Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #22350 in DVD
• Released on: 2005-03-14
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
• Formats: Anamorphic, Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 4
• Running time: 410 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Granada Television and the PBS Mystery! series' recent Marple episodes continue to delight with such distinctive vitality, wit, and stylishness one may never again think of tea rooms in the English countryside as "quaint" settings. Geraldine McEwan (Vanity Fair) returns as Agatha Christie's Miss Jane Marple, elderly sleuth with a keenly discerning eye and sweet smile that takes the sting out of her blunt observations of friends and murder suspects alike. As with series 1, the quartet of mysteries in series 2, set shortly after World War II, are ensemble affairs filled out by such familiar faces as Timothy Dalton, Charles Dance, Greta Scacchi, Anthony Andrews, Patricia Hodge, and Imogen Stubbs. Rather than pound out a certain visual and tonal sameness over all four stories, each 90-minute episode seems to be approached as a stand-alone affair, giving writers, directors, and production teams a lot of leeway to give each story a unique stamp.

"Sleeping Murder" stars Sophia Myles as Gwenda Halliday, a young woman haunted by flashbacks of the memory of a killing she observed as a little girl in a stately British house. Problem is, Gwenda has only recently moved to Britain for the first time in her life, after growing up in India. Dawn French, Martin Kemp, and Geraldine Chaplin also star in the tale, which involves an old troupe of actors, a jewelry theft, and a very surprising conclusion. "By the Pricking of My Thumbs" concerns the disappearance of a doddering old woman who leaves behind a strange, spooky painting of a cottage in the woods, an unnerving figure lurking in the structure's window. Miss Marple is on the trail, but she allows the lonely, alcoholic wife (Scacchi) of a government investigator (Andrews) to take the lead—a boost to the younger woman's self-esteem.

The ambitious "The Moving Finger" is the most singular episode in series 2, a cheeky--almost subversive--vision of a rosy, picture-postcard village whose tranquility is undone by a series of hateful letters mailed to individuals in the community. Miss Marple, observing the tragic effects of these missives on relationships and reputations, is practically in the background in this story, watching closely as a nihilistic young man (James D'Arcy) comes out of his cynical, alcohol-laced haze to investigate the source of so much misery. (Bonus: director Ken Russell appears as the local, red-cheeked vicar.) Finally, "The Sittaford Mystery" finds Timothy Dalton playing a likely prospect to become prime minister, until he's stabbed to death following a séance. Set in a rundown hotel during a severe winter storm, the episode co-stars James Murray, Rita Tushingham, and comic-actor-director Mel Smith, the latter as the late, great man's touchingly loyal, right-hand man. --Tom Keogh

Synopsis
Twenty-first century adaptation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple, which sees her put all her detective skills to use in four feature length episodes: 'The Body In The Library', 'A Murder Is Announced', 'Murder At The Vicarage' and '4.50 From Paddington'.

Customer Reviews

What is the point???
I can't help wondering why this attempt of a new adaptation of tried and tested material when we have THE ultimate Miss Marple and that is Joan Hickson? Because whatever it was, lack of other quality stuff, necessity to engage certain cast, production team' indulgence - it just did not work, there is no purpose other that re-modelling familiar stories badly in the flashy surroundings and elaborate interpretation. Just hope no one will come up with the idea of a another Poirot after David Suchet!!

Different enough to be worth viewing
Geraldine McEwan's (Lucia from Mapp & Lucia) has plenty of fun hamming it up with a gigantic list of TV superstar celebrities such as Simon Callow, James Fox, Joanna Lumley, Ian Richardson, Stephen Tomkinson, Herbot Lom, Jane Asher, Miriam Margolyes, and Robert Powell (and that's only in the two episodes 'The body in the Library and 'Murder at the Vicarage'). OK, if you read the original Agatha Christie books, Joan Hickson was Miss Marple, and wisely Ms McEwan's doesn't try to do a bad Joan Hickson Impression. In fact she tends towards a rather good Margaret Rutherford impression (who certainly wasn't Agatha Christie's idea of Miss Marple - but she was great simply as Margaret Rutherford).

Perhaps this new series hasn't quite captured the previous series gentle air of apparently unsophisticated 50's rural life, and Geraldine McEwan's Miss Marple is possibly a bit too obviously worldly wise (she seems quite dangerous to talk to if you had murderous intentions). But the episodes rattle along at a furious pace and are quite fun to watch (they even make the superb Hickson series seem a bit po faced and serious - although that series had plenty of wry humour as well). In fact this new version is so different that it contrasts well with the approach of the earlier series (and they have a few different plot twists). Both series are very well filmed, and both series are worth owning.

Not at all as bad as some people seem to think.
Now really, I think Joan Hickson was the absolute best Marple as well, but the simple fact is that Hickson's Marple, Rutherford's Marple and McEwan's Marple are very different people. So if you just forget about comparing the three and just take this interpretation for what it is, you can't really say it's that bad. It may be different from the Marple you're used too, McEwan's Marple is sharper than Hickson's, maybe a bit more dangerous and less innoccent. But not really worse, just different.

I've seen all three interpretations and I guess the trick to enjoying them all is just trying not to compare but taking every single one for what it's worth. And you'll see, while I personnaly find that Joan Hickson IS Miss Marple, McEwan is also very convincing as the snooping old lady. And really, four episodes for this price, what are you loosing by giving it a go?

And to everyone moaning about how they've changed the plot, be grateful they did. If everyone has already read the books and seen the Hickson series, what would be the point in buying this new series if not to see what they've made of it. And I for one like what I see.