Agatha Christie-Marple-The Body in the Library (2004) |
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General | Extras | ||
Category | Mystery | Main Menu Audio | |
Rating | |||
Year Of Production | 2004 | ||
Running Time | 93:54 (Case: 95) | ||
RSDL / Flipper | No/No | Cast & Crew | |
Start Up | Ads Then Menu | ||
Region Coding | 1,2,3,4,5,6 | Directed By | Andy Wilson |
Studio
Distributor |
Roadshow Home Entertainment |
Starring |
Geraldine McEwan Ian Richardson Tara Fitzgerald Jamie Theakston Giles Oldershaw Florence Hoath Joanna Lumley James Fox Simon Callow Ben Miller Emma Cooke Robin Soans Bruce Mackinnon |
Case | Amaray-Transparent-Secure Clip | ||
RPI | $19.95 | Music | Dominik Scherrer |
Video | Audio | ||
Pan & Scan/Full Frame | None | English Dolby Digital 2.0 (224Kb/s) | |
Widescreen Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | ||
16x9 Enhancement |
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Video Format | 576i (PAL) | ||
Original Aspect Ratio | 1.78:1 | Miscellaneous | |
Jacket Pictures | No | ||
Subtitles | None | 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 recently been brought to life again in a series of four Granada Television telemovies each. The Poirot ones arrived first and were followed by these ones featuring Miss Marple. Both series were shown on ABC television here in Australia and both have been released as a series of DVDs by Roadshow.
As you would expect from Agatha Christie, all four of these new Miss Marple (played here by the wonderful Geraldine McEwan) 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. Accordingly, for each movie I will describe the crime and the main characters involved.
The Body in the Library starts with the finding of a body in the library of Gossington Hall, the country home of a friend of Miss Marple, Dolly Bantry (Joanna Lumley) and her slightly dotty husband Colonel Arthur Bantry (James Fox). The story is set in the early 1950s.No-one in the house seems to know the young blonde girl or how she came to be dead in their library. Dolly calls Miss Marple in to investigate.
The other characters who become involved are:
An enjoyable Agatha Christie mystery well presented by a quality cast. It has a good twist at the end. Recommended for fans of this style of mystery.
The video quality is good but not quite as good as you might expect for such a recent production.
The feature is presented in a 1.78:1 aspect ratio 16x9 enhanced which is most likely the original aspect ratio.
The picture was reasonably clear and sharp throughout although certainly not crisp. The sharpness was also affected by light grain throughout. There was no evidence of low level noise. The shadow detail was very good.
The colour was very good with no issues to report.
The only noticeable artefacts were some small bits of edge enhancement and some very occasional specks.
There are no subtitles which is disappointing.
Sharpness | |
Shadow Detail | |
Colour | |
Grain/Pixelization | |
Film-To-Video Artefacts | |
Film Artefacts | |
Overall |
The audio quality is very good.
This DVD contains an English Dolby Digital 2.0 stereo soundtrack encoded at 224 Kb/s.
Dialogue was mostly clear and easy to understand, however, some lines were difficult to make out. There was no problem with audio sync.
The score of this film by Dominik Scherrer is very good indeed, surprisingly so for a television production. It adds significantly to the mood of the show. The music sounds very warm and full.
The surround speakers were used quite extensively for music when played using Dolby ProLogic II.
The subwoofer was used to add bass to the music but this was more a function of my amp's bass management than anything else.
Dialogue | |
Audio Sync | |
Clicks/Pops/Dropouts | |
Surround Channel Use | |
Subwoofer | |
Overall |
None.
The menu was very simple only allowing for scene selection. Music plays over a still from the show.
NOTE: To view non-R4 releases, your equipment needs to be multi-zone compatible and usually also NTSC compatible.
The set of four movies are available as a box set in Region 1 which includes the following special features:
As the local releases include no extras, this is obviously a better solution.
The video quality is good.
The audio quality is very good.
The disc has no extras..
Video | |
Audio | |
Extras | |
Plot | |
Overall |
Review Equipment | |
DVD | Pioneer DV667A DVD-V DVD-A SACD, using Component output |
Display | Sony FD Trinitron Wega KV-AR34M36 80cm. Calibrated with Digital Video Essentials (PAL). This display device is 16x9 capable. This display device has a maximum native resolution of 576i (PAL)/480i (NTSC). |
Audio Decoder | Built in to amplifier/receiver. Calibrated with Video Essentials. |
Amplification | Pioneer VSX-511 |
Speakers | Bose 201 Direct Reflecting (Front), Phillips SB680V (Surround), Phillips MX731 (Center), Yamaha YST SW90 (Sub) |