Agatha Christie's Poirot - Collection 8 [DVD]

I bought Collection Eight for `Murder On The Orient Express', so this review is entirely about that.David Suchet's portrayal starts harsh and stays harsh. In a couple of early scenes (a court martial which is very briefly referred to in the original book but is not a part of it, and a street stoning which is entirely invented), we see this less pleasant side of his personality. I'm guessing that the producer's desire to make credible the moral dilemma faced by Poirot at the conclusion of his investigation meant that they felt they needed those additional early scenes to establish this harsher side of his character. Otherwise, it would be very reasonable for audiences to assume that the Poirot character we know, and that has been firmly established over the years, would naturally and quickly favour fairness and leniency.Aside from that, the question of how to open `Murder On The Orient Express' seems to have always vexed film makers. The lighter-hearted Sidney Lumet 1974 production, fine film that it was, opens with a painfully protracted flashback montage of newspaper cuttings and newsreel footage followed by Sean Connery and Vanessa Redgrave luvvying it up on a ferry crossing from the Asian to the European side of Istanbul.This is not how the book starts and for the life of me I have never understood why filmmakers who otherwise, and wisely, copy the Grand Dame's dialogue word-for-word, insist on completely rewriting, or ignoring altogether, her all-important opening scene. In her original opening, on an early morning station platform in Aleppo in Syria, Agatha Christie quickly establishes that it is freezing cold, that a long journey lies ahead, that Poirot is a master sleuth and that crime lurks everywhere.That said this version of `Murder On The Orient Express' has many magnificent moments. And in some ways it is a far superior interpretation to the 1974 film. The cinematography, sound design, interior train sets and the exterior photography of this `Poirot' version tell us that we are heading into danger and the unknown. And the power breakdown, itself a departure from both the book and the 1974 film, does lend itself to a chilled and chilling denouement that I believe is uniquely artistic, in the `Poirot' canon.I agree with David Suchet himself who, in the excellent extras, says that he thinks that `Murder On The Orient Express' may be `Poirot's' finest production. It may also be the finest `Murder On The Orient Express', period.

David Suchet has certainly brought Poirot to the forefront. Being a fan of Agatha Christie, I now have all episodes so far released on dvd - a pity ITV have (to date) left one episode still to be transmitted in the UK and, it seems, future episodes may now be under threat.Although I have not read all of the books the subject of this collection, and cannot comment on how or to what extent (if at all) they differ from the original stories, I often wonder how some of the screen productions might have worked out if those episodes had not deviated from the original stories. I am not suggesting that any of these do, as I can only compare 'Murder on the Orient Express' with the 1970s film version starring Albert Finney (to my mind a rather gruff and vocal Poirot) which is slightly different. Although both productions have their merits, I much prefer the version in this collection. However, I am not sure whether so much emphasis being placed on Poirot's religious convictions is entirely appropriate.I recall seeing a version of 'Three Act Tragedy' under the title 'Murder in Three Acts' with Peter Ustinov as Poirot and Tony Curtis as Charles Cartwright. I personally much prefer David Suchet's version, now finding the other a little ridiculous and too Americanised.Collection 8, however, lives up to all expectations and is very well worth watching time and time again, being enhanced by an additional documentary following David Suchet on a trip on the present day Orient Express.

These 4 stories are perfect and they round off the Poirot adaptations starring David Suchet brilliantly."The Clocks" is in the style of the earlier Poirot stories with plenty of action and a fast moving story."Three Act Tragedy" is a play within a story and I was very impressed with the direction and staging which let me believe myself to be actually in a theatre audience watching a play or perhaps it did all really happen? Martin Shaw played an amazing role."Halloween Party" one of the darker books Christie wrote and a very evil story. Good adaptation, well characterised."Murder on the Orient Express" just brilliant. At long last an adaptation of the book which doesn't shirk the moral and religious aspects which Christie emphasised in her story. The final scene had me in tears, very moving indeed.Will this be the final set of Poirot stories? It would be fine to end here. "Curtain" is the only big case now missing from a Poirot Collection but I think this is one where it's better to read the book.Who cares anyhow! Many many thanks to All involved for POIROT, it's been fabulous!

The later Poirot episodes are far superior to the earlier ones, in my opinion, because they are based on full-length books and not merely on the short stories as were the earlier episodes, These are four quality productions. Agatha Christie's books translate very well to the screen (perhaps because the plots are ingenious but relatively simple and have no great depth, so they can fit a one and a half or two hour slot pretty well)) and David Suchet has certainly made the part his own. The eccentric little Frenchman is, as Agatha Christie admitted, an absurd creation and it takes a good actor like David Suchet to play him well. Some of the plots are pretty dated, too, but these dramatisations make the most of their strengths and skate over their weaknesses. I can criticise, but it doesn't take away from the excellence of these productions. The casts are marvellous, the costumes authentic and divine, the scripts and direction very good indeed. I prefer them to the books (sacreligious as that may be) and can watch them more than once and enjoy the details I missed first time around.