Product Details

• Actors: David Suchet, Hugh Fraser, Philip Jackson, Pauline Moran, Geoffrey Greenhill
• Directors: Renny Rye, Ross Devenish
• Writers: Agatha Christie, Clive Exton
• Producers: Brian Eastman, Nick Elliott
• Format: Box set, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0)
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 5
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Acorn Media
• DVD Release Date: June 12, 2001
• Run Time: 515 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B00005BGSB
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #42,121 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

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  #32 in	Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > British Mystery Theater > Poirot
  #68 in	Movies & TV > Mystery & Suspense > British Mystery Theater > Agatha Christie

• For more information about "Poirot - The Movie Collection, Set 1 (The ABC Murders / Death in the Clouds / The Mysterious Affair at Styles / One, Two, Buckle My Shoe / Peril at End House)" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Deadlier than a nest of vipers and twistier than a mountain road--it's Poirot: The Movie Collection. Agatha Christie's supersleuth (played by David Suchet) is a proper, precise little man who cannot bring himself to eat hard-boiled eggs of different sizes, but it is exactly this obsession with detail that leads him to solve the five baffling cases presented in this boxed set. A lady's shoe buckle, a broken coffee cup, a poison dart pipe: these are the ingredients with which Christie brewed her classic mysteries, and the producers of these video adaptations pay an equal attention to detail in re-creating the stories on the small screen. Stunning aerial shots of England's coast and countryside are matched by elegant and elaborate costumes, particularly when it comes to ladies' headgear. Of course, nothing can outshine the fine performances of Suchet (who makes Poirot's fussy habits endearing and delivers wisecracks with unparalleled subtlety) and his supporting cast; Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), Miss Lemon (Pauline Moran), and Chief Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) add comic relief and camaraderie to the proceedings.

The DVD transfers are generally crisp in both picture and sound quality. Special features include biographies of Suchet and Christie, Poirot trivia questions, and a filmography of all the Agatha Christie's Poirot episodes. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

Product Description
This is a collection of 5 feature-length episodes of the Poirot mysteries: The ABC Murders; Death in the Clouds; The Mysterious Affair at Styles; One, Two, Buckle My Shoe, and Peril at End House. "The ABC Murders" - This is the episode that star David Suchet calls his favorite. Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot is challenged by an alphabet-obsessed murderer who announces his next victims through a series of letters addressed to Poirot himself. "Death in the Clouds" - A ruthless blackmailer is killed on board an airborne plane filled with likely suspects. "Mysterious Affair at Styles" - The Cavendish household is wrought with tension due to the marriage of John Cavendish's widowed mother to a suspicious younger man. When the tension turns deadly, Poirot and Hasting unite to solve the case. "One, Two, Buckle My Shoe" - Further adventures of Agatha Christie's brilliant Belgian sleuth. "Peril at End House" - A flying ace plays a pivotal role in a case in which Poirot and Hastings swim through a sea of red herrings to arrive at the truth.

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

123 of 125 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Couldn't be much better, May 7, 2001

By	F. Behrens "Frank Behrens" (Keene, NH USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Poirot - The Movie Collection [VHS] (VHS Tape)

amazon Poirot movie collection

Up to now, Acorn Media has been issuing the David Suchet Poirot episodes like this: the shorter ones were only on video tape, the longer ones (running at 103 minutes) were only on DVD. With, I am sure, pleas from non-DVD owners, Acorn Media has made available on both formats a box set of five of the longer entries and calls it <Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Movie Collection>. And what a joy it is. Since I have already reviewed all but <Peril at End House>, I will just sum up what the first four are about.

<Death in the Clouds> follows the "closed murder scene" scenario by having the crime committed aboard a small trans-Channel airplane. The passengers, including an aerophobic Poirot, are all likely suspects.

<The ABC Murders> is the best of the lot. A serial killer is using the alphabet to select the victims, both whose names and towns start with the required letter. In a rare instance, Poirot enlists the relatives of the victims to help hunt down the madman. This they do half way through the plot (!), so we can easily guess Christie has given us a memorable red herring.

<One Two Buckle My Shoe> involves the murder of Poirot's own dentist and the suspects are all of his patients on that day--including the detective himself. There is a particularly nasty discovery of a body in a closet you will remember.

<Mysterious Affair at Styles> is an adaptation of the novel in which Hastings first meets Poirot; and its décor is World War I rather than the 20s and 30s of the other videos. We have here a classic example of the English "murder in the mansion" genre.

The latest release in this series,<Peril at End House>, might have the most surprising solution of all the Poirot episodes. While the solution might depend too heavily on a certain coincidence, we have here the classic moment (drawn, I believe, from a Poirot short story) in which the detective declares he cannot eat two boiled eggs because they are of different sizes! But he is always ready to help a person who seems to be subjected to a string of "accidents." The aerial shots in the beginning are gorgeous, as are the seascape backgrounds throughout. I especially thought the Jerome Kern music in the background a good touch.

In fact, all of the Poirot episodes, both the short and long, are noted for the exquisite period décor of setting and costume, the fine acting of even the smallest roles, and the extremely interesting changes made from the Christie originals to adapt them to television.

67 of 67 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Poirot in Bulk, March 5, 2003

By	Rebecca Fieler (Austin, TX, United States) - See all my reviews

Both my sister and my mother have read almost every mystery that Agatha Christie ever wrote, but I never thought to start. Then I sat down one evening to watch television with them, and I was at once enchanted. It was an episode of Agatha Christie's Poirot on A&E. The David Suchet Poirot films (both full length movies and short films) come from this series. I enjoyed that first show so much that I watched the series religiously until it went off the air.

I started reading some of Agatha Christie's mysteries this year, and I firmly believe that David Suchet is the best portrayal of Hercule Poirot that ever was. I have seen other notorious actors, such as Peter Ustinov and Tony Randall, play the part, but they do not achieve the full embodiment of the persona (both physical and psychological) that David Suchet does.

The five movies that come is this set - THE ABC MURDERS; DEATH IN THE CLOUDS; THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES; ONE, TWO, BUCKLE MY SHOE, and PERIL AT END HOUSE - are all excellent films. They exhibit Agatha Christie's wide range of talent with their variety in plot. In THE ABC MURDERS, someone is killing off seemingly random people and leaving railroad guides behind. In DEATH IN THE CLOUDS, the murder is committed in an airplane with Poirot on it. The list goes on, and I don't want to spoil anything for those interested in this set.

If you have never seen a Poirot before and are uneasy about spending so much money on something new, I would recommend any of the other David Suchet Poirot films to try out first. They are all incredibly interesting, exciting mysteries to watch.

30 of 32 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A truly priceless piece of mystery and television!, March 15, 2004

By	ANT "azraelart" (Crofton, MD USA) - See all my reviews

First of all, an explanation on the lack of a full 5-star rating. Despite the content, this was not Acorn Media's finest product, picture-wise. Oh, the content is outstanding, but the picture throughout most of the episodes was a bit grainy and sometimes you could easily see lines on the screen. Again, not the best effor I've ever seen, but don't let that detract from your enjoyment of the content itself.

Simply the finest piece of work to come out of television in the history of the medium. Agatha Christie's work comes to life with the brilliant acting of David Suchet as the brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Equally superb acting from supporting cast members Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp, and from Hugh Fraser as Captain Hastings. Also, look for Pauline Moran and a wonderfully charming Miss Lemmon. The episodes are well-translated from the original books, the parts acted out with humor, wit, charm, and historical integrity.

The DVDs themselves are also full of some great extra features, like biographies of the cast, lore from the world of Poirot (including quizzes), and a nice section on Agatha Christie herself. It is truly amazing to find something as totally wonderful and completely re-watchable as the Poirot series. The movies will have you begging for more. And don't worry, mystery fans, Acorn Media vastly cleaned up the quality of the picture i the second set. Still, a must-have for mystery lovers, for British television and movie lovers, and those that enjoy quality viewing on their own screens. Intrigue, puzzles, humor, and charm... it doesn't get much better than this!