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From Amazon.com
Miss Marple is back, and what an invigorating, happy experience this quartet of British television productions is for both mystery fans and casual viewers. The luminous Geraldine McEwan (Vanity Fair), following in the footsteps of Helen Hayes, Angela Lansbury, Margaret Rutherford, and others, essays Agatha Christie's aging, amateur sleuth as a discreet observer, knowing friend, and judicious dispenser of wisdom during murder investigations. But what really makes these crisp adaptations a delight is the endless parade of familiar actors playing those numerous suspects, baffled police, and innocent observers who routinely populate Christie's glossy, whodunit landscapes. It's hard not to be dazzled by supporting casts that include Tara Fitzgerald, Robert Powell, Simon Callow, Joanna Lumley, Ian Richardson, Jane Asher, Miriam Margolyes, Tim McInnerny, Herbert Lom, and Jenny Agutter, all nestled into gorgeous, post-World War II backdrops, usually in the English countryside.
This boxed set includes "The Murder at the Vicarage," based on Christie's 1930 book about the killing of one hugely unlikable Colonel Protheroe (Derek Jacobi) in Jane Marple's pretty home village of St. Mary Mead. Typically, there is no end of likely suspects, but what makes the investigation unusual is a pair of competing confessions from two illicit lovers (Jason Flemyng, Janet McTeer). Stephen Tompkinson (Ballykissangel) is very good as a police inspector who slowly develops admiration for Miss Marple's keen mind. "The Body in the Library" finds Marple aiding the brassy Dolly Bantry (Lumley) after the latter finds the body of an unknown woman in her library. Callow is wonderful as another cop who initially underestimates the heroine's gifts. "A Murder Is Announced," in which a killing is advertised before it happens, and "4:50 from Paddington," about a murder without a body, round out the set with imaginative plots and memorable performances. Don't miss the special featurette in which McEwan and others talk about the endless appeal of Miss Marple. --Tom Keogh
Description
She's back! Proper, demure, and sharp as a tack, Agatha Christie's beloved Miss Marple returns to the limelight in sparkling new adaptations of four classic Christie novels. Geraldine McEwan (The Magdalene Sisters, Mapp & Lucia) is the ladylike sleuth, a wispy senior citizen who blows the police professionals out of the water with her keen insight and shrewdly analytical nature. Fearless and uncommonly wise to the worst in human nature, Marple has lived a long time-and she's paid attention.
As seen on the PBS Mystery! series, these lavish 21st-century productions are rich in post-WWII period atmosphere and delicious Christie wit, with star-studded casts that include Joanna Lumley, Derek Jacobi, Tara Fitzgerald, Ian Richardson, Janet McTeer, Zok Wanamaker, Simon Callow, James Fox, John Hannah, and Celia Imrie.
The Mysteries:
Murder at the Vicarage
The Body in the Library
A Murder Is Announced
4:50 From Paddington
DVD special features include an hour-long behind-the-scenes featurette with cast and crew interviews, a history of Miss Marple adaptations, a photo gallery and more.
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Most helpful customer reviews
10 of 13 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
quite an improvement,
By A Customer
This review is from: Agatha Christie's Marple: The Complete First Series (DVD)
I enjoy this new version of miss Marple who is a lot more lively and daring. I think it is very refreshing!
20 of 30 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
One Simple Question--Why?,
By A Customer
This review is from: Agatha Christie's Marple: The Complete First Series (DVD)
Although this entire new series is hardly worth a gigabyte of virtual ink to review, I feel compelled to comment here as a devoted fan of Agatha Christie's formidable female sleuth. Most obviously, actress Joan Hickson playing Marple in the previous BBC series was the perfect embodiment of the character--combining a quiet strength; fierce intelligence; a dash of dry humor; and when required, an unemotional sense of justice unmoved by the sentimental. Although not all gems, each of the Hickson Marple films were both respectful of their source material and entertainingly executed. Point for point, it is precisely each of these merits that are grossly lacking in the new Marple series. It appears that as a whole, the current outings have been slickly, although not cleverly engineered to cater to the American TV-viewing market. While the cinematography and production/costume design are consistently excellent throughout, the British casts seem to have been encouraged to play their parts to caricatural extremes enough to render them into Clue game pieces. And that brings us to actress Geraldine McEwan's inane portrayal of the lead role. While certainly a competent actress, Miss McEwan's Marple constantly plays her scenes with a mischievous but vacuous grin, obliterating any sense of Christie's serious intention--that the seemingly polite spinster is in fact a personification of Nemesis, bringing evildoers to justice. And space here is too limited to even begin to list the senseless departures from the original (and purposeful!) storylines of Christie's novels. In short, having suffered through the McEwan Marples, one must ask the simple question as to why they even bothered.
7 of 10 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not for purists or Hickson fans - but can still be enjoyed if...,
By
This review is from: Agatha Christie's Marple: The Complete First Series (DVD)
It's curious that Amazon's product review mentions Geraldine McEwan "following in the footsteps of Helen Hayes, Angela Lansbury, Margaret Rutherford, and others...", omitting Joan Hickson, the quintessential Miss Marple (I guess Joan Hickson is "and others").If you are a Christie purist, you will likely be appalled at the liberties taken with her stories and McEwan's campy interpretation of the shrewdly intelligent Miss Marple. The series is badly named. It is not Agatha Christie's Marple; it is an adaptation of Christie's stories. The writers, in "updating" the themes, have changed the characters and plotlines, given Miss Marple "a past", and there seems to be a fixation with lesbianism. However, I gave this series 3 stars because it is watchable - but only if you do so without comparing it with the Hickson series and without getting indignant about the changes from Christie's original stories. Watch it for what it is - a mystery romp with a "spot the celebrities" as a bonus. Murder at the Vicarage (Derek, Jacobi, Tim McInnerny, Herbert Lom) The Body in the Library (Joanna Lumley, Simon Callow, Ian Richardson) A Murder Is Announced (Zoe Wannamaker, Cherie Lunghi) 4:50 From Paddington (John Hannah, Celia Imrie, David Warner)
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