Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26412 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-04-10
• Rating: Suitable for 12 years and over
• Formats: Box set, PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 24

DVD Description

This 24-disc box set contains the complete collection of Agatha Christie's mysteries featuring Hercule Poirot--the meticulously-moustached Belgian detective who relies on his "little grey cells" to solve the most daunting of crimes.

Synopsis

David Suchet stars as the lead in Agatha Christie's Poirot - The Complete Collection--a crime drama series set in the 1930s. Whether he's on holiday or going about his business in Central London, Poirot finds himself exercising his "little grey cells" by helping police investigate crimes and murders, regardless of whether or not they ask for his help. He's often accompanied by his trusty sidekick Captain Hastings (Hugh Fraser), and their paths often cross with Scotland Yard's Inspector Japp (Philip Jackson) who has a grudging respect for the meticulous, if eccentric, private detective.

Customer Reviews

Contents
For everyone who has been asking, contents listed below. This box set is composed of 6 collections with 4 discs per collection:

COLLECTION 1

Disc 1
The Adventure of the Clapham Cook
Murder in the Mews
The Adventure of Johnnie Waverly
Four and Twenty Blackbirds

Disc 2
The Third Floor Flat
Triangle at Rhodes
Problem at Sea
The Incredible Theft

Disc 3
The King of Clubs
The Dream

Disc 4
Peril at End House
The Veiled Lady
The Lost Mine

COLLECTION 2

Disc 1
The Cornish Mystery
The Disappearance of Mr. Davenheim
Double Sin
The Adventure of the Cheap Flat

Disc 2
The Kidnapped Prime Minister
The Adventure of the Western Star

Disc 3
The Mysterious Affair at Styles
How Does Your Garden Grow?
The Million Dollar Bond Robbery

Disc 4
The Plymouth Express
Wasp's Nest
The Tragedy at Marsden Manor
The Double Clue

COLLECTION 3

Disc 1
The Mystery of the Spanish Chest
The Theft of the Royal Ruby
The Affair at the Victory Ball
The Mystery of the Hunter's Lodge

Disc 2
ABC Murders

Disc 3
Death in the Clouds

Disc 4
One, Two, Buckle my Shoe

COLLECTION 4

Disc 1
The Adventure of the Egyptian Tomb
The Underdog
Yellow Iris
The Case of the Missing Will

Disc 2
The Adventure of the Italian Nobleman
The Chocolate Box
The Dead Man's Mirror
The Jewel Robbery at the Grant Metropolitan

Disc 3
Hercule Poirot's Christmas
Hickory, Dickory Dock

Disc 4
Murder on the Links
Dumb Witness

COLLECTION 5

Disc 1
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
Lord Edgware Dies

Disc 2
Murder in Mesopotamia
Evil Under the Sun

Disc 3
Five Little Pigs
Sad Cypress
[Extras: Interviews with David Suchet and Margaret Mitchell]
[Extras: Interviews with Margaret Mitchell]

Disc 4
Death on the Nile
The Hollow
[Extras: Bonus Material]

COLLECTION 6

Disc 1
The Mystery of the Blue Train

Disc 2
After the Funeral

Disc 3
Cards on the Table

Disc 4
Taken at the Flood
[Extras: Poirot - Behind the Scenes]

Absolutely superb.
It will come as no surprise to hear once again from a reviewer the accolade of the definitive Poirot being given to David Suchet but he just so very simply is. This is undoubtedly the most important part of any dramatisation of a fictional character, the actor used to play the part needs to be right. There are however at least two other elements which make Agatha Christie's Poirot such a resounding success.

First, there is the attention to detail in both the visual aspects and the stories themselves. Visually, the Poirot episodes are sumptuous and rich and the use of period props and vehicles is an outstanding achievement which to my mind has never been bettered in any period piece. In terms of the stories, things are often easier to write than they are to film and I'm thinking here of the balloon used in Hercule Poirot's Christmas or role of the wirehaired fox terrier, "Bob" in Dumb Witness and many others besides yet they all seem to work and the producers have used no easy shortcuts to tell the stories, by and large each of the crimes and investigations are as they are down on paper in the original books.

The other key ingredient to the success of thise seies is the supporting cast. While Suchet is the definitive Poirot, the same can be said of Hugh Fraser's Hastings, Philip Jackson's Japp and Pauline Moran's Miss Lemon. Staunch and solid support is offered throughout the series by these characters.

The series taken as a whole also turns out to be a little bit of a spot the famous face with further one-off great support from a variety of acting talent including James Fox, Christopher Ecclestone, Nicholas Farrell, David Soul, Zoe Wannamaker and Elliot Gould.

This box set may not actually be a definitive collection as they are still making Poirot stories with the much awaited Murder on the Orient Express due out in 2008 but for so many excellent stories filmed to perfection with excellent production values and great casts led by a superb lead actor, this package offers outstaning value for money.

Superb - Buy it
I agree with Mr Selitrenny - David Suchet is the definitive Poirot.

What makes this box set such good value is the visual and audio quality. Okay it's not 5.1 (Digital Mono) but I remember the series when it was on TV and the quality of the DVDs is far better.

What also shines through is:

- the quality of the acting;
- the comedy moments usually brought about by the impact of Miss Lemon and Captain Hastings - who have far bigger parts than in the books; and
- the excellent production values that mean that if you are like me and read the books a long time ago and can't quite remember the endings, each program is very cleverly put together.

I was lucky and managed to get it when it was cheaper than it currently appears to be on Amazon and other websites. My advice is still to buy it. You will be hooked and want to watch the whole set from start to finish.