Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
More of the same and just as wonderful, April 17, 2000
There were many one hour and somewhat fewer two hour episodes of the Hercule Poirot mysteries shown on PBS; and foresighted fans should have taped them then, because when A&E re-runs them, parts of each have to be removed to make room for all the commercials. Very often, the solution at the end flashbacks to scenes that we never saw because of the abridgments and frankly the value of these episodes are reduced considerably. But now Acorn Media is reissuing them in complete versions, with the two-hour features on DVD and the shorter ones on VHS. Both series are a delight. The acting genius of David Suchet is enhanced by his usual supporting cast (Hugh Fraser as Hastings, Philip Jackson as Japp, and Pauline Moran as Miss Lemon), the wonderful guest casts, the done-to-perfection ambiance of time and place--the late 20s and early 30s--with all those fabulous art-deco buildings they have managed to find and populate. I have already commented on the first two sets (see those webpages). This third entry contains "The Kidnapped Prime Minister," "The Adventure of the Western Star," and "How Does Your Garden Grow?" The first offers a plot (in both senses of the word) that has been copied in many a mystery since then, and the red herrings are quite good. The second reveals its r.h. half way through, and still holds some surprises. The last is a good old Christie murder story in which all the villainous characters turn out to be...well, see for yourself. I keep asking myself if the reason that I keep watching these episodes over and over is the superb acting, the marvelous décor, the other way around or both in equal measure. I will guess at the last.(...)
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Some heavy revision to the source, but well done, May 1, 2002
"How Does Your Garden Grow?" is taken from _The Regatta Mystery and Other Stories_, while the others are taken from _Poirot Investigates_."The Adventure of the Western Star" - There's a legend about twin precious stones, the eyes of an idol in the Far East, having long been separated - the Star of the East and the Western Star - and of what is fated to happen when they meet again. The Western Star resides in the famous Yardley collection in England, while the Star of the East belongs to an actress about to film on the Yardley estate... "How Does Your Garden Grow?" The old lady wrote to Poirot on a matter requiring such discretion that she would not commit it to a letter. Alas, she died before her commission ever reached him... "The Kidnapped Prime Minister" - Viewed solely on its own merits, an interesting case. Viewed as an adaptation, however, it is flagrantly unfaithful to the source; the writers seem to have had a free hand in adjusting matters to make a more dramatic and puzzling story. The action now occurs between wars instead of during WWI, so the motive has altered and the kidnappers by necessity are a somewhat different group than in the original story. Written early in Christie's career, the victims and witnesses were just stage props leading up to one of Poirot's flashy conjuring tricks, with no depth or personality. While this worked in short story form, I can see the inherent difficulty in adapting it for the screen, so while I ordinarily deplore heavy revision, I concede the need for it here. Not to put too fine a point on it, the revision helped this story no end, and it's much more interesting on video than in its original form.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant production values and truly gifted scripting., August 6, 2000
Hercule Poirot is second only to Sherlock Holmes in the hearts of mystery fans everywhere and, along with Miss Marple, Agatha Christie's most famous and beloved private investigator whose "little grey cells" would figure out the guilty party in a style all his own. This third volume in the Acorn Media video set series showcasing the British television productions that brought Poirot vividly to life for millions of English and American viewers features three of Agatha Christie's best Poirot cases: The Kidnaped Prime Minister; The Adventure of the Western Star; and How Does Your Garden Grow? Flawless produced with meticulous attention to historical detail in set designs, clothing, automobiles, streets and building architecture, these stories present some of the finest actors that contemporary Britain has to offer and under brilliant production values and gifted script writing, lighting, and direction, present a very highly recommended addition to any personal and community library video entertainment collection.
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DVD ~ David Suchet
DVD ~ David Suchet
DVD ~ David Suchet
DVD ~ David Suchet
DVD ~ David Suchet
