Product Details

• Actors: Joan Hickson, Ursula Howells, Renée Asherson, Samantha Bond, Simon Shepherd
• Directors: David Giles, Guy Slater, John A. Davis, Silvio Narizzano
• Writers: Agatha Christie, Alan Plater, T.R. Bowen
• Producers: George Gallaccio
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 3
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: BBC Worldwide
• DVD Release Date: August 27, 2002
• Run Time: 421 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (72 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000068UE9
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,519 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

MISS MARPLE GIFT SET - DVD Movie

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

93 of 97 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars charming tea time, November 1, 2004

By 

Terran "Terran" (Sunny CA USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye) (DVD)

My favorite Miss Marple film is BODY IN THE LIBRARY, which is included in this set. First off, unlike for some other reviewers, the films are crisp, no dark multi-gen'd versions on my disks. Re the set appearance itself, quite charming overall, as if one should sit down with coffee, tea or cocoa while perusing. The individual disk decor is lovely, with photos from the particular installment, and the disks contain chaptering of the installments (you can elect to view all three eps on disk 1 & 2 in one go or do it on an individual basis). The real drawback with high irritation factor is the BBC-A ads that appear at the beginning of each disk, you can fast-forward through both, but really they shouldn't be there at all. One point of possible confusion is John Castle, who played Miss Marple's inspector nephew elsewhere is actually an inspector of non-relation in A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED. The introduction of the Inspector Slagg character, who resented Miss Marple's detecting skills, is introduced in BODY IN THE LIBRARY. There is also - on Disk 3 - which contains the two-parter of POCKETFUL OF RYE - a half-hour documentary on the birthplace of Agatha Christie celebrating the centenary of her birth. In this, the Orient Express makes an appearance as well as the actors who played Marple and Poirot (david suchet) appearing in character and meeting each other formally and for the first time.

59 of 60 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great DVD collection!, February 1, 2006

By 

Kurt A. Johnson (North-Central Illinois, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye) (DVD)

Every once in a while, an actor comes along who not only plays the role of Sherlock Holmes, but actually redefines the role. Well, this has now happened with Agatha Christie's detective, Miss Marple! In 1984, veteran actress Joan Hickson (1906-98) was tapped to play Miss Marple, and the rest, as they say, is history.

This is a great DVD collection, containing three of the excellent Joan Hickson/Miss Marple episodes, each of which is a great small-screen adaptation of Agatha Christie's excellent book of the same name. If you are a fan of great mysteries, then this is for you. Heck, even if you just like high-quality British drama, then you will love these movies. I love this DVD set, and give it my highest recommendations!

The three episodes are:
The Body in the Library - Episode #1, 1984 - When the body of a murdered young woman is found in their library, the Bantry's bring in their old friend, Jane Marple. There's a mystery within a mystery here: who is the murdered girl, and how did she get from where she was last seen to the Bantry's library?

A Murder is Announced - Episode #2, 1985 - When a personal item in the Chipping Cleghorne Gazette invites people to a murder at the home of Miss Blacklock, they show up to be part of a real murder! The police are baffled as to what happened and why, and that leaves only one person who can unravel this mystery - Miss Jane Marple!

A Pocketful of Rye - Episode #3, 1985 - When a rich man dies under very mysterious circumstances, Miss Marple quickly realizes that more murders are sure to follow. This is a very deep mystery, and only Jane Marple can find out what is really going on and why!

By the way, as an added bonus, this set contains "Crime Does Pay," a 1990 episode of the British television show Western Approach. On September 15, 1890, the city of Torquay threw a celebration of the 100th birthday of their favorite citizen, the late Agatha Christie. This show is an interesting salute to Dame Agatha, and focuses on her life, her work, and her legacy.

193 of 214 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful mysteries; horrible DVD transfers, September 5, 2002

By 

Tom Anderson (Piney Flats, Tennessee United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye) (DVD)

I love the Miss Marple mysteries in both book and movie form, but unfortunately not a one of them has been transferred properly to video or DVD. While this BBC set of the longer Marple mysteries looks somewhat better than the two A&E sets, they're still pretty bad. The main reason for this (apart from the BBC's obvious indifference to whole matter) is that the transfer material is SEVERAL generations removed from the negative. The result: loads of grain, overall dark and muddy look, little detail, washed out highlights, faded color, dirt, occasional wavering picture, focus problems (except for most closeups, many long shots look as if NOTHING is in focus), contrast problems (In many scenes, anything in the lower third of the screen is so dark that all detail is lost--people's legs dissapear into a dark area, which is presumably the floor). I don't know if the BBC treats all of their projects this way or if they just have a thing against poor Miss Marple, but they need to hear from us. People should not receive defective merchandise for their money.

One of the most irritating things about this set is that each movie is split up into 3 episodes, each with the same opening and closing credits, just like they are broadcast on TV. Of course, the viewer can fastforward through this, but it was a stupid thing to do, and it's just another indicator of the lack of care in making this set of DVDs.

It's wonderful to have these mysteries available again on video, but it's aggravating to see the indifference of big business to its customers and to its own product. Buyer beware!