Artivels Undescribable Perfection

SunnyHello Nice effects though.

Matrixiole Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

dakjets Joan Hickson as Miss Marple is simply the best. I certainly understand why Agatha Christie herself waned Hickson to play Miss Marple. (she once said to Hickson that she would be perfect for the role). Years later, and after Christies death, her wish came true.In this TV movie, and all the others Joan Hickson portraits Miss Marple in a wisdom, and quit way. She is intense and alert in the role, but also withdrawn and quiet. This is one of my all time favorite films based on the great Agatha Christies novels. The story builds up the suspense, and there are a great set of characters. The evil is hard to find, and Miss Marple really has a tough time figuring out whats going on. If you would like to see an older adaption of this kind of play, try out this one first. If you like top crime-stories, you won't be disappointed. They don't make them like this anymore.

Dr Jacques COULARDEAU Shining Miss Marple is after the murderer or murderess of a shining young orphan who fell in love with a rakish young man, the son of a very rich man who entrusted the case with Miss Marple on his death bed, in a way. The director plays with us like a cat with his mice, showing unexplained people, characters and actions to mislead us into believing all kinds of plots were being carried out around that poor innocent old lady that never lets anything go. She is helped by her unhappy nephew who was locked out of his family home by his own wife. Once again we have the relation between a daughter and her foster parents, three sisters, who saw her beauty, her shine and also her escaping into real life with both love and apprehension. The decor of the investigation is marvelous: a tour to homes and gardens in England and it starts beautifully with Blenheim Palace and ends around Abbey Ducis where the whole business started. She sure is both under narrow surveillance from the Home Office and well protected by several guardian angels even if seriously in danger from the real criminal. But it will take her some real stamina to face the situation and confound the culprit with the crime, while her nephew will be running after the son of that millionaire practicing his repentance with London's homeless people. That too is marvelously done: showing what England was in the mid-1950s. Quite an interesting adaptation with such a nice actress knitting in the corner of the drawing room of some hotel.Dr Jacques COULARDEAU

TheLittleSongbird While not quite as good as A Murder is Announced, which was not only delightful but almost surpassed the book, this is an excellent adaptation. And you know what, it is a huge improvement on the Geraldine McEwan version. Now I don't take pride in bad mouthing the Geraldine McEwan adaptations, two or three of them were surprisingly good, but others started off well but ruined by either a poor script, a confusing final solution or both. The Geraldine McEwan version suffered from a plodding pace, and both of the above problems, and I would consider second worst of the ITV adaptations, worst being Sittaford Mystery, which even on its own merits turned out dull and confusing. This adaptation of the book Nemesis is a huge improvement, it not only respects the book, despite a few liberties, but it pretty much rectifies the problems the ITV version had. Despite the added character of Lionel coming across as rather irritating, more to do with how he was written than how he was acted, and one or two moments of sluggish pacing, this is solid as an adaptation of a decent book. It is beautifully filmed, with nice photography and period detail, and the music as always is excellent. The performances are wonderful this time around, and make the most of an in general well-done script, with Joan Hickson brilliant as always as Miss Marple, and solid turns from Liz Fraser, Helen Cherry, Joanna Hole and Anna Cropper. Margaret Tyzack is outstanding though in a chilling and moving performance as Clothilde. Overall, well worth watching, better than the recent version in pretty much all departments. 9/10 Bethany Cox

mjtsmm2027 I thought this was probably the best of the Hickson adaptations. It also deviates from the book in many ways and is better for it. The new Marple is receiving criticism for being too altered from their source and yet this adaptation is completely. There is no Lionel in the book at all and Miss Temple's murder is completely different. There is something more moving about this tale than others, mainly as a result of the wonderful 3 sisters who as Miss marple says 'the world has changed and they haven't changed with it'. Fond memories of more carefree days long ago, a feeling which age can only destroy. Lovely adaptation and watchable on more than one occasion.