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The Movies: The "Agatha Christie Classic Mystery Collection" includes the following films (all eight movies are on DVD for the first time), each housed on their own DVD: *Thirteen at Dinner - Peter Ustinov stars in his beloved role as Poirot in this adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Lord Edgeware Dies". The London-set film has the detective trying to solve the crime of a murdered husband of a movie star, throwing him into the world of a film set. David Suchet, who went on to play Poirot in the long-running TV series, stars here as the detective's foil, Inspector Japp. Also starring Faye Dunaway in a dual role. 1985, 94 minutes. *Murder in Three Acts - Peter Ustinov stars as Poirot in this screen version of Agatha Christie's novel. Set in a posh villa in Acapulco, Poirot finds himself on another case when one of movie star Charles Cartwright's houseguests, an elderly reverend, gets a poisoned martini. One of the guests hosts a second party and promises a surprise. A suprise is certainly what everyone gets: another corpse turns up. Also starring: Tony Curtis, Emma Samms, Dana Elcar and others. 1986, 94 minutes. *A Caribbean Mystery - Lots of people were within earshot when blurstery Major Palgrave offered to show an incriminating photo to Miss Jane Marple (Helen Hayes). However, who took the dastardly step of insuring that the major could never again make the same offer? While she's in the West Indies on a doctor-perscribed stay, once there, Miss Marple finds herself with a double-dose of mystery in this adaptation of Christie's novel. Also starring Swoosie Kurtz, Cassie Yates, Maurice Evans, Barnard Hughes and others. 1983, 88 minutes. *Dead Man's Folly - Peter Ustinov stores as Belgian sluth Hercule Poirot, who must outsmart a serial killer in this adaptation of Christie's novel. Jean Stapleton, Tim Pigott-Smith, Nicolette Sheridan, Christopher Guard and Jonathan Cecil are among the co-stars. 1985, 94 minutes. *Agatha Christie's The Man in the Brown Suit - Stephanie Zimbalist ("Remington Steele") stars as Anne Beddingfield, who steps out of the Cairo Airport and into a mystery involving stolen diamonds, criminal masterminds, secret messages...and worse. Also starring in this adaptation of Christie's novel area: Rue McClanahan, Tony Randall and Edward Woodward. 1988, 95 minutes. *Murder Is Easy - Murder is easy if no one suspects you. Lavinia Fullerton (Helen Hayes), however, has more than suspicions. She's en route to Scotland Yard to disclose the name of the person responsible for a spate of murders in her village. However, the killer may be waiting for her when she sets foot in London. Co-stars Olivia De Havilland, Jonathan Pryce and others. 1981, 94 minutes. *Murder with Mirrors - Helen Hayes returns as sleuth Jane Marple and Leo McCkern (Rumpole of the Bailey) plays the crafty inspector who teams up with her in this case of country-house intrigue. Betty Davis (in one of her last roles) stars as the aging lady of the house, who someone may be slowly poisoning. Everyone but her husband (John Mills) has a motive. Also starring Tim Roth, John Woodyne, Anton Rodgers and more. 1985, 94 minutes. *Sparkling Cyanide - Prominent lawyer George Barton (Josef Sommer) is determined to find out who slipped a fatal dose of cyanide into his wife's glass of wedding-anniversary bubbly. On the night he recreates the crime, someone secretly pours the deadly powder into the attorney's own champagne. Based on Christie's novel, the film also stars Nancy Marchand, David Huffman, Christine Belford and Harry Morgan. 1983, 96 minutes. NOTE: Additionally, fans who are intersted in the Marple films ("Caribbean Mystery", "Murder With Mirrors" and "Murder is Easy") and the Poirot films ("Dead Man's Folly", "Murder in Three Acts" and "Thirteen For Dinner") will be happy to know that those can be purchased separately in smaller 3-DVD sets (called "Agatha Christie Collection Featuring Helen Hayes" and "Agatha Christie Collection Featuring Peter Ustinov".) The DVDs in the smaller 3-DVD sets are the same as the ones in the larger set. However, the benefit of the larger set is that two additional films are included. The DVD VIDEO: The films are all presented in their original 1.33:1 full-frame aspect ratio. The condition of the films are all about what one would reasonably expect from TV films from the 80's, but some (such as "Man in the Brown Suit", "Dead Man's Folly" and "Murder in Three Acts") look a little better than others (such as "Sparkling Cyanide".) Sharpness and detail are inconsistent, with some films looking soft (although not terribly so) and others looking more crisp and detailed. The main issue with the films is wear and tear. While not consistently seen, there are patches in each of the films that show some specks, marks, dirt and other concerns. Some minor-to-mild edge enhancement is spotted on a few occasions in each film, as well. Otherwise, the films generally appeared clean and clear. Colors fluttered at times, but mostly looked natural and nicely presented, with no smearing. Overall, these presentations were not bad, but just inconsistent: parts of these films looked good (considering their age), but there were moments here-and-there where noticable wear and some other flaws were spotted. SOUND: The films are all presented in mono. The audio can sound a bit thin at times, but generally remains clear and clean, with no distortion. EXTRAS: Unfortunately, nothing. Final Thoughts: The "Agatha Christie Classic Mystery Collection" provides a solid set of mysteries for a reasonable price tag (especially if found cheaper online.) The presentations for each of the films have some inconsistent moments, but generally look fine. Recommended for fans. |