Disc Reviews

Poirot Blu-ray Boxset Review

poirotBelgian detective Hercule Poirot may have completed his journey on the small screen, but not a look back at a few of the more popular silver screen adventures are given the Blu-ray treatment.

First up is 1974’s Murder on the Orient Express – probably the most well-known of the titles. A star studied cast assemble on board the infamous choo-choo for a spot of murder, and only Poirot it seems has the smarts and even the want to get on with solving a particularly disturbing stabbing. But naturally the outcome explains it all when they get there. And get there they do as Albert Finney goes about investigating, probing and simply getting all the information he needs from the very circumstances of the incident.

This of course is a method we see repeated throughout the other films. In Death on the Nile, Peter Ustinov takes over the role of Poirot (One which we would do for the final file, as well as others beyond this box-set). The role almost became synonymous with the actor. But it was played no better than in this African set adventure.

This time it’s a case of solving who would want a rich heiress dead. Well, given today’s standard of detective work and plotting it may not be quite as hard to figure out who, but the why and how of it all remains simply clever.

Finally in the set comes Evil Under the Sun, which again sees Poirot at another holiday destination having to solve another grisly murder. This is perhaps the weakest of the three, but also the lightest in its touch with a lot more humour. But there is no less famous faces on screen. Yes, these Poirot movies are very heavy on the celeb casting calls as actors of various generations join in on each mystery to provide support, motives or just that or a corpse for your enjoyment.

We have to say, despite all the soft focus nightmare of the 1970s, the films have been given a decent upgrade on the high-def format. What is shocking then despite the good picture upgrade is the lack of extras anywhere.

If you want to see the likes of David Niven, Sean Connery, Jane Birkin, Maggie Smith, Bette Davis, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Mia Farrow and that guy that used to be Manimal having a grand ole time playing murder mystery, then this is over 6 hours of entertainment you’ll find hard to pass up.

3 Stars

 

 

 

Steven Hurst

Share this!

Comments