Agatha Christie: Poirot-Death on the Nile (2003)

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General		Extras
Category	Mystery	Main Menu Audio
Rating
Year Of Production	2003
Running Time	97:41
RSDL / Flipper	No/No	Cast & Crew
Start Up	Ads Then Menu
Region Coding	1,2,3,4,5,6	Directed By	Peter Barber-Fleming Edward Bennett John Bruce Ross Devenish
Studio Distributor	Roadshow Home Entertainment	Starring	David Suchet Hugh Fraser Philip Jackson Pauline Moran
Case	Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip
RPI	$19.95	Music	Christopher Gunning Christopher Gunning Christopher Gunning

Video		Audio
Pan & Scan/Full Frame	None	English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s)
Widescreen Aspect Ratio	1.75:1
16x9 Enhancement
Video Format	576i (PAL)
Original Aspect Ratio	1.75:1	Miscellaneous
Jacket Pictures	No
Subtitles	None	Smoking	Yes
		Annoying Product Placement	No
		Action In or After Credits	No

     The very name, Agatha Christie, evokes a certain genre of storytelling. It hints of aristocratic ennui and intrigue - of drama and derring-do - and, of course, of murder most horrid. The writer herself has managed to maintain her popularity long after her own death in 1976, in her 86th year, so much so that her official website claims she is outsold by only the Bible and Shakespeare. Whether that claim remains true may be the subject of some conjecture, but her depictions of the haughty rich, and her capacity to weave outrageously tangled storylines with rather preposterous but enchanting conclusions have certainly proven to have long term appeal.

     ABC DVD has recently released 4 episodes of the wonderful occasional series which feature the incomparable David Suchet as Hercule Poirot, Christie's beloved Belgian detective.

     The four delicious confectionaries on offer are:

• Death on the Nile (the subject of this review)
• The Hollow
• Sad Cypress.... and
• Five Little Pigs

      Linnet Ridgeway (Emily Blunt) has everything. Beauty, wealth, comfort, admiration, and recently, a rather dashing new husband, Simon Doyle (JJ Feild). Unfortunately, she stole her husband from her 'very best friend' Jacqueline De Bellafort (Emma Griffiths Malin) and Jackie's not the kind of girl to let go easily. To add to her deep aggrievance, Linnet continued her outrage by also 'stealing' her planned honeymoon with Simon, on a river boat on the Nile. She decides to haunt their every step, making veiled threats about their personal safety.

     As luck would have it, Msr Hercule Poirot is taking that same boat trip on the Nile. When Linnet is found dead in her bed, with a bullet in her head (oh my, what an appalling rhyme!), the "J" written in her blood above her tends to make it an open and shut case of guilt for Miss De Bellafort. But she has a perfect alibi - and several others on the cruise emerge as having equally shady pasts and unsatisfactory dealings with the late Mrs Doyle. The questions (and the bodies) pile up in this rather elegant classic - one of Christie's most loved stories.

      Death on the Nile was directed by Andy Wilson with cinematography by Martin Fuhrer. It is an eminently satisfying viewing experience.

Video

     This is presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1 16x9 enhanced.

     This is quality television which has been respectfully transferred. It is incredibly crisp and laden with detail in both the shadows and the highlights. There is no evidence of low level noise at all.

     The colour range is strong, accurate and rich.

     This presentation is largely artefact free with the exception of some very minor aliasing.

     This is a single layered disc, so there is no layer change with which to contend.

Video Ratings Summary

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

Audio

     The soundtrack is delivered in English Dolby Digital 2.0 and is crisp, clean and distortion free.

     The dialogue is superlative throughout and the audio sync presents no problems. There are no subtitles available.

     The original music is completely appropriate for this piece - providing an atmospheric background.

     There is a significant sense of direction in the soundscape, although there is little subwoofer activity.

Audio Ratings Summary

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

Menu

     The menu is static with theme music.

      There are no extras provided on either region's disc, so I'm sticking with the PAL Region 4 version.

     This is a fine representation of a dearly loved crime story. It had a strong film version made in the 70s with Sir Peter Ustinov as Poirot, so there is more to compare than with most of these discs. It has been very well delivered with crisp, subtle presentation. Highly recommended.

Video
Audio
Extras
Plot
Overall