Product Description

You're in good company with Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov), Agatha Christie's impeccable Belgian sleuth who's always at his best at chic soirees where the hospitality is warm...and the corpses are cold. Match wits with the master in this full-course banquet of mystery involving a country-house game of murder turned real (Dead Man's Folly), a move star turned amateur detective (Murder in Three Acts), and a dinner part turned deadly (Thirteen at Dinner). Bon appetit!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #19879 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2006-09-12
• Rating: Unrated
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Subtitled in: English, Spanish, Korean
• Number of discs: 3
• Running time: 282 minutes

Amazon.com
Before the suave David Suchet, there was the imposing, twinkly Peter Ustinov as Agatha Christie's unflappable Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Ustinov's Poirot, who appeared in several TV films of Christie's works in the mid-'80s, is not as metrosexual as Suchet's. He plays Poirot as world-weary and ever-so-slightly rumpled--despite the jaunty upturned trademark mustache. Thirteen for Dinner features Poirot trying to solve the murder of one Lord Edgeware, investigating, among others, the lovely mystery woman played by a witchy Faye Dunaway. (And in a fun bit of foreshadowing, Suchet appears here in the role of Poirot's sidekick Japp.) Dead Man's Folly finds Poirot and an old friend, a mystery writer played by Jean Stapleton, at a "murder hunt" party at which the dead body really does turn up dead. Murder in Three Acts finds Poirot far afield in sunny Acapulco, at a glorious villa belonging to a suave actor played by Tony Curtis. A random death-by-martini at a posh party opens the door to the possibility of murder--handy that Poirot is there to help the local constables. The supporting cast features top '80s TV actors like Emma Samms as the actor's arm candy, and Diana Muldaur (the wicked Rosalind Shays on L.A. Law. The production values are also topnotch--with gorgeous location shots in Mexico adding both romance but also unnerving isolation to the proceedings. As Ustinov's Poirot says after the dreadful event, "Logic tells me it's not murder--but instinct keeps tapping me on the shoulder." --A.T. Hurley

Customer Reviews

entertaining
Peter Ustinov basically plays himself with an outrageous accent in his Poirot films. For those of us who like Ustinov that may be enough. But you can't help comparing him with David Suchet, which isn't really fair, since Suchet is the quintessential Poirot. Hastings, whom Christie herself didn't care for, is played as a real idiot in these films, and it is grating to see Ustinov put him down so dreadfully. How is Hastings supposed to have worked in intelligence with half a brain? Suchet manages to keep some kindness in dealing with Hastings in his series. And Hastings is better played there.

So why do I think these films are entertaining? First, the scenery. There was a real effort put forth by the art and location departments. Very seldom do you feel like you are looking at a stage set. There is also the nostalgia of seeing stars of yesteryear - Jean Stapleton, Tony Curtis, Faye Dunaway, etc., ham it up in their parts. But for me, the real treat is to see David Suchet play Inspector Japp in "Thirteen at Dinner". That's why this set is a keeper for me. Suchet is a great actor and he does a good job with Japp (though not as good as the rumpled, loveable Japp in his own series), with only a mannerism here and there foreshadowing his later portrayals of Poirot. The mysteries are no mystery for those of us who have read Christie and watched all the renditions of Christie, but they're fun to watch portrayed differently. As another reviewer said, Ustinov's 'Evil Under the Sun' and 'Death on the Nile' are probably better done. But these are entertaining as well. You might want to rent them first to see if you really want to own them.

The one and only Poroit
Peter Ustinov is Hercule Poroit, without question. In this three dic set, as well as in all other Poroit movies he has played in, Ustinov is the witty, funny French, I mean Belgian detective that he has always been. Overall, the three movies do not quite compare with Death on the Nile, or Evil under the sun(mostly because of the fact that these three were filmed in the 80s), but it is definately a set of movies any mystery fan would want on their shelves. I just wish he made more.

Ustinov at His Finest
Many people are only acquainted with Peter Ustinov as Hercule Poirot, but I recall his memorable performances in "The Egyptian" and "Quo Vadis." His Hercule Poirot is delightful. Of equal enjoyment is the actor portraying his long-time (and sometimes long-suffering) friend Arthur Hastings.

Here, as in the other full-length films of Ustinov's Poirot, the casts are an excellent cross-section of American and British actors and actresses, such as Faye Dunaway and Tony Curtis. Incidentally, you will discover that David Suchet (whose Poirot was highly successful on the TV "Mystery" series) appeared in "Thirteen at Dinner" as Inspector Japp.

These TV movies are just the right length and sustain your interest from first minute to last. The locations, which range from a stately manor in England to a cliff-top home in Acapulco, are breathtaking. It would be a crime if you didn't own this excellent collection.