Customer Reviews

The Agatha Christie Megaset Collection (Miss Marple / Poirot)

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Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, elderly spinster from the village of St. Mary Mead, who unmasks even the cleverest killer with her seemingly innocuous "village parallels," and Hercule Poirot, the little Belgian with the many "little grey cells," whom a speck of dust pains more than even a bullet, are among crime fiction's all-time stand-out characters. After multiple other adaptations, some of which, although featuring thespian royalty like Sir Peter Ustinov and Dame Margaret Rutherford, had about as much to do with Christie's originals as Big Ben with the English countryside, they found their perfect personifications in Joan Hickson and David Suchet, the latter moving center-stage from being Inspector Japp to Ustinov's Poirot. And while not entirely faithful to Christie's originals - e.g. Miss Marple's foil Inspector Slack (David Horovitch) and Poirot's associates Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran) and Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) are inserted in some of the storylines not originally featuring them - all these adaptations have exceptional production values, maintaining the atmosphere of Christie's books with loving detail.

The combination of productions featuring Hickson and Suchet in one set isn't illogical; although I wonder whether a straight "Miss Marple Megaset" wouldn't have made more sense, incorporating the features "The Body in the Library" (1942, BBC adaptation 1984, the first one starring Hickson), "A Murder Is Announced" (1950, BBC adaptation 1985) and "A Pocket Full of Rye" (1953, BBC also 1985), now all contained in a separate 3-disc set. That would've left space for any combination of the much ampler Poirot material in a separate package - but I suspect that'll come anyway, when the last of the shorter episode sets (11 and 12) and the four new movies ("Death on the Nile," "Five Little Pigs," "The Hollow" and "Sad Cypress") are released on region 1 DVDs. As it is, this is still an excellent collection.

Miss Marple:

"Murder at the Vicarage" (1930, BBC adaptation 1986; Christie's first Marple story): Disagreeable Colonel Protheroe is murdered, and both his wife and her lover instantly confess - but actually, half the population of St. Mary Mead would've had a motive.

"The Moving Finger" (1942, BBC adaptation 1985): Lymston village is haunted by poison pen letters; and when people begin to die, again there is no shortage of suspects. But Miss Marple, on a visit to a friend, sees through the killer's cruel game.

"They Do It with Mirrors" (1952, BBC adaptation 1991; a/k/a "Murder with Mirrors"): Inspector Slack's secret hobby provides a vital clue to the ungodly doings at the estate of Miss Marple's old friend Carrie-Louise Serrocold, which Carrie-Louise's third husband has transformed into a reformatory for young criminals.

"4:50 From Paddington" (1957, BBC adaptation 1987; a/k/a "What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw!"): Miss Marple and professional housekeeper Lucy Eyelesbarrow investigate the murder of a woman, whom Miss Marple's friend Mrs. McGillicuddy has seen being strangled from a passing train, and whose body must have disappeared somewhere on the grounds of the Crackenthorpe family estate Rutherford Hall.

"The Mirror Crack'd From Side to Side" (1962, BBC adaptation 1992; title taken from Tennyson's "Lady of Shalott"): Gossington Hall, erstwhile home to Miss Marple's friend Dolly Bantry, has been sold to ageing Hollywood star Marina Gregg. At a benefit, a local woman is murdered - and much points to Miss Gregg as the intended victim.

"At Bertram's Hotel" (1965; BBC adaptation 1987): Miss Marple deconstructs the all-too-respectable facade of a seemingly venerable London hotel, and the less respectable facade of a notorious society lady.

"A Caribbean Mystery" (1965, BBC adaptation 1989): In a for her unusual West Indian setting, Miss Marple solves the murder of a retired police officer, killed to prevent him from foiling his murderer's even more sinister plans.

"Nemesis" (1971, BBC adaptation 1987; sequel to the above): From his grave, rich Mr. Rafiel - who nicknamed Miss Marple "Nemesis" when meeting her in the Caribbean - sends her on a bus tour of historic homes, to either clear his estranged son of a long-ago murder, or prove him guilty.

"Sleeping Murder" (1976, BBC adaptation 1987; Christie's last Miss Marple mystery): With the old lady's help, newly-weds Giles and Gwenda Reed unravel the mystery behind Gwenda's nightmares about their new home, and a murder occurring there over 20 years earlier.

Poirot:

"The Murder of Roger Ackroyd" (1926, TV adaptation 2000): One of Christie's most remarkable mysteries, not least because of its turntable conclusion. Industrialist Roger Ackroyd, squire of King's Abbot, an archetypal English village much like Miss Marple's St. Mary Mead, is found murdered, and Poirot steps out of his retirement to investigate his death - and its connection to that of Ackroyd's widowed friend Mrs. Ferrars.

"Lord Edgware Dies" (1933, TV adaptation 2000, a/k/a "Thirteen at Dinner"): Poirot is asked to help actress Jane Wilkinson, Lady Edgware by marriage, obtain her husband's consent to a divorce; but then Lord Edgware is murdered. Was it the Lady's doing? Poirot is somewhat dazzled, and unfortunately his little gray cells don't work quickly enough to prevent a second murder (of an American actress), and even a third one, of a young playwright ...

"Murder in Mesopotamia" (1936, TV adaptation 2001): One of several stories based on Christie's impressions while accompanying second husband archeologist Sir Max Mallowan to the Middle East; a classic "closed room" riddle: During Poirot's and Hastings's visit to an excavation site near Baghdad, the expedition leader's wife is found murdered - in her room, behind a closed door and closed window, and although nobody has entered the courtyard and staircase leading to her room.

"Evil Under the Sun" (1941, TV adaptation 2001): 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; thus similar in setup to "And Then There Were None" (1939), where one person after another is killed in the style of the "Ten Little Indians" nursery rhyme, and also to "A Caribbean Mystery."

Also recommended:
The Mysterious Affair at Styles: Hercule Poirot's First Case
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
Murder at the Vicarage: A Miss Marple Mystery (Agatha Christie Collection)
Agatha Christie: Five Complete Miss Marple Novels (Avenel Suspense Classics)
Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Classic Collection
Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Classic Collection, Vol. 2
Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye)
Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express
Death on the Nile
The Mirror Crack'd

Nothing new to review here. This is just a reissue of the first 4 Poirot mysteries released on A&E after the London Weekend Television/PBS Series (which is available in its entirety on Acorn) and A&E release (their second set of 2) of Joan Hickson's Miss Marple (which you still need the Warner/BBC Video set to complete THAT series). If you have none of these, for the same money (maybe less) you should buy the separarte set of these 4 Poirots and the Miss Marple Megaset which combines their (A&E) "sets 1 and 2" into 1 box. The shows however are first rate and a half, so if you want your money's worth, there are better ways to buy the contents of this megaset and save megabucks.:-).

This collection is not very good. It is much better to buy the region 2 complete David Suchet's Poirot set which has all 50 of the Poirot Episodes, and then you can purchase the newest Episodes which are Sad Cypress, Five Little Pigs, Death on the Nile and The Hollow. This is a fabulous set and is much better than buying the smaller sets of poirot.

I happened upon this collection at Best Buy and knowing how much our family enjoyed British mysteries, thought it was probably worth the price. It is even better!! Joan Hickson and David Suchet are the penultimate Miss Marple and Poirot. These productions are well made, great for family viewing as there is little or no violence, beautifully filmed and directed. The Miss Marple's date from around 1987 and you can't tell as the time period is represented so well. And included are 4 of the best feature length Poirots ever. You can buy this set used but I don't know why anyone would want to get rid of theirs!!!

I recommend this collection to any Agatha Christie fan. The production quality of each story impresses me immensely: A & E devoted scrupulous attention to detail in producing these shows, especially given that they are all set in past periods -- the Miss Marple stories take place in the '50s, and the Hercule Poirot stories unfold in the twenties. I give kudos to the set designers, costumers, and location scouts for producing such verisimilitude. These dramatizations magically bring us back to a time and place in England now long gone. Perhaps just to avoid any disappointment for people looking for thriller movies, I should mention that all these stories proceed quietly, without car chases, explosions, or gobs of blood. Christie set us more cerebral puzzles, relying on the attentive perception of her sleuths to solve each riddle. But any Agatha Christie fan already knows that. If you have not yet familiarized yourself with some of Agatha Christie's novels, it might make sense to do so before purchasing this collection, just to make sure that Agatha Christie's style appeals to you. If you like the books, you will like the movies in this set.

I was so excited to find this. We adore watching Agatha Christie and have a large collection. Her stories are comfort-food for the mind. I purchased this for my daughter to cheer her up. It was exactly as described in the advertisement and arrived quicker than I expected. We are looking forward to ordering from this seller again.

Whhhaaat ? You're a fan of Agatha Christie in print and don't know about these gems? About David Suchet's total slip into character as Poirot? Of Joan Hickson's loving portrayal of the Nemesis, Miss Marple? Have you been living under a rock? This jolly series of English murder mysteries will be a delightful amuse-geule - but why not just invest in the entire Anthology, in which all these made-for-tv films appear? The direction is generally excellent, the stories as light as Agatha intended, and the brain-teasers just as impenetrable. There are plenty of good actors on the various sets, and you'll only end up wanting more. Like the long-rumoured appearance of Suchet in "Murder on the Orient Express" as well as the two other Christie novels he's not yet done. The series of Suchet/Poirot and Hickson/Marple films has been sliced and diced into so many sets and collections that you'll need to plan carefully if you intend to buy on a piecemeal basis - lots of overlap and duplication between collections, andprices all over the map. If you only watch them once, you aren't a true fan. If fan you are, though these should all be at the front of your library.

This is the best of both Miss Marple and Poirot to have for your movie collection as it not only is a good introduction to the two great sleuths but also has "extras" about them as well as the author herself. A must have addition for any of Christie's fans. Also the actors. Joan Hickson and David Suchet, who portray the great detectives are the best. It is as if the great dame of mystery, Agatha Christie herself, used them as the models for her two best loved characters.

I have always liked Agatha Christie, this package has all that i need in the way of great viewing.

I must say I brought these items because I love British mystries. Growing up I have read the books but never seen the movies. The Hercule Poirot mysteries was most interesting, he has a way of keeping you in suspense and keep you wanting to watch more, I total enjoy watching his series. I would recommend buying any of the Poirot series. I did enjoy Miss Marple but the pace of it was a little slow for me, there are a few funny moments where Mis marple meets detective Slack, this was most enjoyable. I recommend "450 from paddington", Nemesis"and "murder at the vicarage", in the Miss Marple series.