Fidelity to text: 3 knives It took lots of changes to turn this slight story into an episode-length Poirot. Most importantly, the victim Flossie Carrington is alive at the beginning of the story and that radically alters the tone of the ending. Quality of movie on its own: 5 knives Sad, moving, emotionally dark, and […]
Fidelity to text: 4 guns It’s very close despite choosing different parts of the novel to keep as opposed to the 1978 version. Quality of movie on its own: 3 1/2 guns Very good, fast-moving, keeps one important character analysis scene which should have been kept in the 1978 version, but there were errors. Read […]
Fidelity to text: 4 thieves An eight-page story needs embellishment. Each addition deepened and enlarged the scope while remaining true to the text. Quality of movie on its own: 5 thieves Beautiful fusing of vintage newsreel footage, a locked-room mystery, and some classic misdirection Agatha would have approved of. Read more of Teresa’s Agatha Christie […]
Teresa reviews “Death on the Nile” (1978) and found it a delightful, if murderous, way to enjoy the ancient monuments of Egypt. Fidelity to text: 4 guns. It’s very close, allowing a complex novel to be simplified into a coherent movie. All the important people remain, plus an added cobra, although how the murderer found […]
Teresa reviews “How Does Your Garden Grow” (1991) and thought it blossomed thanks to the help of Miss Lemon. Fidelity to text: 4 poison bottles. Extras, surprises, and enhancements galore, all in the service of both Miss Lemon and the story. Quality of movie on its own: 5 poison bottles. A flower-laden episode from Miss […]
Fidelity to text: 2 weapons (for the novel); 2 1/2 weapons (for the stage play) Changes galore and all of them either bad, or badly handled. Quality of movie on its own: 2 weapons. This should have been good. Look at that international “A” cast and that gorgeous setting. But it dragged, it was blah, […]
Fidelity to text: 3 jewel thieves The movie star changes nationality and a suspicious diamond buyer shows up, as do Japp and Miss Lemon. There are other changes and enhancements, not all of which work. Quality of movie on its own: 2 1/2 jewel thieves They can’t all be gems. Murky, overly convoluted, and motivations […]
Fidelity to text: 4 1/2 weapons This version is truer to the novel than the stage play. However, our hero and heroine still escape, but with a backstory much closer to the novel. Quality of movie on its own: 4 weapons The quality of the film is terrible. Blurry, out of focus, poor sound so […]
Fidelity to text: 3 ransom notes. Plenty of changes, including updating motivation to match the changed date. All the changes worked, enhancing a slight story. Quality of movie on its own: 4 1/2 ransom notes. I really wanted this to be longer; it needed more detail about motivation. If you’re not up on British history, […]
Fidelity to text: 4 1/2 knives. It’s just about perfect except for Poirot. This version lets him get persuaded a little too easily. He’s normally dedicated to justice, and the film didn’t show his crisis of conscience well. Quality of movie on its own: 4 1/2 knives. So many stars! So much talent! They each […]