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PLEASE NOTE: Michael D's is currently in READ ONLY MODE. Anything submitted will simply not be written to the database.
Lots of stuff is still broken, but at least reviews can now be looked up and read.
Agatha Christie's Marple-A Caribbean Mystery (2013)

Agatha Christie's Marple-A Caribbean Mystery (2013)

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Released 8-Jan-2014

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Details At A Glance

General Extras
Category Mystery None
Rating Rated PG
Year Of Production 2013
Running Time 87:50
RSDL / Flipper No/No Cast & Crew
Start Up Menu
Region Coding 4 Directed By Charlie Palmer
Andy Wilson
John Strickland
Tom Shankland
Studio
Distributor
ITV Global
Roadshow Home Entertainment
Starring None Given
Case Amaray-Opaque
RPI ? Music None Given


Video Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame None English Dolby Digital 2.0
Widescreen Aspect Ratio 1.78:1
16x9 Enhancement
16x9 Enhanced
Video Format 576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio 1.78:1 Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures No
Subtitles English for the Hearing Impaired Smoking No
Annoying Product Placement No
Action In or After Credits No

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Plot Synopsis

    Agatha Christie created two of the most enduring characters in crime fiction, Hercule Poirot & Miss Jane Marple. Both of these characters have over the last few years been brought to life in a series of telemovies. Both series have been shown on ABC television here in Australia and both have been released as a series of DVDs by Roadshow. Unlike Hercule Poirot where the stories are mostly set in the 1930s, these are set in the late 1940s after World War II.

    As you would expect from Agatha Christie, all of these new Miss Marple (played here by Julia McKenzie) stories are full of murder, twists, lies, red herrings and deceptions. It is impossible to describe the plot in detail without giving away the story and spoiling the twists.

    This is the first of three movies which were made for ITV in 2013 and were shown here in 2014. These three form Season 6 of the show, which began in 2004. This is the third season with Julia McKenzie as the famous sleuth. In A Caribbean Mystery Miss Marple is staying at a luxury resort in the Caribbean when a guest dies shortly after arriving, seemingly from a heart attack brought on by exotic food and Planter's Punch. Miss Marple however is not so sure as investigates as the body count rises. This episode is based on one of the original Miss Marple novels. The show guest stars Hermione Norris amongst a cast of lesser known faces.

    As usual with this series the production values are high with excellent costumes, a fine ensemble cast and a fine score. This is a particularly fine example of the series with a great tone, quality acting and lots of intrigue. Fans of the series will definitely enjoy this one and fans of the book should also be pleased as I believe it sticks closely to the original story.

   Recommended. This episode is available separately or as part of an upcoming Season 6 box set.

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Transfer Quality

Video

    The video quality is very good.

    The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is most likely the original aspect ratio.

    The picture was quite clear and sharp throughout without being overly crisp. There was some mild macro-blocking in backgrounds. There was no evidence of low level noise.The shadow detail was good.

    The colour was very good with no major issues to report.

    There was some edge enhancement here and there along with some occasional light grain.

    There are subtitles in English for the hearing impaired which are clear and easy to read.
    

Video Ratings Summary
Sharpness
Shadow Detail
Colour
Grain/Pixelization
Film-To-Video Artefacts
Film Artefacts
Overall

Audio

    The audio quality is very good.

    This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack.

    Dialogue was clear and easy to understand and there was no problem with audio sync.

    The score of this film adds significantly to the mood of the show. The music sounds quite good.

    The surround speakers and subwoofer were not used.

Audio Ratings Summary
Dialogue
Audio Sync
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts
Surround Channel Use
Subwoofer
Overall

Extras

    None.

Menu

    The menu was very simple only allowing for scene selection and turning on and off of subtitles.

 

R4 vs R1

NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.

    The Region 1 release of season has not yet been released and this episode does not seem to be available separately.

Summary

    Another fine installment in the series of Miss Marple mysteries featuring Julia McKenzie.

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The disc has no extras.

Ratings (out of 5)

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall

© Daniel Bruce (Do you need a bio break?)
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
Review Equipment
DVDSONY BDP-S760 Blu-ray, using HDMI output
DisplaySharp LC52LE820X Quattron 52" Full HD LED-LCD TV . Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum. This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 1080p.
Audio DecoderBuilt into amplifier. Calibrated with Ultimate DVD Platinum.
AmplificationMarantz SR5005
SpeakersMonitor Audio Bronze 2 (Front), Bronze Centre & Bronze FX (Rears) + Sony SAW2500M Subwoofer

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