Poirot: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd & Lord Edgware Dies
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Actor: David Suchet, David Yelland, Hugh Fraser, Pauline Moran, Philip JacksonBrand: A&E
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital 2.0; English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0
Format: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, Full Screen, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 200 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2000-08-15
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Model: AAE-70128
Studio: A&E Home Video
Product features:
- Hercule Poirot (David Suchet), Agatha Christie s beloved Belgian detective, is back on the case. Based upon Agatha Christie s best-selling novels and set against the art deco elegance of 1930s England, THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD and LORD EDGWARE DIES feature fascinating clues, deviant suspects and riveting conclusions by this most masterful detective. System Requirements: Starring: David Such
DVD Reviews of Poirot: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd & Lord Edgware Dies
DVD Review: Poirot in Perfection.
Summary: 5 Stars
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 British TV 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 two mysteries. 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; 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 same station, ITV, 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. This 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.
Also recommended:
The Mysterious Affair at Styles: Hercule Poirot's First Case
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd: A Hercule Poirot Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection)
Agatha Christie: Five Complete Hercule Poirot Novels - Murder on the Orient Express / Thirteen at Dinner / The ABC Murders / Cards on the Table / Death on the Nile
Poirot in the Orient (Hercule Poirot)
Hercule Poirot's Casebook
Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Classic Collection
Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Classic Collection, Vol. 2
Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express
Death on the Nile
Description of Poirot: The Murder of Roger Ackroyd & Lord Edgware Dies
Studio: A&e Home Video Release Date: 12/16/2008 Run time: 200 minutes Rating: NrThis beautifully packaged A&E set marks the return of David Suchet as Hercule Poirot in two feature films. Although the films are based on two early Christie novels, The Murder of Roger Ackroyd and Lord Edgware Dies, the stories have been rewritten to take place after previously filmed episodes in the Agatha Christie's Poirot series, thus accounting for the slightly older-looking cast.
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd opens with a retired Poirot cursing at vegetable marrows in his country garden. When his old friend is found stabbed in the neck, Poirot begins an investigation that reunites him with Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) and uncovers a chain of furtive phone calls and secret romances. Unfortunately, the restructuring necessary to adapt the story from text to film takes away some of the shock value of Christie's original ending, which caused quite a controversy when the book was first published in 1926.
Lord Edgware Dies finds Poirot reopening his London office with the help of Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) and Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser). As they celebrate their reunion, Japp quips that there's "only one thing missing... the body." Right on cue, a corpse turns up just moments later. Most of the suspects are actors by profession, but Poirot's "little gray cells" are able to penetrate the murderer's disguise--though only after two more victims heighten the suspense.
The acting is impeccable and the sets are as lavish as ever in both of these adaptations. The main characters' delight in being reunited is sure to be matched only by the delight of Agatha Christie fans who now have two more episodes to add to their collection. --Larisa Lomacky Moore
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