Agatha Christie's Marple-Endless Night (2013)

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General		Extras
Category	Mystery	None
Rating
Year Of Production	2013
Running Time	87
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Menu
Region Coding	4	Directed By	None Given
Studio Distributor	ITV Global Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	Julia McKenzie
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
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

     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 third 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 started with Season 1 back in 2004. This is the third season with Julia McKenzie as the famous sleuth. In Endless Night Miss Marple is staying with a recently widowed friend and meets a young working class man who dreams of building a house on a plot of land known as Gypsy's Acre, which is supposed to be cursed according to local legend. He falls for an American heiress, Ellie Goodman, who also is keen to build the house. However, when her friend Greta Anderson arrives things start to take a turn toward the murderous and Miss Marple must investigate the curse.

     As usual with this series the production values are high with excellent costumes, a fine ensemble cast and a fine score. This is a very good example of the series which is not directly based on any of the Miss Marple novels. Fans of the series will enjoy the episode regardless.

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

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

    None.

Menu

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

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

    The video quality is very good.

    The audio quality is very good.

    The disc has no extras.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall