It was made worse by the fact it was shown on Christmas day here in England. The Mirror Crack’d (1980) I also agree with Miss Quin that Peril at End House is extremely well done: it is full of humor and, as Miss Quin noted, the actress playing Nick is perfectly cast. I love Suchet’s Poirot, but having watched these classic versions of Murder on the Orient Express, Evil Under the Sun and Death on the Nile, I find myself now also thinking of Ustinov and Finney as excellent Poirots. The murderers in both are very "I've had a bad time, feel sorry for me" which wasn't present in either book. I thought Sad Cypress was an utter mess. Appointment With Death is pretty harrowing. I actually know someone who fell asleep during it. Granted times have changed and we are so politically correct these days we can't sneeze without offending someone, but they could have incorporated more of the political thread (taking out some of the more racist elements) of the original plot than simply turning it into a very poor substitute for the murders. To celebrate the Vintage Classics collection, The Telegraph is producing a series of features focusing on these critically-acclaimed, much-loved British films. My favourites are Death On The Nile and Evil Under The Sun. I have not read Dame Christie's books. Like Christie’s novels, these movies deal with immense pain, warped minds and dark deeds without taking away from our pleasure in watching; the viewer has a wonderful experience, while learning about the darker sides of human nature. I didn't like the  "gather all the suspects in one room"  wasn't in the book. These movies are great fun. It was absurd and farcical. It hits home on a emotional note too. I love David Suchet's portrayal of Poirot. But it wasn't all bad. If I had known in advance how overly dark and unfaithful this episode was, I never would have watched it. Appointment with Death: One of my favorite Poirot novels completely ruined! Evil Under The Sun- the setting was great. Despite the fact that it was not faithful to the book's plot I liked it. The clues are very sparse. The Best 7 Agatha Christie Movies 10 months ago Agatha Christie is one of the greatest authors of the twentieth century, and her novels are among the best-selling in the world. Kenneth Branagh’s moustache – as unlike David Suchet’s as it can be – is already the subject of passionate debate. It puzzles me. The Egyptain Tomb excellent. We rely on advertising to help fund our award-winning journalism. I forgot to mention Elephants Can Remember. I think the worst was definitely Cards on the Table. I liked that The Big Four adaptation  had warmth, a slight touch of humour, emotion, mystery and good suspense. I couldn't believe that a slight girl was responsible for attempting to strangle a full grown, healthy young man. But on the other hand Frances De La Tour and J J Feild were very good. This film also stars Maggie Smith (pictured above), Diana Rigg, and James Mason. But it's a shame the Achilles Poirot story wasn't used. For Christie, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple are a testament to her ability to create long-standing, memorable characters. Poirot (1989–2013) 5. I have not seen all of the Suchet Poirot adaptations, but of the ones I have seen, I really like: I really enjoyed reading your post P_lombard. Also, it allowed Poirot to prove that a murder can be solved years after - it's really all up to the little grey cells; you don't need the footprints, the cigarette ash, etc. I have to fast forward it. I think ITV became complacent and assumed The Fans would just be so happy that the series was continuing and they wanted to please the Gay Viewers which is silly because you can't Cater for every minority can you because it would look daft and weaken the Concept. Part of me must like it, I've seen  it 3 times! Another poor adaptation was Dumb Witness. The death at the end of the book was chillingly calm and calculated. I didn't mind Mr Satterswaite being excluded, as I'd rather than didn't have him, than if he was played badly. I expected to find them old-fashioned, but they were an absolute joy to watch, and I highly recommend them as an aperitif before the new Murder on the Orient Express is released. I disliked Appointment With Death too, on p[age 33 it clearly says the Abuse is Psychological but in the Poirot Episode it was Physical, and having the Victims husband confused things for me and I thought he was wrongly cast. i think that the worst was episode based on "the hollow" , i dont know but i feel that was so simple solution and there were no complications or surprises in this episode, the best for me(i didnt see all episodes) was hercule poirot christmas maybe i will change my mind when i see the other episodes, there were many changes in some episodes comparing with novels, in events or pesonalities, globaly some episodes of series were so faithful to the novel. Agatha Christie’s stories are treated respectfully and all the twists, denouements and revelations are rendered with appropriate amounts of grand guignol. I Have said Tme and Time again I HATED Cards On The Table which is one of my Favourite Books so I am dissapointed and still bitter at ALL the changes, In comtrast I lOVE Evi Under The Sun and LOVE all the Changes and I LOVE   the fact ITV put Hastings in Murder In Mesopotamia because it is a Book I HATE I didn't like or understand The Labour Of Hercules and wasn't that fond of The Big Four either. Billy Wilder directed this adaptation of Christie's short story of the same name. I couldn't finish watching the adaptation of Appointment with Death because it was so different from the novel. My Favourite Adaptations of Poirot Novels are Evil Under The Sun, ABC Murders and Mrs McGinty's Dead, I haven't got a favourite amongst the short story Adaptations, My least favourite of Poirot Novel daptations is Cards On The Table and with the short stories The Missing Will, Cards Is one of my Favourite Poirot Novels and The Missing will my Favourite of the Short stories. Of course we do – and not only us fans. I had to watch it three or four times to understand it. The ITV adaptation, I found, was a really clever way to bring those stories together into something absolutely brilliant to watch. I recently watched BIG FOUR. Mystery Of The Blue Train- added to the bad list, everyone was obnoxious or a complete bore. I love the setting, costumes. I've never watched and i wanna know the best movie cause until now i just read the novels by Agatha Christie Here are my top 10 Poirot films (in no particular order): 1. Now before I watched Cards On The Table- I read reviews. Until that point it was quite faithful. She did quite a bit of detective work in it. I especially appreciate how the TV series spanning 25 years shows a man who is aging and honing his talents as a brilliant detective -- somehow, it seems natural that the later episodes are darker, more psychological and dramatic because -- as a 71 year old woman -- I've lived my life that way in some respects. When a story is as classic as Murder on the Orient Express, the artistic choices made by the director in each case enhances the canon. I still shocked how such amazing, marvelous, outstanding book became a completely disappoint, a desastrous, an awful film. It pains me! I didn't like Curtain either. He was the best thing about Dumb Witness for me. If you dislike one, you'd most certainly dislike the other. Dialogue some problems, don't think insult "cow" was in use then? The end of the story is slightly dull and needed more drama. Once is enough, no need to hammer it home! The book is very good,the plot is solid, so the changings were not necessary. A new version of Murder on the Orient Express, directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh, will hit the big screen in November 2017, and speculation is intense. I thought that Five Little Pigs was incredibly good. Very different from Holmes, and perhaps rather like the UK series New Tricks. Lifelong Agatha Christie fans like me are desperate to see it, even though we know every inch of the plot by heart, because when it comes to our favourite author, we share a collector mentality. Why didn't they have that instead? Especially during the chess game. The killer in the novel is completely innocent in the play. (Even though I like the novel.) Of the Suchet Poirot adaptations I have seen, the only ones that stood out as exceptionally bad were: I agree with Miss Quin and Moonraker that Dumb Witness is not one of the best adaptations, but, in my opinion, Bob and the delightful Tripp sisters make it nowhere near as bad as the atrotious adaptations of Murder on the Orient Express, Appointment with Death, and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. Read all the articles at tgr.ph/vintageclassics. But I … I see many people enjoyed it. An American movie actress, best known for playing dumb blondes, is Scotland Yard's prime suspect when her husband, Lord Edgware, is murdered. There was a fair few continuity errors too. I did NOT like Murder on the Orient Express, the Labors of Hercules, One Two Buckle My Shoe, The Big 4, or The Mystery at Hunter's Lodge. Layering misery upon misery is one of the worse things about some of the later Poirot. I will add The Third Floor Flat, I think it's a  fun episode mixed with a grave situation. The consensus seems to point to David Suchet. I've also read these fora in which people detail what has been omitted or added for the TV adaptations so I know they are not, in many cases, original or faithful to the novels. There's also a lot of speculation over how Kenneth Branagh will play the role. If that's not bad enough there's the fake Nun turned human trafficker  trying to kidnap Ginny to turn her to sexual slavery. It did slide towards the end. Even people who are good actors made the characters came across as flat and one dimensional. With 'Murder on the Orient Express' doing big business, we've rounded up 10 more Christie-based movies and TV shows that best capture the writer's spirit. It is one of my lesser favorite Christie books because the solution is given in the last 20 pages but it come out of nowhere. and Mystery! The actress who played Nick was just right. Poirot (1989–2013) I've watched every single episode except Curtian so here's my own views: how many times can you show someone with cut wrists in the bath? I also liked that when I watched it, it was in two parts. It’s true that these movies, vibrant extravaganzas that they are, won’t do much to make people take Agatha Christie more seriously as an analyst of our world and the human psyche. Affair At The Victory Ball- It came across as fun, bright, interesting but also warm and good pacing. As for the adaptation of Death on the Nile, the novel is one of my favourites and the adaptation didn't disappoint. Disliked it because the whole plot (although a bit far fetched in the original) was made trite. I have very mixed feelings towards Death On The Nile. Poirot (1989–2013) Episode: The ABC Murders (1992) Not Rated | 103 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery.