Customer Reviews

Agatha Christie's Mystery Collection: Death on the Nile/Evil Under the Sun/The Mirror Crack'd

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As of this writing, there isn't any indication as to what three movies are packaged together as "Agatha Christie's Mysteries Collection." While it isn't much of a mystery, let's solve it, anyway. Per the packaging I saw for the item, these are the three films: Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot in 1978's "Death on the Nile" and its 1982 follow-up, "Evil Under the Sun;" and Angela Lansbury in her only outing as Miss Marple in 1980's "The Mirror Crack'd."

It makes logical sense to consider these three movies as a trilogy, since the producers essentially released them as such. Of the three, the big budget "Death on the Nile" still holds up as a terrific Egyptian whodunnit with all-star cast members including David Niven, Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, Jack Warden, Mia Farrow, and Angela Lansbury at her most vampish. To his credit, Ustinov nimbly glides his way through the film as a most formidable Poirot with a comic touch unlike his predecessor, Albert Finney, in the superior "Murder on the Orient Express," which would have been a wonderful added attraction here (if not for the fact that a different studio owns it).

Four years later, Peter Ustinov then moves on to the Mediterranean in "Evil Under the Sun," which also stars Diana Rigg, Roddy McDowall, Maggie Smith (in a different role), among others, in a leisurely paced murder mystery at an exotic resort. The film and its Cole Porter musical score have aged fairly well on their own merits, but the movie, which indulges more than its share of dragging moments, has been surpassed by David Suchet's subsequent, more faithful adaptation.

Lastly, "The Mirror Crack'd" at least foreshadows why Angela Lansbury would later deftly fit the role of Jessica Fletcher in the "Murder, She Wrote," television series four years later. The film also stars Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, Elizabeth Taylor, among others, including a briefly seen Pierce Brosnan, in a plot involving a murder attempt on a high-strung actress at a lavish party. Overall, the movie isn't bad (boring might be a better word), but it stands up better if you are more interested in star watching, particularly if you are an Elizabeth Taylor fan.

Overall, our grade is the following:

"Death on the Nile": A-
"Evil Under the Sun": B-
"The Mirror Crack'd": C
The Whole Package: B.

The AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MYSTERY COLLECTION: DEATH ON THE NILE/ THE MIRROR CRACK'D/ EVIL UNDER THE SUN three DVD set is a good buy.

I remember seeing "Death On The Nile" on television on "the late show" when I was a kid and I really loved it so that brought me here to Amazon and this set.

Since "Death..." was the only one I saw the other two were a treat. If you haven't seen any of these Agatha Christie movies they're pretty cool. Each feature has a star studded cast and takes place in exotic locales, with many of the characters British and very memorable.

The plots are basically the same where one character is a despicable person and everyone has good reason to want that character dead. Naturally they end up dead and it's up to Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) to figure out which person out of the group is the actual killer.

Anyway, both "Death On The Nile" and "Evil Under The Sun" push this set into the 5-star category.

"The Mirror Crack'd" was OK and Kim Novak was hilarious as "Lola Brewster," Elizabeth Taylor's character's nemesis, and though the setting was a quaint English town and it was charming, Angela Lansbury as Jane Marple seemed only to be in the background helping her nephew solve the case. Although it's not bad it's not on the same level as the other two.

The picture quality on all three movies is pretty good and have been formatted for widescreen, so it looks great on widescreen televisions. There are some special features on "Death..." and "Evil..." which are as follows:

***** EVIL UNDER THE SUN SPECIALS *****

TRAILER

"THE MAKING OF EVIL..."--about 16-minutes
Cool behind-the-scenes of the movie, reminds me of those old fashioned newsreels, where the director and the cast including Peter Ustinov, Maggie Smith, and Diana Rigg among others discuss the film and their respective characters. The featurette is a little foggy, but viewable, and was filmed back then.

TALENT BIOS--text info on the actors.

***** DEATH ON THE NILE ******

TRAILER

"THE MAKING OF DEATH..."--about 24-minutes
Behind-the-scenes where producer John Brabourne discusses the movie and the production designer talks about the ship that had to be built as well as filming on the actual Nile River in Egypt. Actors Peter Ustinov, David Niven, and Jon Finch talk about their roles and actor George Kennedy talks about working with Bette Davis. Again, the footage is a little foggy and I wish this featurette were longer and had more information about filming in the other locations throughout Egypt, especially the famous ones, because those were really spectacular in the movie. The featurette was filmed back then.

INTERVIEW WITH PETER USTINOV--8:46-minutes--Spanish with English Sub-titles (or no sub-titles option).
Ustinov is interviewed for Spanish TV and he speaks fluent Spanish! I believe this interview was done for the London Premiere of "Death..."

INTERVIEW WITH JANE BIRKIN--4:28-minutes--English with some Spanish.
Taken at the same time and place as the Ustinov interview with the same reporter, Birkin is teased for carrying a "pig basket" as a purse, which is ironic because she is now the designer for the very expensive Birkin Bag (made famous on HBO's "Sex & The City"), and he asks her about her role in the movie and her singing career with Serge Gainsbourg (Jane Birkin et Serge Gainsbourg).

Even though I know how the mystery ends, I'll still watch these flicks over and over again because the cast, especially Ustinov, is great and the locations are just beautiful. If you like whodunits this set is a definite for your collection!

I enjoyed the story line and the humor in this movie. Peter Ustinov's character of Hercule Poirot is so entertaining to watch and I loved Maggie Smith as well. It is one of those movies that I could watch many times (and have done so).

I am not going to read any of the reviews to this product as I write this review because I want to be honest without being annoyed or furious at other reviews.
This is a magnificent box set, make no mistakes. For three tales involved in murder they are also quiet walks into decision, fact finding, and who done it hunting. The back drops are anything from a royal blue boat, quaint cottages, or a sunny beach resort. All three, to me, are of the same quality, none exactly the same. Peter Ustinov in two tales, Angela in one, none better than the other.
All three rely alot on an angle of comedy, and over acting by the major cast, and even supporting cast.
I am glad Albert Finney was not included as Peter is the prime detective incarnate. Angela is not to be compared to any other Miss Marple ever done before. This is strictly Angela's interpretation of the role, and once you get by that, you can totally accept it. Everyone looks like they are having fun doing these roles no matter how exasperated the role demands them to be.
There is still a long way to go with classic movies being released on dvd formats or dvd sets, but this is one for the books. This is a very good box set, there is no clunker.
And at least they provide these fabulous films in the entire form. Something you will not get if you intend to watch these on cable channels with commercials. Edited versions always bother me, especially when involving who done its. Like Miss Marple clearly states, "Solving a mystery is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. You can't see the whole picture unless you have all the pieces." This set has all the pieces, and a good excercise in putting together a jigsaw puzzle, of mystery.

I think that Peter Ustinov made a great Hercule Poirot and Angela Lansbury was very good as Miss Marple but, to me, the greatest Jane Marple of all time was, and will always be, Margaret Rutherford.

I love Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot. "Death on the Nile" and "Evil Under the Sun" are both really good mystery movies. Unfortunately, the 3rd movie in this collection, "The Mirror Crack'd" featuring Angela Landsbury as Jane Marple, does not compare to the other two movies.

I wish they had the third Hercule Poirot movie, "Appointment with Death", in this collection. I don't think that movie is as good as the other two but the set would have been the perfect Hecurle Poirot trilogy with that movie. Also, the 3rd movie has yet to be released on DVD in the US.

I enjoyed all 3 movies. I've been watching too much PBS Mystery & Monk becuase I figured out who did it on two of them. Wait for a snow day or rainy day & pot of tea with biscuits and enjoy yourselves.

Peter Ustinov is fabulous as Hercule Poirot ("not 'parrot" Poirot, as if you are about to bestow a kiss.") It's a blast to have such all star casts: Mia Farrow, David Niven, Bette Davis, Maggie Smith (in both!), Roddy McDowell, James Mason to name a few. The films are extremely well produced, lotsa fun, great Cole Porter music, and that lovely 40's opulence of the wealthy. Peter brings a dash of humor to the role but doesn't spare the "little grey cells". Love these, wish there were more made with Ustinov, he really brings a different dimension to the role. Love, love, love it!
As far as the actual dvd is concerned, excellent quality and a great deal: three for the price of one! You get Evil Under The Sun, Death on the Nile and the Mirror Cracked. Really, it's required! Gotta have this in your dvd library!!!

Great collection for the Agatha Christie fan. Received my set as a Holiday gift and love it. Great casts in all of the films. They are oldies but goodies and very well done for the time that they were produced.

The Grand Dame of mystery did it again with these three stories and Ustinov and Lansbury are great fun in the lead rolls. When you mix expert story telling with legendary actors you can't miss.