Agatha Christie's Poirot: Collector's Set Volume 9

Amazon.com

The Agatha Christie's Poirot collection is known as a mystery series, but what makes these videos such a delightful enhancement to the original books is their deft touch of humor. In "Dead Man's Mirror," for example, the widow of the murdered man claims to communicate with the spirit of an ancient Egyptian. Her supernatural tendencies cause more than a few giggles--especially when she mentions the spirit, Saffra, during an interview, and Inspector Japp immediately pulls out his notebook and asks for Saffra's address. In "Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan," Poirot is mistaken for a man in a newspaper contest, and his investigations into the theft of a pearl necklace are repeatedly interrupted by people demanding their prize of 10 pounds; these intermittent scenes add a welcome levity to one of the series' more tedious plots. While less droll than the others, "The Adventure of the Clapham Cook" has unexpected plot twists as the seemingly simple case of a runaway servant unfurls to reveal a larger scheme of embezzlement and murder. David Suchet's ability to poke gentle fun at Poirot without ever breaking character makes the enjoyment of these episodes complete. --Larisa Lomacky Moore

Description

Marvelous mustachioed Hercule Poirot stamps out evil with savoir faire to spare in this British television production that became a hit on both the PBS Mystery! series and A&E. Based on the fiction of Agatha Christie and starring David Suchet as the definitive Poirot, the series features great ensemble acting, witty scripts, and gorgeous period sets and costumes. The dapper, diminutive Poirot and his lanky assistant Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser) sort out cases in and around 1930s London.

Dead Man's Mirror—At a fine furniture auction, Poirot loses in the bidding for an art deco mirror but wins a new client willing to part with the mirror for Poirot's services.
Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan—Poirot tries to take a holiday but is soon required to save the day when a priceless necklace disappears.
The Adventure of the Clapham Cook—Finding a missing cook proves tougher, and more suited to his superior skills, than Poirot expects.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES INCLUDE biographies of Agatha Christie and David Suchet, cast filmographies, and Agatha Christie materials.

Customer Reviews:

ChasinWV.......2006-08-21

We have been buying the collection in series order. Excellent family entertainment. The production quality does justice to the writing and performances. Very satisfactory.

Poirot stories are Great.......2006-02-24

It is always a pleasure to watch the DVD stories about Poirot. I own all of them that Amazon.com has available.

3 strong entries in the almost complete POIROT series.......2001-07-14

Having sung the praises of Sets 1-8 of the Acorn Media releases of , I can find little to add about the general excellence of this series, which offers up the shorter episodes on VHS and the longer ones on VHS and DVD formats. With 3 of the projected 12 sets to go for the shorter entries, Set 9 offers up a trio of fairly strong tales.

"Dead Man's Mirror" concerns a ruthless millionaire who outbids Poirot on a mirror at an auction and then dangles the item as bait for the detective to investigate a case of fraud. There is much ado about inheritances, a second (unsigned) will, possible murderers, dinner gongs, and shots behind locked doors. And if the ending is far fetched, who cares? This one needs total concentration.

"Jewel Robbery at the Grand Metropolitan" is lighthearted and contains a wonderful spoof on the mystery plays popular in Christie's own time. You will enjoy not only the usual good characterizations by the supporting cast but also the very imaginative camera shots inside a chest of drawers.

"The Case of the Clapham Cook" hangs on a hoax that is a bit overly complicated, since the perpetrator could have accomplished his aims in a far less roundabout way; but then there would have been no plot. The use of disguises, fine in the original stories, often does not work on video, because it is too easy to spot the face behind the beard.