Product Details

• Format: Color, DVD, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 2
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: June 21, 2011
• Run Time: 101 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B004VLYHNA
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9,449 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

"Good fun" --The Mirror (U.K.)

As seen on the PBS Mystery! series

Miss Marple (Julia McKenzie, Cranford) receives a mysterious list of names from her friend Father Gorman, who sent it moments before he was brutally murdered on a London street. She soon discovers that people on the list are dying. A clue leads her to the Pale Horse Inn in Hampshire, a spooky establishment run by three modern-day witches. As she closes in on the truth, one of the guests is found dead in his bed, and Miss Marple learns that her own life may be in danger.

This "quintessential Agatha Christie murder mystery" (The Times, U.K.) features a star-studded cast including Oscar® nominee Pauline Collins (Shirley Valentine), Sarah Alexander (Coupling), JJ Feild (Northanger Abbey), and Bill Paterson (Traffik).

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

59 of 66 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Only One New Movie, June 6, 2011

By 

Dr Mike C - See all my reviews

This review is from: Agatha Christie's Marple: The Pale Horse (DVD)

I know everyone will jump down my throat for this review, but I will still give it. Did I love the old Pale Horse? Yes. Do I love the new Pale Horse? Yes. Both versions are what you expect. The first one is the way that A&E used to do Agatha Christie; a lot of detail to the actual mystery, which I love. The new one is the way that ITV now does Agatha Christie; fun to watch, less attention to the details of the Christie plot. I love both approaches. I loved the Joan Hickson Marple, as well as the new incarnations.

So, what upsets me with this DVD set? It includes only one new movie, for a relatively huge price. The old version has been out for years, and I bought it years ago. Unfortunately, PBS refused to show the Pale Horse last year with the other Marple movies. So, this year, we only have one new Marple movie on Mystery. Because the movie can't be sold on DVD until it is shown on PBS, this set only has one new movie. Not wanting to sell a DVD with only one movie, the DVD set resurrects the old Pale Horse, which I do not need. From my point of view, I am being asked to pay $27 for a bundled package where I only want one movie.... PLEASE.

This isn't new. PBS has often delayed the release of mysteries for a year. For example, all of the mysteries in the upcoming Poirot's Movie Collection 6 were aired last year in the UK. They will air this year on PBS and sold on DVD in America this year. I didn't mind this because the DVD set includes 3 movies. The year before, Poirot's Movie Collection 5 included two movies, Third Girl and Appointment with Death, that aired in the UK the year before. Again, I didn't mind because I was being asked to purchase a DVD set of three movies.

But here, bundling the new movie with the old one, and making it the only way that a consumer can buy the new movie on DVD is a bit much. Of course, what really makes this infuriating is that American viewers only see an abridged version of the mystery on PBS because PBS ALWAYS cuts the British mysteries to fit the Mystery time slot.

To be fair, most people probably: (i) don't already have the old Pale Horse, and (ii) haven't seen the old Pale Horse. So, this package may be attractive to them. I feel obligated to give the low score because of the lack of value to me. It just seems that ACORN doesn't care about the consumer, and it should. I am praying for an eventual sale or big discount.

35 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 2 Agatha Christie `The Pale Horse' adaptations filmed 14 years apart, May 6, 2011

By 

Harold Wolf "Doc" (Wells, IN United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 50 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Agatha Christie's Marple: The Pale Horse (DVD)

ADAPTATIONS x2, so purists that do not accept changes from an author's novel will be disappointed. There are alterations for new generations, to fit TV feature-length presentations. These changes seem to work. Much fun in watching them both and trying to decide which version, 1996 or 2010, has the better cast, writing, location, music, etc. My review is for entertainment value of an adapted Agatha Christie story, "The Pale Horse", and not concerned with the TV requirement to eliminate characters, or parts to fit a TV need. The book has proven to be a 1961 success for the former author. It was written toward the end of her writing career and as a book has won its own reward.

PALE HORSE 2010 has what the other DVD and book does not have. Miss Jane Marple is not original, but added by screenplay writer Russell Lewis. This British Marple heroine is a TV favorite to A.Christie fans so it is a delight to see Marple (Julia McKenzie-`Cranford') brought to life solving another case, along with CI Lejeune (Neil Pearson-`Bridget Jones'). The Pale Horse is a struggling inn with 2 witch owners and 1 with cleaning lady. The 3 `modern' witches are Thyrza (Pauline Collins "Thomas & Sarah' `Upstairs Downstairs'); Sybil (Susan Lynch-`Amongst Women' `Elizabeth The Golden Age'); & Bella (Jenny Galloway). A very famous 1996 witch is Thyrza (Jean Marsh-`Upstairs Downstairs').

A lady dies; a priest has a list of names (7 in 2010, 6 in 1996) which gets him murdered. Marple gets mailed one list. In 1996, a passerby, Easterbrook (Colin Buchanan-`Dalziel & Pascoe') gets the murderer tag and must use the list to find the real killer. Easterbrook is the godson of one on the list in 2010. Both versions have an Osbourne, (JJ Field-`Northanger Abbey') in the 2010, and (Tim Potter-`Miss Pettigrew' `Finding Neverland') in 1996.

People die because a bookie ('10 Bill Patterson-`Wives & Daughters' `Traffik')('96 Leslie Phillips-`Venus' `Harry Potter') bets on when a person dies, a hit-man skirting the law. He incorporates innocent helpers: market canvasser, The Pale Horse witches, and more to get the job done. So it's quite a complex mix of characters and roles in these deaths that cause such a difficult serial murder case. The names and deaths alter slightly between the versions, but both work well. There's a bit of romance tied into the '96 writing with Jayne Ashbourne (`The Grand' `Young Indiana Jones') taking a lead role. Other notables worth mentioning are `10s Kerrigan (Jason Merrells-`Lark Rise to Candleford'); and `96s Sgt Corrigan (Andy Serkis-'Little Dorrit' `Lord of the Rings').
Bottom line: 2 GREAT casts. 2 GOOD versions.

Sets are stunning, but I liked the newer version best, a place called Much Deeping in Hampshire. It is placed in the year 1955 through a witch's dialogue, while the 1996 version was set in 1964 based on pages in a guest register (Book written in 1961). Both have good music, and picture quality.

I think Agatha would have loved both of these adaptations. She saw many of her books turned into TV, mostly Miss Marple and Poirot mysteries. The Pale Horse would have made her proud to see on TV in both 1996 and 2010.
2010 disc has SUBTITLES while the 1996 disc has none. Bonus is Agatha's text bio and 4 cast filmographies in the '96 version. 2010= 89 min; 1996= 101 min.

Agatha Christie TV film fans will be delighted. Some book lovers, not obsessing over changes, will also enjoy the entertaining mystery adaptations of a great novel. Two versions from the same book is fun, like comparing the different versions of Emma, Brideshead Revisited, A Christmas Carol, etc.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best of 3 versions, July 25, 2011

By 

Randall Schaefer "Randall" (Hastings, MI. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Agatha Christie's Marple: The Pale Horse (DVD)

British television has made The Pale Horse three times and this version is the most entertaining. The first two (1970s and 1990s)followed close to Agatha Christie's novel with the disadvantage of not being a Miss Marple vehicle. This version, and the entire Agahtha Christies's Marple series, does not let a little thing like that get in the way of a good story. Miss Marple is easily written into Agatha Christie's plot and, as long as the writers made such a huge change, why not make a few more smaller ones. The result is an Agatha Christie story line improved by writers who lovingly respect Christie and her Miss Marple character. The lead,Julia McKenzie, plays Miss Marple close to the style of the incomprable Joan Hickson of the 1980s series as opposed to Geraldine McEwan's more worldly and experienced Marple of the earlier movies in this latest series.