![Inspector Lewis 4-Volume PBS Masterpiece Mystery DVD Collection: The Complete Third, Fourth, Fifth & Sixth Seasons (Series 3 / Series 4 / Series 5 / Series 6) [Original UK Version Seasons]](https://web.archive.org/web/20210816085448im_/https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/518hVvCl1gL._BG0,0,0,0_FMpng_AC_SY160_SX160_.jpg)
![Future Diary: The Complete Series + OVA [Blu-ray]](https://web.archive.org/web/20210816085448im_/https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51rEIu6QT1L._BG0,0,0,0_FMpng_AC_SY160_SX160_.jpg)
![Trickster: The Complete Series [Blu-ray]](https://web.archive.org/web/20210816085448im_/https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51hHtWKh90L._BG0,0,0,0_FMpng_AC_SY160_SX160_.jpg)
![Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries: Series 3 [Blu-ray]](https://web.archive.org/web/20210816085448im_/https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51a-exaJRdL._BG0,0,0,0_FMpng_AC_SY160_SX160_.jpg)
When I was 9 or 10, I had a great aunt who read everything she could get her hands on, but was particularly fond of mysteries, and most especially, Agatha Christie mysteries. I remember her having a bookcase full of them in her house and when she began running out of room for new books, she passed these Christie's down to me, hoping to stimulate my interest in reading. Little did she know how well her ploy would work. By the time I was 14, I'd read most of Christie's books at least once, and have re-read many in the years since. I've always had my own ideas about how certain of her characters should look and present themselves so the casting in movie and TV versions has been interesting. As the first (as far as I know) Miss Marple, Margaret Rutherford wasn't at all what I'd pictured, although she was fun and mischevious, and played the part rather broadly in pictures that were more comedy than mystery. But really, I think Joan Hickson, in the 80's Miss Marple series, nailed the character better than anyone (even though Geraldine McEwen looked more like the character as described in the books). However, Julia McKenzie, in the most recent incarnation, does her own thing as a sturdier, more athletic Miss Marple, and while I don't think she's a physical match for the character, I like her all the same (maybe because she reminds a lot of another great aunt, the sister of the one mentioned above). It's just unfortunate that McKenzie must endure the quartet of misguided miseries that make up this set of discs from Masterpiece Mystery. These British TV movies run 93 minutes each, and all have different screenwriters and directors, none of whom seem ever to have done more than skim through the source material.
First up, The Good (3.5 stars): "They Do It With Mirrors". Joan Collins plays--what else--a rich and glamorous chum from Miss Marple's past. In from New York to visit (and harangue) her sister (Penelope Wilton), Joan suspects someone is slowly poisoning the woman. Enlisting Miss Marple to assess the situation and report back to her, Joan hightails it back to London (don't worry, she shows back up later). As sister Carrie Louise is also a great pal of Miss Marple, she welcomes her into the eccentric, possibly murderous household with nary a thought. These earlier scenes set in the country house are highly entertaining, and have the feel of a Wes Anderson movie by way of "You Can't Take It With You". The house's inhabitants are a hoot, that is until murder interferes, and finally, things take a tragic turn. There's a boy's reformatory next door that Carrie Louise's husband runs and it may or may not figure into the plot. With Brian Cox, Nigel Terry and Ian Ogilvy shining in supporting roles, and Alex Jennings and Sean Hughes hilarious as the two inept police inspectors, "They Do It With Mirrors" is, in my opinion, the best movie in this set.
Now, The Bad (2 stars): "A Pocket Full of Rye". In this poisonous confection, Miss Marple shows up at another country house to investigate the strangulation of her former maid and the poisoning of the Lord of the Manor. Matthew Macfadyen ("Ripper Street") is on hand as the competent chief inspector who is appreciative of Miss Marple's help; Rupert Graves and Ben Miles are the murdered man's sons, with Lucy Cohu and Liz White as their respective wives; Hattie Morahan is the dead man's daughter and Helen Baxendale is Lauren Bacall-ish as the glamorous housekeeper. With a cast like this, "A Pocket Full of Rye" should be much better but the writer's let their cast down at nearly every turn and any excitement to be had is lost in translation. I did, however, enjoy the drunken butler, who seems like an ever-so-slightly less randy relative of the drunken butler played by Boris Karloff in "The Old Dark House"; when he ogles Miss Marple in his room, you wonder if she'll get out with her virtue intact. It's the first time I've ever seen anyone eye Miss Marple in quite that way, and it's queasy, funny and curiously charming, all at the same time. I also liked the ending that has Miss Marple receiving a surprising discovery in the mail that effectively closes the case.
The Ugly (1 star): "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?". This adaptation of Christie's work is all over the place, with so many characters running hither and yon that it's hard to keep track of who's who and what their place is in the story. To be sure, some of these characters didn't occupy a place in the book, as the writers apparently thought it best to omit existing ones in favor of new, less interesting characters. The writers also changed much more, not the least of which is the insertion of Miss Marple, who doesn't even appear in the book. I really don't have a huge problem with Marple's intrusive presence here, although the introduction of her character into the action is ham-handed and feels really awkward. "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" starts out promisingly with an attractive pair of bored, rich, attractive young things thinking it would be a hoot to solve a murder, a decision they soon regret. Steered to the ubiquitous country house, they meet a group of ubiquitous eccentrics, though this bunch is considerably less fun than those in the previously mentioned film. Next door is a sanitarium run by a shifty doctor (Rik Mayall) who seems to keep his nervously gorgeous wife (Natalie Dormer) under lock and key. Of course, murder happens, and it's up to Miss Marple to save the day. The highly capable Samantha Bond plays the perpetually out-of-it lady of the house and Rafe Spall is the house pianist(?). Sean Biggerstaff and Georgia Moffett are also good as the two self-appointed young investigators, and the rest of the enormous cast moves in and out of scenes with shifty-eyed gravitas. All for naught as it's hard to make heads or tails of who's doing what to who, and even harder to care.
The Really Ugly (0.5 stars): "Murder Is Easy". I must admit that "Murder Is Easy" is in my top 5 Christie favorites so to see what the screenwriters did to this had me more than a little miffed. To put it mildly. Once again, I didn't so much mind them injecting Miss Marple into the proceedings (she was not present in the novel) although she seems ingratiatingly nosy here as well as terribly out-of-place. However, the elimination of key characters from the book and the creation of new ones is very grating, and the changing of the killer's motive and background is stupid and unforgivable, as is the entirely new climax which completely robs this film of any iota of suspense. The premise of Christie's novel is excellent: a series of "accidents" in a small village turn out not to be accidents at all, and a pair of would-be lovers risk their lives to expose the insane (and insanely clever) killer. Why the writers decided to make the changes they did is really puzzling to me, and I don't see that any of these changes improve on Christie's story. Benedict Cumberbatch (playing a cop visiting the village from his regular beat in Asia) seeks Miss Marple's advice on the case, when she noses her way into the village after a woman she meets on a train ends up mysteriously dead. In an early role, Russell Tovey plays a local constable, and Shirley Henderson is very good as a local woman who may hold the key to the mystery. Although this outing isn't as boring as "A Pocket Full of Rye" or as confusing as "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?", it's absolutely awful in the writing and direction.
On the plus side, the films in this set are all beautifully photographed and blessed with large casts of considerable talent that, in the end, can't save the day, even with the help of Miss Marple. One can't help but wonder what's next for these screenwriters. Miss Marple dropping in for tea at 221B Baker Street after Watson is mysteriously poisoned? Miss Marple tagging along with Tom Hanks in the next "Da Vinci Code" sequel? Miss Marple stepping in for "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo?" The screenwriters of these four films should stop trying to fix what isn't broken and appreciate that the Mistress of Crime knew what she was doing when she wrote the original novels.
Customers who viewed this item also viewed
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customers who bought this item also bought
Page 1 of 1 Start overPage 1 of 1
Customer reviews
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Kunde
Anfangs skeptisch - jetzt ein Fan
Reviewed in Germany on January 9, 2021Verified Purchase
Irina
Schöne aufgemachte Box, inhaltlich leider weit vom Original
Reviewed in Germany on January 27, 2021Verified Purchase
MaryB
Agatha Christie???
Reviewed in Germany on March 29, 2020Verified Purchase
Paul Seidl
**(¯`v'¯)*-LICHEN DANK!*(¯`v'¯)*SPITZENKLASSE*(¯`v'¯)* GERNE WIEDER! *(¯`v'¯)*
Reviewed in Germany on January 21, 2021Verified Purchase
Amazon Kunde
Bewertung
Reviewed in Germany on December 27, 2020Verified Purchase
