who after having had the dubious honor of playing a rather dumbly arrogant version of Scotland Yard Chief Inspector Japp in some of the 1980s' movies starring Peter Ustinov as Poirot, was now finally allowed to move center stage. And the match is spot-on, not only physically but also, and most importantly, in terms of personality. Suchet shares Poirot's inclination towards pedantry: "I like things to be symmetrical ... If I put two things on the mantelpiece, they have to be exactly evenly spaced," he once said in an interview, comparing his real-life persona to that of Poirot, but adding that unlike his on-screen alter ego, "I don't need the same sized eggs for breakfast!" Although previously not interested in mysteries, his habitually meticulous research allowed him to quickly become intimately familiar with Christie's Belgian sleuth and the workings of his little gray cells - and to slip so much into Poirot's skin that I, for one, can no longer pick up a Poirot book without instantly hearing Suchet's voice as that of the great little detective. This collection contains feature-length dramatizations of four mysteries, supplementing the nine Poirot movies and the TV series' shorter episodes, which are currently (as of March 2003) being transferred to DVD, in twelve sets of three episodes each (Sets 1 - 3 have been released; Set 4 is awaiting release in April). As usual, Philip Jackson stars as a rather sturdy, down-to-earth incarnation of Chief Inspector Japp, Pauline Moran is Poirot's epitome of a secretary, Miss Lemon (whose role, like Japp's, is added into a number of stories not originally featuring them, thankfully without greatly disturbing the narrative flow and setting of Christie's originals); and Hugh Fraser takes on the role of Captain Hastings, whom the screenplays, unfortunately, make come across as more of a well-educated but vacuous gentleman than do the novels narrated from his point of view, such as "The Mysterious Affair at Styles" and "Lord Edgware Dies." (And this although the BBC did so well in debumblifying Sherlock Holmes's friend and chronicler Dr. Watson!) "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (1926) is one of the most remarkable entries in all of Christie's collection, not least because of its completely unexpected turntable conclusion. The BBC version moves the story towards the end of Poirot's career to better explain his retirement to King's Abbot, an archetypal English village like those that later became so crucial to Christie's Miss Marple mysteries (the first of which, "Muder at the Vicarage," dates from 1930). Roger Ackroyd is an industrialist, the richest man around and "more impossibly like a country squire than any country squire could really be," as village doctor James Sheppard describes him in the novel. When he is found murdered, Poirot steps out of his retirement to investigate his death - and its connection to that of Ackroyd's friend, the recently widowed Mrs. Ferrars. In "Lord Edgware Dies" (a/k/a "Thirteen at Dinner," 1933), Poirot is asked to intervene on behalf of beautiful young actress Jane Wilkinson, Lady Edgware by marriage, who now seeks her husband's consent to a divorce. When shortly thereafter Lord Edgware is found murdered, Lady Edgware is Inspector Japp's obvious suspect. Rightly so? Poirot, somewhat dazzled by the Lady, is not sure - and unfortunately, his little gray cells do not work quickly enough to prevent a second murder, that of American actress Carlotta Adams, and even a third one, of a young playwright. "Murder in Mesopotamia" (1936) is one of several stories based on the impressions Christie gained while accompanying her second husband, archeologist Sir Max Mallowan, to the Middle East; and it features a classic "closed room" riddle: Poirot and Hastings are invited to visit an excavation site not far from Baghdad. During their visit, Louise, the beautiful wife of expedition leader Dr. Eric Leidner is found murdered - in her room, behind a closed door and closed window, and although nobody has been seen entering the courtyard and staircase leading to her room. Lastly, "Evil Under the Sun" (1941) likewise features a now classic pattern, in assembling Poirot and all suspects in a hotel on a small island off the English coast, with no possibility to leave until after the murder it solved. Christie herself had already employed such a setup in 1939's "And Then There Were None," where the murderer killed one person after another in the style of the "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme, and she repeatedly returned to it, probably most famously in the 1965 Miss Marple story "A Caribbean Mystery," which - tropical setting aside - is similar to "Evil Under the Sun" not only in its primary setup but also in its solution; and which I find the more successful of the two stories: If there are ever easily-detectable red herrings *and* obvious hints in an Agatha Christie mystery, "Evil Under the Sun" is it; and it is probably one of the few stories where at least those familiar with Christie's writings have a decent shot at solving all or part of the mystery before the famous final conclave. Nevertheless, in closing ... regardez, mes amis: There is something of great interest to our little gray cells here. Eh oui, yours, too!
Rating: 
Summary: A Disappointment
Review: I am a great fan of the novels of Agatha Christie and have collected every one of them. I also enjoyed very much the movies from the 70's and early 80's featuring Albert Finney and Peter Ustinov. Which may result in my disappointment with this collection of DVD's featuring David Suchet. There is great television being made today and I found these adaptations less than great. I felt the acting in most of them bland and uninteresting to down right bad. The thing I love about the novels is the clear build of tension towards the unmasking of the killer or killers. In these teleplays I thought the tension was lacking so there was no great pay off at the end which is the main satisfaction of reading the novels. In other words the directing too, was bland. I felt also that the scripts were confusing and not so neatly thought through as Dame Agatha's novels. If you have seen the movies 'Murder on the Orient Express' 'Death on the Nile' 'Evil under the Sun' then you will get an idea of great payoffs and all lose ends neatly tied up at the end which is the point of all Agatha Christie murder mysteries. I feel Peter Ustinov and Albert Finney came closer to capturing the essense of Hercule Poirot than David Suchet has. These movie length teleplays did nothing to satisfy this Agatha Christie fan because of their lack of tension, blandness and mediocre adaptations to the small screen.
Rating:
Summary: You can enjoy it on VHS players sold in Japan.
Review: I just wanted to mention that NTSC VHS videos are viewable
not only in USA and Canada but also in Japan. Caution: This does not apply to DVDs.
Rating:
Summary: Poirot-Complete Collection DVD
Review: I recently got this DVD set, and it is wonderful. I have just recently become a fan of Poirot, and I think that this box of DVD's had 4 of the most enjoyable. All these movies are great. I would recommend this to anyone who likes Poirot.
Rating:
Summary: U.S. editing has botched this series
Review: I recommend that you stay away from this set. American green eye shades from A&E's advertizing department cut ten-twelve minutes from each episode so that they could squeeze more fast food ads in to the showings on television. The resulting botch makes several of these episodes unwatchable. Sorry; hopefully Acorn will put these out in pristine form.
Rating:
Summary: U.S. editing has botched this series
Review: I recommend that you stay away from this set. American green eye shades from A&E's advertizing department cut ten-twelve minutes from each episode so that they could squeeze more fast food ads in to the showings on television. The resulting botch makes several of these episodes unwatchable. Sorry; hopefully Acorn will put these out in pristine form.
Rating:
Summary: U.S. editing has botched this series
Review: I recommend that you stay away from this set. American green eye shades from A&E's advertizing department cut ten-twelve minutes from each episode so that they could squeeze more fast food ads in to the showings on television. The resulting botch makes several of these episodes unwatchable. Sorry; hopefully Acorn will put these out in pristine form.
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