Product Details

• Actors: David Suchet
• Format: Box set, Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 12
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: A&E Home Video (New REleaset)
• DVD Release Date: September 23, 2008
• Run Time: 1176 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (94 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B001AOC9G8
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,351 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• Learn more about "Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Definitive Collection" on IMDb

Editorial Reviews

Tony Award-nominee David Suchet is Hercule Poirot - dressed to the nines, impeccably mannered and infuriatingly arch, he is a detective like no other. Adapted from Agatha Christie's celebrated mysteries, each film features beautiful settings and an impeccable cast.

Now, for the first time, twelve of Suchet's feature-length Poirot mysteries are available together in this collector's set. Produced by Brian Eastman (Traffik, Jeeves & Wooster), these exquisitely crafted tales of death and deception were filmed on location around the world, and features enough murder and mystery to test the mettle of our inimitably beloved Belgian sleuth.

AGATHA CHRISTIE S POIROT: THE DEFINITIVE COLLECTION contains all twelve A&E feature-length Poirot films:
THE MURDER OF ROGER ACKROYD: Poirot's retirement in a quiet country village ends abruptly with the death of his disagreeable neighbor.
LORD EDGWARE DIES: Intervening in a sticky marital situation, Poirot suddenly finds himself in the midst of murder.
MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA: Poirot visits an ancient site in Iraq just before the head archeologist's unpopular wife is killed.
EVIL UNDER THE SUN: Death intrudes on Poirot's island holiday, and only he can determine who is responsible.
DEATH ON THE NILE: A pleasure cruise down the Nile turns deadly when a murder is discovered on board. Thank goodness Poirot is along for the ride.
SAD CYPRESS: The solution to a double-murder case appears to be cut and dry, but Poirot's impeccable instincts eventually lead him to the real truth.
THE HOLLOW: A weekend retreat where all the guests appear to despise one another finds Poirot hard at work doing what he does best.
FIVE LITTLE PIGS: Poirot agrees to help a young woman prove her mother's innocence, 14 years after being sent to the gallows.
THE MYSTERY OF THE BLUE TRAIN: When the daughter of an oil magnate is found dead on the famous Blue Train to the French Riviera, Poirot must investigate the past to reveal the killer.
TAKEN AT THE FLOOD: Mystery surrounds a young woman after her new husband is killed in the London Blitz, and the mystery deepens when a man who may be her first husband shows up dead.
AFTER THE FUNERAL: Following the murder of a wealthy patriarch, Poirot is called upon to begin an investigation. The case takes a wild twist however, when his prime suspect turns up dead.
CARDS ON THE TABLE: When a woman is found dead at a card game, four investigators--including Poirot himself set out to discover which guest is the killer.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

144 of 154 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Still another mega set of already great stuff August 4, 2008

By Eric Pregosin

Format:DVD

Well for the benefit of the woman who asked me to explain the difference in the Poirot collections back when the Acorn sets of the "original series" came out, now she and others who waited can complete their collection and save space at the same time. This indeed is all 12 feature length episodes released to date that were shown here on A&E. For those of you bought them like me in either the smaller sets of 4 and/or individuals, their is nothing new here, but at least this set like the 2 Acorn sets (1 of the hour length shows, the other of the 2 hour ones both of which aired "here" on PBS and A&E later on) will take up less space on your shelf. Since nothing new was added, I will be content with what I have, if by now 7 years after they started you have not gotten any of the A&E ONLY aired stories now is your chance to get them all together. 12 for less than $100 is most definitely a bargain.

52 of 55 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Transfer Quality February 26, 2009

By A Reader/Viewer from Northern California

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

If you are considering purchasing this Definitive Collection, you are probably alread very familiar with the wonderful Poirot. So this review just addresses the DVD picture quality, which is excellant. In the past, some of A&Es collections have not been of the best transfer quality, but I was happily surprised by this one that it is every bit as good, perhaps even better, than the Acorn collection.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Note: Identical set for less on Amazon? April 3, 2011

By Great Faulkner's Ghost TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:DVD

Amazon lists this set twice, and one costs more for some reason. Sometimes this is cheaper, sometimes the other. Compare prices for both before buying. The sets are identical. The link to the other item is: Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Definitive Collection

52 of 58 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great collection, but buy the european version if you can play it August 14, 2009

By Bo Bennike

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

Great collection as always. However in the US version (Region 1) the format it 4:3 Full Screen, which means the picture has been cropped from the original European version (Region 2) which was shot in 16:9 Wide-screen. If you are into cinematography this is a big deal and sometimes the cropping is pretty awful. It still great TV though!

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Overpriced but Excellent July 10, 2010

By Robert VINE™ VOICE

Format:DVD

This was the first Poirot set that I purchased, and although I think all of these DVDs are overpriced, I think the quality of the episodes is excellent. The quality of the transfer of these episodes is better than those of the "Classic Collections". Thus, I recommend first Poirot DVD buyers get the Definitive Collection first, although it should be noted that the episodes selected for this set are not as highly rated as many of the other episodes (see below).

I have listed all of the Poirot episodes below. The first number is the season in the format Season #.Episode #, the next number is the IMDB rating (10 is highest) and the third number gives the collection (C1=Classic Collection (36 episodes), C2=Classic Collection vol. 2, D=Definitive Collection (The collection reviewed here)).

These three sets cover a significant fraction of the available episodes as shown below. What is nice is there is no overlap, provided you limit yourself to these three collections. However, there are a number of sets called "Classic Collections" which makes things difficult. The two referenced here do not have set numbers, but rather volume numbers. The best deal is volume 1, which has 36 episodes. However, the Classic Collection vol. 2 has the episodes with the highest ratings.

All of these DVDs are overpriced based on the quality of the DVD conversions. I love Poirot, so I have purchased two of these (definitive and C1), and am patiently waiting for C2 to drop in price.

S.# IMDB DVD Title
--- --- ----- ---------------------------
1.1 7.4 C1.01 The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
1.1 7.9 C1.02 The Dream
1.2 7.6 C1.03 Murder in the Mews
1.3 7.1 C1.04 The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
1.4 7.2 C1....05 Four and Twenty Blackbirds
1.5 7.7 C1.06 The Third Floor Flat
1.6 7.3 C1.07 Triangle at Rhodes
1.7 7.4 C1.08 Problem at Sea
1.8 7.3 C1.09 The Incredible Theft
1.9 7.3 C1.10 The King of Clubs
2.1 7.7 C2.01 Peril at End House
2.2 7.4 C1.11 The Veiled Lady
2.3 7.6 C1.12 The Lost Mine
2.4 7.7 C1.13 The Cornish Mystery
2.5 7.9 C1.14 The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
2.6 7.7 C1.15 Double Sin
2.7 7.6 C1.16 The Adventure of the Cheap Flat
2.8 7.6 C1.17 The Kidnapped Prime Minister
2.9 7.6 C1.18 The Adventure of the Western Star
3.1 7.4 C1.19 The Affair at the Victory Ball
3.1 7.7 C2.02 The Mysterious Affair at Styles
3.1 7.8 C1.20 The Mystery of Hunter's Lodge
3.2 8.0 C1.21 How Does Your Garden Grow?
3.3 7.8 C1.22 The Million Dollar Bond Robbery
3.4 7.8 C1.23 The Plymouth Express
3.5 7.9 C1.24 Wasps' Nest
3.6 8.0 C1.25 The Tragedy at Marsdon Manor
3.7 7.6 C1.26 The Double Clue
3.8 7.8 C1.27 The Mystery of the Spanish Chest
3.9 7.4 C1.28 The Theft of the Royal Ruby
4.1 8.3 C2.03 The ABC Murders
4.2 8.0 C2.04 Death in the Clouds
4.3 7.8 C2.05 One, Two, Buckle My Shoe
5.1 7.8 C1.29 The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
5.2 7.6 C1.30 The Underdog
5.3 8.1 C1.31 Yellow Iris
5.4 7.7 C1.32 The Case of the Missing Will
5.5 7.7 C1.33 The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
5.6 8.2 C1.34 The Chocolate Box
5.7 7.8 C1.35 Dead Man's Mirror
5.8 7.6 C1.36 The Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan
6.1 7.8 C2.06 Hercule Poirot`s Christmas
6.2 7.4 C2.07 Hickory Dickory Dock
6.3 7.7 C2.08 Murder on the Links
6.4 7.5 C2.09 Dumb Witness

7.1 6.9 D.01 The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
7.2 7.4 D.02 Lord Edgware Dies
8.1 7.5 D.03 Evil Under the Sun
8.2 7.0 D.04 Murder in Mesopotamia
9.1 7.7 D.05 Five Little Pigs
9.2 7.6 D.06 Sad Cypress
9.3 7.2 D.07 Death on the Nile
9.4 7.6 D.08 The Hollow
10.1 7.3 D.09 The Mystery of the Blue Train
10.2 7.4 D.10 Cards on the Table
10.3 7.7 D.11 After the Funeral
10.4 7.3 D.12 Taken at the Flood

11.1 8.0 Mrs McGinty's Dead
11.2 7.9 Cat Among the Pigeons
11.3 8.0 Third Girl
11.4 7.2 Appointment with Death
12.1 9.0 The Clocks
12.2 7.7 Three Act Tragedy
12.3 7.5 Hallowe'en Party
12.4 9.9 Murder on the Orient Express Read more ›

27 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Not the Poirot you once knew February 27, 2011

By J. Janssen

Format:DVD|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is somewhat of a transitional collection incorporating a few titles left out of Acorn's Classic 2 collection with the balance being those produced by A&E. How well you like them probably will depend on when you first encountered David Suchet's run as Hercule Poroit.

The original series was first seen in the US as a group of 36 one hour episodes on "PBS Mystery" and ran from 1989 to 1993. PBS supplemented those with a series of 2 hour feature length films produced by the same production house. Those initial programs are available on Acorn Media's "Poroit: the Classic Collection" & "... Classic Collection 2". With a few exceptions the various episodes are tightly scripted by the likes of Clive Exton and Anthony Horowitz, and are centered around the character ensemble of Hercule Poroit, Captain Hastings, Miss Lemon and Inspector Japp. In "Classic 2" that tight little group began to break up a bit as the lengthier shows brought in more characters from afield yielding less screen time for the supporting cast members. At the same time, the shows seemed to develop a road trip syndrome as a great many of the later "Classic 2" episodes involved trips to distant locales while the earlier episodes were centered in and around 'tween war London. Petty criticism aside both "Classic Collections" are 5 star rated in my opinion.

The "Definitive Collection" (the series being reviewed here) contains an even dozen 100 minute episodes. The first 3 or 4 are characteristically similar to those in Acorn's Classic 2 collection. I would surmise that "Lord Edgware Dies", "Murder in Mesoptamia" and "Evil Under the Sun" were originally scheduled for PBS release and would have been included in the "Classic 2 Collection".... I'm not sure why the PBS contract lapsed but at some point broadcasting rights were transferred to A&E with significant differences which you may or may not appreciate. Essentially, while David Suchet was always the star of the series, the A&E productions put him front and center without his companion Capt. Hastings, his long suffering secretary, Ms. Lemon and his foil/friend, Inspector Japp. Instead A&E brought in guest stars from British and American TV to populate the sets and provide flesh to the plot's characters. For the most part they're good, solid performances and not at all tasteless spots by over the hill has beens, though the David Soul and Elliot Gould inclusions might be questionable. However the central charm of the earlier episodes and the leveling effect Hastings, Lemon and Japp had on the egocentric Poirot are clearly missed, sort of like Sherlock without Dr. Watson. Additionally, the overall sense of the A&E productions have the grandiose feel of Edwardian melodramas with all sorts of spoiled cads and self important young ladies parading around aging manors. These are not the Christie penned village mysteries. There is a total absence of humor which was very prominent in the earlier episodes and Poroit becomes more of an oddity in investigating the crimes rather than merely an eccentric. To me his character is diminished rather than enhanced by the absence of his friends.

Having said all that, the stories and production values are very good and if you had not seen the original series you might well be inclined to enjoy these later productions. My preference is clearly for the earlier episodes, but given the $40 price I did come up with 3 (or 4 if you consider the Roger Ackroyd episode which briefly includes Insp. Japp) additional "ensemble" discs which to me are well worth the price of the entire set. If you like the recent A&E episodes this set is a no brainer, but to those who viewed the Suchet series commencing with the original PBS offerings I fear you'll find the viewing more of a chore than a pleasure. I gave it 3 stars due to the absence of the supporting cast which I dearly miss and hopefully as a warning to others that the Poirot they once knew is no more. Read more ›