I completely agree. Evil Under the Sun is my favorite movie adaption! You hit on the points perfectly. The only one I would add is you get the bonus of Diana Riggs and Maggie Smith's "Duet" which was so much fun. When Maggie Smith offers her a "sausage" and the look on the other woman's face always makes me laugh out loud every time!
There were a few actors that played in multiple movies. Maggie Smith was in both Evil under the Sun and Death on the Nile. As was Jane Birkin (the murderer in Evil under the Sun) who was a maid in Death on the Nile who got murdered. And Colin Blakey who plays Sir Horace Blatt also played a major role in Murder on the Orient Express as well.
Thank you. This was fun. As was the Ustinov film. I appreciate respect for original material. I appreciate respect for the mystery form. But I also have a LOT of time for having a good time when I'm watching a film and Ustinov always delivered a good time.
I absolutely love both Ustinov movies Evil under the Sun and Death on the Nile. It captures the character and atmosphere perfectly and has a great ensemble cast. I’m one of those that never totally warmed to the Suchet version.
The Ustinov version is my absolute favorite adaptation of a Christie novel. The music, the actors, the setting, and the title cards (yes, the title cards) are all over the top.
I'm already a big Christie fan, but the Ustinov version had me at Maggie Smith, haha. She's been one of my favorite actresses since I saw The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She's great in Death on the Nile too. And in non Christie murder mysteries, she's so fun in Murder by Death and iconic in Gosford Park. Maggie Smith and a murder mystery is a great combination :)
RIP Dames Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg. This film is the CLOSEST We'll Ever See of a Dowager Lady Grantham from Downton Abbey vs Lady Olenna "The Queen of Thorns" Tyrell from GOT Crossover
Excellent breakdown as usual. This was always my favourite of the Ustinov Poirot movies. What would have made a better movie would be Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith playing these characters passive aggressively bitching each other for two hours! In fact have them waiting at a tree and call it Waiting For Poirot.
The Ustinov adaptation of Evil Under the Sun introduced me to Peter Ustinov, Agatha Christie, AND Hercule Poirot. The Ustinov version of Evil Under the Sun is my favorite movie of all time.
My submission to r/moviedetails was rejected, but I need someone to acknowledge: Blanc's costume on the dock in Glass Onion references a costume Peter Ustinov wears as Poirot in this movie. Especially Blanc's maroon mask with little white polka dots (referencing Poirot's bow tie). Thanks for another video! Extremely MILD SPOILERS for Spider's Web below. I happen to be halfway through the novelization of Spider's Web now. I'm having a bit of trouble, since "hijinks” stress me out in a way that regular Christie sleuthing does not. Excited to hear what you have to say!
I love the Peter Ustinov Evil Under The Sun, it has always been a favorite of mine. I like the David Suchet version too, but the Ustinov film is so special, it sparkles.
@@kugelweg Mine too. With that cast of legends it is hard for it not to be special, but as you said in the video, it was the acting, the writing, the wonderful Cole Porter music, the costumes and jewels, hair, sets and of course that beautiful island. Sigh, just wonderful.
Death on the Nile. And yes. As was Jane Birkin (the murderer in Evil under the Sun) who was a maid who got murdered in Death on the Nile. And Colon Blakey who plays Sir Horace Blatt also played a major role in Murder on the Orient Express as well.
the 1982 version is not only amazing and fun with a great cast but the changes in script actually made the mystery better. one of my favorite films since childhood!
Thank you for this early Christmas present. 😘 I find both adaptations very enjoyable but the all-star cast of the Ustinov version is unbeatable. However I would probably put the 1974 "Murder on the Orient Express", the 1957 "Witness for the Prosecution" or maybe even the 2015 miniseries "And Then There Were None" (though I find all the follow-ups adapted by Sarah Phelps dreadful) in the spot of the best adaptation.
What can I say about the Peter Ustinov version as Hercule Poirot in EVIL UNDER THE SUN. I love it and I think I watched it about 30 times 😊. Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg are divine. Everybody is outstanding. The costumes are gorgeous and the location is stunning. Yes it is not the book but who cares. The film is a 10/10! David Suchet is the perfect Hercule Poirot for me, (even better than Peter Ustinov) but the "Evil Under The Sun" movie from 1982 is just perfect. DEATH ON THE NILE is another film I enjoy very much with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, and I think I watched it as many times as I watched EVIL UNDER THE SUN! They made changes again but it works and we have a great cast. I love Angela Lansbury and again Maggie Smith. The other Poirot films made for TV with Peter Ustinov are a desaster and should never been made. 😫
I’m with you. I own both movies as I do Murder on the Orient Express (original version). I absolutely love all 3. And watch them multiple times. I was one that never really warmed to many of the Suchet ones. They were too much like ‘plays of the day’ with , except for Suchet himself, the characters stock standard one dimensional like watching a regional play.
Death on the Nile also had Bette Davis, and she says she enjoyed working with Maggie. Angela Lansbury has talked about the three of them having to share a small dressing room on the boat - oh, to have been a fly on THAT wall!
@@casandraleff4462 One aspect that made the '70s version so great is that they actually shot on location. Although the heat during the shoot must have been torturous, I love how Bette Davis declared, "In my time, they would have built the Nile," referring to Hollywood's golden age.
@@karlkarlos3545 I imagined Betty Davis to be like that person/actress she played on ALL ABOUT EVE. Her interviews always gave me that vibe, a DIVA through and through!
@@xr6lad I love THE ORIENT EXPRESS from the 1970s and Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot. The new movies with Kenneth Branagh are not my cup of tea. With all the noticeable green screen backgrounds and the ridiculous scripts I can't make myself watch them again. Very forgettable.
Found your channel and have been binging like crazy .... 🤪 If I had my way, I'd hope you put out weekly videos!! Your videos are warm and cozy with a hot cup of tea. BTW? I adore both versions for different reasons. When I wanna believe all little silly? (No shade), it's the movie, when I'm feeling serious? The tv adaptation. Guess I'll be looking at both tonight ....
I for somereason keeps forgeting to coment this, but now I remebered it: You are awsome sir. Period. (Also I just realized my computer wasnt subsriped to you, so... Now it is.)
Here, here! Ustinov's Evil Under the Sun is a delight! Setting, costumes, characters, all great! It isn't as faithful, but I agree that its changes all fit. (And even, according to taste, improves; I didn't care at all about the drug stuff in the book, for instance, and am glad they got rid of it. Christie kind of had a bug up her ass about drugs and got terribly tiresome about it in a few books.) Just moving it from the English coast to the Adriatic is so much better. I mean, really, just look at the sad gray of the Suchet versioin and the delightful color of the Ustinov. Which would you rather watch for 90 minutes?! Also part of the delight of the Ustinov version is it's sheer queerness. Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg constantly trading bitchy barbs whilst in fabulous gowns; Roddy McDowell queening it up; Sylvia Miles just being there; and the most blatantly lascivious shooting of a male body in the way Patrick is shot. It probably won't surprise you to discover the director was gay. The thing I love most of all about the Ustinov version is that it's just FUN. And funny. You can tell everyone is having a ball making it, which apparently they did. A lot of the actors only took their parts because it was a chance to have a vacation on the Adriatic. They just drank and partied when they weren't filming.
I love the Ustinov version with Maggie and the Gang! Suchet is his usual wonderful self as Poirot, but I think they weakened the Arlena character to the point where it wasn't clear why her step-son (in this version) would hate her so much. Diana Rigg makes you REALLY understand why the kid would hate her! There's a similar problem in "Death on the Nile", where in the Ustinov version, Mia Farrow is a really strong character, while in the Suchet version, while okay, less strong, less memorable. Suchet is always great for me (except for his Orient Express which I can't stand).
Been waiting for this review- what a fabulous present! Wonderful analysis as always and I just want to add that I too loved this adaptation. I hoped you might the computer game- maybe next time?
Yeah, I've thought that about a couple of the Christie adaptations. The Joan Hickson version of "The Body in the Library" from 1984 has a bad case of this in my opinion. It makes the films look somewhere between cheap or uncommitted as far as the set dressing is concerned. It IS possible to go too far in the other direction though. I love the high-production value period setting of the Suchet version, but did it strike anyone else as a *little* odd that Poirot's apartment was decked out in the latest, most fashionable art deco furniture and decor of the time? Does that jive with the psychology of Christie's funny little Belgian detective who still dresses in Victorian era spats and clothing? It's tough to strike the right balance.
@@Unownshipper I suppose he prefers the clean lines of Art Deco , rather than the rather fussy Victorian/edwardian decor. Or the set dresser prefers it😁
@@JocelynCreek As do I. I actually think the 1978 Death on the Nile actually does a pretty solid job of finding the balance. The Karnak is not glitzed out in art deco as if it had JUST been launched the year the story take place or gone through a redesign (unlike how it looks in the 2020 film 🙄). If memory serves, it has an interior representative of an Egyptian paddle steamer with arabesque or moorish motifs in the wood carvings in the lounge.
Greetings, great video. The 1974 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. I just love the atmosphere of the move. I watched the version of Evil Under Sun years ago. I just love Dame Diana and Dame Maggie, big fan boy. If only they could have had Dame Judi in the cast to top it all off. The movie was entertaining, but there was something off with it. I can’t put my finger on it. The David Suchet version was fine, I did not mind it. Love your stuff.
I agree that Dame Diana Rigg - Dame Maggie Smith was one of the great Poirot adaptations. However, the greatest adaptation of all the Poitot films was Murder On The Orient Express starring Albert Finney et al. Sorry, Miles. 🧐
Even more delightfully absurd than Poirot's swimming was Christine's transformation to fashion plate at the end. The obesity plotline was enjoyable in the Suchet version. I also give Wendy Craig high marks for her American accent in the BBC audio version.
A new video from Miles Ledoux? Christmas has come early! 0:54 Can't exactly say why, but I'm so happy you worked the chimes back into your videos. I've always felt the Ustinov version is very good... in ways. It's star-studded cast cannot be beat, Ustinov is an under appreciated Poirot, and I rather love James Mason's character's speech about having no alibi; it's not something from the book, but it's a delightfully meta commentary about the absurdity of suspects in mystery novels seemingly always having convenient, ironclad alibis. Also, as you point out with the swimming scene, the film's simply funny. But that's where my praise stops. Christie writes Arlena in a surprisingly progressive way for 1941; everyone views her as a slut and manipulator, but Poirot realizes she is first and foremost a victim of men who try to use her (even her husband Kenneth who has a bit of a Savior Complex). The 1982 movie doesn't seem to grasp that notion; Arlena's a slut and a bitch and the film nearly seems to argue she got what was coming to her. Rather a regressive take, to say the least... The Suchet version, returns to the source material's assessment. On top of that, it's *entirely* too camp! Between all the rainbow-colored clothing, Roddy McDowall playing his character as unabashedly queer, and instrumental versions of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" trumpeting at an 11 throughout the soundtrack (even in places that seem inappropriate to the mood), the film is frankly exhausting at times. Still, this is only my opinion, and personal taste is a hard argument to make. While I see those particular factors as grating and overdone, I appreciate that you found them fun. I do give the Ustinov version more credit now that I've heard your defense. 18:53 One thing I will counter you on is the change of gender *does* actually make sense with the witchcraft melodrama removed. I actually read the book after seeing the two films and while it makes for an noteworthy element and gives Linda more depth, something about it seems rather out of place considering the setting (just a feeling). I'm not surprised both adaptations left it out and that the latter streamlined Lionel's book to a simple tome of poisons. Changing Linda, a young girl, to Lionel, a teenage boy, allows him to be a serious suspect as the movie notes, despite his age, he has the physical strength to commit the strangulation; so yes, it did more than just diminish the dynamic with the stepmother. Without the witchcraft element, Linda in the 82 film was never a contender; you are still correct that they gave her other interesting ways to be a part of the mystery.
Yep, I remember the Evil Under The Sun version with Peter well. I also like the Death on the Nile with this Poirot even though the David Succo version of Poirot is more like I imagine the detective to be.
Yes, we do get Lemon and Hastings! They are a fun additon to a story in which Agatha Christie did not actually include them. I always love seeing Hastings and Lemon.
I also rather like like some of the actors from the Suchet version. Misses Darnley and Brewster do dish out a lot of exposition as Miles notes, but I thought the actresses who played them were able to make the characters charming. They're no Maggie Smith or Roddy McDowall, but that's hardly a fair comparison, is it?
Just watched the Suchet version the other day. And thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as it was shot at the location Christie set the story at. Burgh Island at Bigbury-on-Sea, just half-an-hour from where I live. Can’t get on with Ustinov as Poirot, thought the film was too comedic/lightweight and the setting was changed to give it ‘international appeal’, I think. Plus Guy Hamilton also, ploddingly, directed the only movie I have ever fallen asleep too in a cinema; The Mirror Crack’d.
I watched it this year - the costumes are a strange mix between the 80s and an earlier era. And the doomed beauty didn't look 30-something to me (which is what Christie means when she says she's not young anymore). My respects to the actress. But at least it's a fun movie.
As much as like both the adaptations, I feel they both fail at casting Arlena. My idea of the perfect Arlena is a Marilyn Monroe type. A woman so sexy that every man looks at her, a woman thought of as a vixen when she's really the one that men take advantage of and needs protection. And a woman who is thoughtless about others and how her actions impact them.
I may be a minority, but think both versions sadly failed.... Yes, I like the Ustinov Verson an watch it from time to time, it´s fun and we even gut Ustionvs original Voice in the german dub I watcht as a child... But everybody is a notch too much un this one... All these stars act like they are in a parody. The Suchet Film on the other Hand is too bland... Too much side plots in too less Time. The pacing feels off on this one.
Finally.... I thought who come I am the only one who isn't much of a fan of Ustinov version. Yes, the ambience is amazing. But the characters especially Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg are so misfit. There I said 😂😂 it. Thanks for the comment. I do think the TV version would have been better, if they stretched it out a bit, and developed all the characters.
David Suchet is such a perfect Poirot, while Peter Ustinov is just ridiculous to be charitable. Ustinov is not as bad as Kevin Brannagh, but bad enough to sink his Poirot movies. I'll take the flatter and perhaps more pedestrian TV movie with Suchet any day over Ustinov. It's like Ustinov is doing a lazy adaptation, while Brannagh is doing a parody.
I love everything about the Ustinov version but Ustinov's portrayal of Poirot. He's awful and spoils the film. The best Agatha Christie adaptation in existence? Hardly.
I love the Ustinov version. Dame Diana and Dame Maggie being catty to each other is straight gas. R.I.P. Dame Maggie Smith.
And RIP Diana - she left us some years ago.
I completely agree. Evil Under the Sun is my favorite movie adaption! You hit on the points perfectly. The only one I would add is you get the bonus of Diana Riggs and Maggie Smith's "Duet" which was so much fun. When Maggie Smith offers her a "sausage" and the look on the other woman's face always makes me laugh out loud every time!
There were a few actors that played in multiple movies. Maggie Smith was in both Evil under the Sun and Death on the Nile. As was Jane Birkin (the murderer in Evil under the Sun) who was a maid in Death on the Nile who got murdered. And Colin Blakey who plays Sir Horace Blatt also played a major role in Murder on the Orient Express as well.
Thank you. This was fun. As was the Ustinov film. I appreciate respect for original material. I appreciate respect for the mystery form. But I also have a LOT of time for having a good time when I'm watching a film and Ustinov always delivered a good time.
I like the book as well as both films, but the Ustinov version is my favourite as well. Two hours of pure fun by some great actors.
I absolutely love both Ustinov movies Evil under the Sun and Death on the Nile. It captures the character and atmosphere perfectly and has a great ensemble cast. I’m one of those that never totally warmed to the Suchet version.
THIS! Watched both several times, will continue to watch once in a while.
PS the fashion in both movies is exquisite!!!
Totally agree! Just recently watched the film again with joy. Wonderful actors.
The Ustinov version is my absolute favorite adaptation of a Christie novel. The music, the actors, the setting, and the title cards (yes, the title cards) are all over the top.
Also almost everyone hammed it up to the hilt.
The sparring between Maggie and Diana was a hoot.
Ustinov's version was an absolute banger.
I'm already a big Christie fan, but the Ustinov version had me at Maggie Smith, haha. She's been one of my favorite actresses since I saw The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. She's great in Death on the Nile too. And in non Christie murder mysteries, she's so fun in Murder by Death and iconic in Gosford Park. Maggie Smith and a murder mystery is a great combination :)
Perfect timing! I watched the one with Maggie Smith on Tuesday
Plus Nicholas Clay(sp?) speedo deserved an Oscar in the 80s film.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 I will blushingly admit to having noticed that myself.
This is what I came to say.
He was certainly ‘poured’ in to that Speedo and knew it as he ‘strutted’ along.
I know. Agree. He was just poured in to those speedos.
RIP Dames Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg. This film is the CLOSEST We'll Ever See of a Dowager Lady Grantham from Downton Abbey vs Lady Olenna "The Queen of Thorns" Tyrell from GOT Crossover
Agreed! The Ustinov "Evil Under the Sun" simply sparkles! There's nothing about it that isn't fabulous, in every sense of the word. And what a cast!
I love it so much! It’s a family favorite, and I cherish memories of watching it together with them
Excellent breakdown as usual. This was always my favourite of the Ustinov Poirot movies. What would have made a better movie would be Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith playing these characters passive aggressively bitching each other for two hours! In fact have them waiting at a tree and call it Waiting For Poirot.
Miles! Hi! So happy to see another and as usual, it is spot on. Merry Christmas!
I love the Cole Porter score in the Ustinov version.
I am slowly getting an Agatha Christie hardcover collection. I haven't ordered "Evil Under the Sun" yet but I will.😊
I've been buying the hard cover editions from second hand bookstores.
@nicky611 Me too for the most part. At the moment I'm trying to concentrate on collecting the Poirots.
The Ustinov adaptation of Evil Under the Sun introduced me to Peter Ustinov, Agatha Christie, AND Hercule Poirot. The Ustinov version of Evil Under the Sun is my favorite movie of all time.
My submission to r/moviedetails was rejected, but I need someone to acknowledge: Blanc's costume on the dock in Glass Onion references a costume Peter Ustinov wears as Poirot in this movie. Especially Blanc's maroon mask with little white polka dots (referencing Poirot's bow tie).
Thanks for another video! Extremely MILD SPOILERS for Spider's Web below.
I happen to be halfway through the novelization of Spider's Web now. I'm having a bit of trouble, since "hijinks” stress me out in a way that regular Christie sleuthing does not. Excited to hear what you have to say!
one really great movie... Ustinov does a great Poirot, and he actually spoke French!
I love the Peter Ustinov Evil Under The Sun, it has always been a favorite of mine. I like the David Suchet version too, but the Ustinov film is so special, it sparkles.
I agree. This is one of my favorite films.
@@kugelweg Mine too. With that cast of legends it is hard for it not to be special, but as you said in the video, it was the acting, the writing, the wonderful Cole Porter music, the costumes and jewels, hair, sets and of course that beautiful island. Sigh, just wonderful.
Sparkles is the perfect word.
@@functionoflightone thank you ☺
Thanks for this ….i keep the 82 version on as white noise!
Maggie Smith is also in Murder on the Nile (1978
Death on the Nile. And yes. As was Jane Birkin (the murderer in Evil under the Sun) who was a maid who got murdered in Death on the Nile. And Colon Blakey who plays Sir Horace Blatt also played a major role in Murder on the Orient Express as well.
the 1982 version is not only amazing and fun with a great cast but the changes in script actually made the mystery better. one of my favorite films since childhood!
Thank you for this early Christmas present. 😘 I find both adaptations very enjoyable but the all-star cast of the Ustinov version is unbeatable. However I would probably put the 1974 "Murder on the Orient Express", the 1957 "Witness for the Prosecution" or maybe even the 2015 miniseries "And Then There Were None" (though I find all the follow-ups adapted by Sarah Phelps dreadful) in the spot of the best adaptation.
What can I say about the Peter Ustinov version as Hercule Poirot in EVIL UNDER THE SUN. I love it and I think I watched it about 30 times 😊. Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg are divine. Everybody is outstanding. The costumes are gorgeous and the location is stunning.
Yes it is not the book but who cares. The film is a 10/10!
David Suchet is the perfect Hercule Poirot for me, (even better than Peter Ustinov) but the "Evil Under The Sun" movie from 1982 is just perfect.
DEATH ON THE NILE is another film I enjoy very much with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, and I think I watched it as many times as I watched EVIL UNDER THE SUN! They made changes again but it works and we have a great cast. I love Angela Lansbury and again Maggie Smith.
The other Poirot films made for TV with Peter Ustinov are a desaster and should never been made. 😫
I’m with you. I own both movies as I do Murder on the Orient Express (original version). I absolutely love all 3. And watch them multiple times. I was one that never really warmed to many of the Suchet ones. They were too much like ‘plays of the day’ with , except for Suchet himself, the characters stock standard one dimensional like watching a regional play.
Death on the Nile also had Bette Davis, and she says she enjoyed working with Maggie. Angela Lansbury has talked about the three of them having to share a small dressing room on the boat - oh, to have been a fly on THAT wall!
@@casandraleff4462 One aspect that made the '70s version so great is that they actually shot on location. Although the heat during the shoot must have been torturous, I love how Bette Davis declared, "In my time, they would have built the Nile," referring to Hollywood's golden age.
@@karlkarlos3545 I imagined Betty Davis to be like that person/actress she played on ALL ABOUT EVE. Her interviews always gave me that vibe, a DIVA through and through!
@@xr6lad I love THE ORIENT EXPRESS from the 1970s and Albert Finney as Hercule Poirot.
The new movies with Kenneth Branagh are not my cup of tea. With all the noticeable green screen backgrounds and the ridiculous scripts I can't make myself watch them again. Very forgettable.
Found your channel and have been binging like crazy .... 🤪 If I had my way, I'd hope you put out weekly videos!! Your videos are warm and cozy with a hot cup of tea.
BTW? I adore both versions for different reasons. When I wanna believe all little silly? (No shade), it's the movie, when I'm feeling serious? The tv adaptation.
Guess I'll be looking at both tonight ....
I for somereason keeps forgeting to coment this, but now I remebered it:
You are awsome sir. Period.
(Also I just realized my computer wasnt subsriped to you, so... Now it is.)
Here, here! Ustinov's Evil Under the Sun is a delight! Setting, costumes, characters, all great! It isn't as faithful, but I agree that its changes all fit. (And even, according to taste, improves; I didn't care at all about the drug stuff in the book, for instance, and am glad they got rid of it. Christie kind of had a bug up her ass about drugs and got terribly tiresome about it in a few books.) Just moving it from the English coast to the Adriatic is so much better. I mean, really, just look at the sad gray of the Suchet versioin and the delightful color of the Ustinov. Which would you rather watch for 90 minutes?!
Also part of the delight of the Ustinov version is it's sheer queerness. Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg constantly trading bitchy barbs whilst in fabulous gowns; Roddy McDowell queening it up; Sylvia Miles just being there; and the most blatantly lascivious shooting of a male body in the way Patrick is shot. It probably won't surprise you to discover the director was gay.
The thing I love most of all about the Ustinov version is that it's just FUN. And funny. You can tell everyone is having a ball making it, which apparently they did. A lot of the actors only took their parts because it was a chance to have a vacation on the Adriatic. They just drank and partied when they weren't filming.
I love the Ustinov version with Maggie and the Gang! Suchet is his usual wonderful self as Poirot, but I think they weakened the Arlena character to the point where it wasn't clear why her step-son (in this version) would hate her so much. Diana Rigg makes you REALLY understand why the kid would hate her!
There's a similar problem in "Death on the Nile", where in the Ustinov version, Mia Farrow is a really strong character, while in the Suchet version, while okay, less strong, less memorable.
Suchet is always great for me (except for his Orient Express which I can't stand).
Been waiting for this review- what a fabulous present! Wonderful analysis as always and I just want to add that I too loved this adaptation. I hoped you might the computer game- maybe next time?
Very interesting, thank you!
I love your poirot videos!!!
I love the Maggie Smith one and the cast is amazing. My only issue is for a period film , it looks really 1980's. I am more than happy to watch both
Yeah, I've thought that about a couple of the Christie adaptations. The Joan Hickson version of "The Body in the Library" from 1984 has a bad case of this in my opinion. It makes the films look somewhere between cheap or uncommitted as far as the set dressing is concerned.
It IS possible to go too far in the other direction though. I love the high-production value period setting of the Suchet version, but did it strike anyone else as a *little* odd that Poirot's apartment was decked out in the latest, most fashionable art deco furniture and decor of the time? Does that jive with the psychology of Christie's funny little Belgian detective who still dresses in Victorian era spats and clothing?
It's tough to strike the right balance.
@@Unownshipper I suppose he prefers the clean lines of Art Deco , rather than the rather fussy Victorian/edwardian decor. Or the set dresser prefers it😁
@@JocelynCreek As do I.
I actually think the 1978 Death on the Nile actually does a pretty solid job of finding the balance. The Karnak is not glitzed out in art deco as if it had JUST been launched the year the story take place or gone through a redesign (unlike how it looks in the 2020 film 🙄). If memory serves, it has an interior representative of an Egyptian paddle steamer with arabesque or moorish motifs in the wood carvings in the lounge.
Greetings, great video. The 1974 adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express. I just love the atmosphere of the move. I watched the version of Evil Under Sun years ago. I just love Dame Diana and Dame Maggie, big fan boy. If only they could have had Dame Judi in the cast to top it all off. The movie was entertaining, but there was something off with it. I can’t put my finger on it. The David Suchet version was fine, I did not mind it. Love your stuff.
I agree that Dame Diana Rigg - Dame Maggie Smith was one of the great Poirot adaptations. However, the greatest adaptation of all the Poitot films was Murder On The Orient Express starring Albert Finney et al. Sorry, Miles. 🧐
Hello Daphne😂😂
and btw, greetings from Cabimas,Venezuela, from an avid Christie reader!
This is a fun video to see as I like all three.
The Suchet version. Where they don’t have much sun. In fact, it looks very cold and the actors have to work twice as hard pretending otherwise.
Even more delightfully absurd than Poirot's swimming was Christine's transformation to fashion plate at the end.
The obesity plotline was enjoyable in the Suchet version.
I also give Wendy Craig high marks for her American accent in the BBC audio version.
A new video from Miles Ledoux? Christmas has come early!
0:54 Can't exactly say why, but I'm so happy you worked the chimes back into your videos.
I've always felt the Ustinov version is very good... in ways. It's star-studded cast cannot be beat, Ustinov is an under appreciated Poirot, and I rather love James Mason's character's speech about having no alibi; it's not something from the book, but it's a delightfully meta commentary about the absurdity of suspects in mystery novels seemingly always having convenient, ironclad alibis. Also, as you point out with the swimming scene, the film's simply funny.
But that's where my praise stops. Christie writes Arlena in a surprisingly progressive way for 1941; everyone views her as a slut and manipulator, but Poirot realizes she is first and foremost a victim of men who try to use her (even her husband Kenneth who has a bit of a Savior Complex). The 1982 movie doesn't seem to grasp that notion; Arlena's a slut and a bitch and the film nearly seems to argue she got what was coming to her. Rather a regressive take, to say the least... The Suchet version, returns to the source material's assessment.
On top of that, it's *entirely* too camp! Between all the rainbow-colored clothing, Roddy McDowall playing his character as unabashedly queer, and instrumental versions of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes" trumpeting at an 11 throughout the soundtrack (even in places that seem inappropriate to the mood), the film is frankly exhausting at times. Still, this is only my opinion, and personal taste is a hard argument to make. While I see those particular factors as grating and overdone, I appreciate that you found them fun. I do give the Ustinov version more credit now that I've heard your defense.
18:53 One thing I will counter you on is the change of gender *does* actually make sense with the witchcraft melodrama removed. I actually read the book after seeing the two films and while it makes for an noteworthy element and gives Linda more depth, something about it seems rather out of place considering the setting (just a feeling). I'm not surprised both adaptations left it out and that the latter streamlined Lionel's book to a simple tome of poisons. Changing Linda, a young girl, to Lionel, a teenage boy, allows him to be a serious suspect as the movie notes, despite his age, he has the physical strength to commit the strangulation; so yes, it did more than just diminish the dynamic with the stepmother. Without the witchcraft element, Linda in the 82 film was never a contender; you are still correct that they gave her other interesting ways to be a part of the mystery.
Yep, I remember the Evil Under The Sun version with Peter well. I also like the Death on the Nile with this Poirot even though the David Succo version of Poirot is more like I imagine the detective to be.
I have to say I actually really like the Suchet version. It was fun, and we get Miss Lemon and Hastings
Yes, we do get Lemon and Hastings! They are a fun additon to a story in which Agatha Christie did not actually include them.
I always love seeing Hastings and Lemon.
I also rather like like some of the actors from the Suchet version. Misses Darnley and Brewster do dish out a lot of exposition as Miles notes, but I thought the actresses who played them were able to make the characters charming. They're no Maggie Smith or Roddy McDowall, but that's hardly a fair comparison, is it?
Maggie had the best lines.
Just watched the Suchet version the other day. And thoroughly enjoyed it, especially as it was shot at the location Christie set the story at. Burgh Island at Bigbury-on-Sea, just half-an-hour from where I live. Can’t get on with Ustinov as Poirot, thought the film was too comedic/lightweight and the setting was changed to give it ‘international appeal’, I think. Plus Guy Hamilton also, ploddingly, directed the only movie I have ever fallen asleep too in a cinema; The Mirror Crack’d.
I watched it this year - the costumes are a strange mix between the 80s and an earlier era. And the doomed beauty didn't look 30-something to me (which is what Christie means when she says she's not young anymore). My respects to the actress. But at least it's a fun movie.
As much as like both the adaptations, I feel they both fail at casting Arlena. My idea of the perfect Arlena is a Marilyn Monroe type. A woman so sexy that every man looks at her, a woman thought of as a vixen when she's really the one that men take advantage of and needs protection. And a woman who is thoughtless about others and how her actions impact them.
I may be a minority, but think both versions sadly failed.... Yes, I like the Ustinov Verson an watch it from time to time, it´s fun and we even gut Ustionvs original Voice in the german dub I watcht as a child... But everybody is a notch too much un this one... All these stars act like they are in a parody. The Suchet Film on the other Hand is too bland... Too much side plots in too less Time. The pacing feels off on this one.
Finally.... I thought who come I am the only one who isn't much of a fan of Ustinov version. Yes, the ambience is amazing. But the characters especially Maggie Smith and Diana Rigg are so misfit. There I said 😂😂 it.
Thanks for the comment. I do think the TV version would have been better, if they stretched it out a bit, and developed all the characters.
David Suchet is such a perfect Poirot, while Peter Ustinov is just ridiculous to be charitable. Ustinov is not as bad as Kevin Brannagh, but bad enough to sink his Poirot movies. I'll take the flatter and perhaps more pedestrian TV movie with Suchet any day over Ustinov. It's like Ustinov is doing a lazy adaptation, while Brannagh is doing a parody.
I love everything about the Ustinov version but Ustinov's portrayal of Poirot. He's awful and spoils the film.
The best Agatha Christie adaptation in existence? Hardly.
Comments like yours make me wish TH-cam still had a functioning downvote button.