Big-name cast as suspects of a murder committed in a luxurious touristic place and Ustinov trying to unravel the killer . Suspense and intrigue with Poirot on holidays in Albania . This whodunit deals with Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) as the Belgian sleuth man in he case of killing a rich , unpopular actress in an island during a luxury vacations . It is set in the kingdom of Tyrania , but it is a fictional land which was based on the country of Albania , the isle setting of Daphne's Island was also fictional . As trying to find how a millionaire (Colin Blakely) wound up with a phony diamond brings Hercule Poirot to an exclusive island resort frequented by the rich and famous . When a murder is committed, everyone has an alibi . He investigates the tourists and numerous suspects , all support cast (Jane Birkin , Nicholas Clay , Maggie Smith , Roddy McDowall , Sylvia Miles , James Mason , Denis Quilley , Diana Rigg) . Who is the killer? , can he find the guilty ? . After the clues have been shown we will get a chance to give the answer with Poirot finding out about the culprit at a twisted finale with outstanding surprises but are taken the murders from different viewpoints of everyone which it makes a little bit boring, pedestrian , endless and overlong.
The film is a detective story in which you are the detective . In the picture there is mystery , emotion , suspense , actors's interpretation are first-rate and wonderful outdoors from Majorca , Spain and the rout on the cruise ship . Interesting plot by screenwriter Anthony Shaffer , he once said of this : "The location is important , the island should be a star , just as the Nile steamer Death on the Nile (1978) and the Orient Express in the Murder on the Orient Express (1974) were stars" . Being second of three produced screenplays from novels by Agatha Christie written by Anthony Shaffer , the others were Death on the Nile (1978) and Appointment with death (1988) . At one point this movie was mooted as being the follow-up Agatha Christie film to Murder on Orient Express but the picture eventually arrived fourth in the Brabourne-Goodwin series after Death on the Nile (1978) and The crack mirror (1980) . The film relocates the provincial North Devon, England setting on Smuggler's Island off the Devonshire Coast from the Agatha Christie source 'Evil Under the Sun' novel to an island in the Adriatic Sea "somewhere west of Suez", a setting played by the exotic Spanish island location of Majorca . This location also was at the time the home of the film's director Guy Hamilton . The movie gets a lush costume design by Anthony Powell and adequate production design by Elliot Scott . Colorful and sunny cinematography by excellent cameraman Christopher Challis . Sensitive and atmospheric musical score by the classical Cole Porter . Magnificent performances from all-star-cast , a number of the cast had appeared in the earlier'producers Brabourne-Goodwin Agatha Christie movies . And Peter Ustinov acting is similar to Albert Finney (Murder on the Orient Express) . Ustinov starred various Hercule Poirot films such as : ¨Death on the Nile¨(John Guillermin) , this ¨Evil under the sun¨ (Guy Hamilton), ¨Appointment with death¨ (Michael Winner) and for TV in low budget as : ¨Murder in three acts¨,¨Dead man's folly¨ and ¨Thirteen at dinner ¨; but the best considered is Death on the Nile . ¨Evil under the sun¨ was made and released about forty-one years after Agatha Christie's source novel of the same name was first published in 1941 , being selected to be the 1982 Royal Film Performance ; this movie was the first ever filmed version of this story, it being remade with Poirot: Evil Under the Sun (2001) with David Suchet .
This film was professionally directed by Guy Hamilton though contains some flaws , poor edition and sometimes results to be slow moving. Being second and final Agatha Christie adaptation directed by Guy Hamilton , his first was The crack mirror (1980) . Rating : passable and acceptable , well worth watching . The flick will appeal to suspense lovers and Agatha Christie-Poirot novels buffs .
The film is a detective story in which you are the detective . In the picture there is mystery , emotion , suspense , actors's interpretation are first-rate and wonderful outdoors from Majorca , Spain and the rout on the cruise ship . Interesting plot by screenwriter Anthony Shaffer , he once said of this : "The location is important , the island should be a star , just as the Nile steamer Death on the Nile (1978) and the Orient Express in the Murder on the Orient Express (1974) were stars" . Being second of three produced screenplays from novels by Agatha Christie written by Anthony Shaffer , the others were Death on the Nile (1978) and Appointment with death (1988) . At one point this movie was mooted as being the follow-up Agatha Christie film to Murder on Orient Express but the picture eventually arrived fourth in the Brabourne-Goodwin series after Death on the Nile (1978) and The crack mirror (1980) . The film relocates the provincial North Devon, England setting on Smuggler's Island off the Devonshire Coast from the Agatha Christie source 'Evil Under the Sun' novel to an island in the Adriatic Sea "somewhere west of Suez", a setting played by the exotic Spanish island location of Majorca . This location also was at the time the home of the film's director Guy Hamilton . The movie gets a lush costume design by Anthony Powell and adequate production design by Elliot Scott . Colorful and sunny cinematography by excellent cameraman Christopher Challis . Sensitive and atmospheric musical score by the classical Cole Porter . Magnificent performances from all-star-cast , a number of the cast had appeared in the earlier'producers Brabourne-Goodwin Agatha Christie movies . And Peter Ustinov acting is similar to Albert Finney (Murder on the Orient Express) . Ustinov starred various Hercule Poirot films such as : ¨Death on the Nile¨(John Guillermin) , this ¨Evil under the sun¨ (Guy Hamilton), ¨Appointment with death¨ (Michael Winner) and for TV in low budget as : ¨Murder in three acts¨,¨Dead man's folly¨ and ¨Thirteen at dinner ¨; but the best considered is Death on the Nile . ¨Evil under the sun¨ was made and released about forty-one years after Agatha Christie's source novel of the same name was first published in 1941 , being selected to be the 1982 Royal Film Performance ; this movie was the first ever filmed version of this story, it being remade with Poirot: Evil Under the Sun (2001) with David Suchet .
This film was professionally directed by Guy Hamilton though contains some flaws , poor edition and sometimes results to be slow moving. Being second and final Agatha Christie adaptation directed by Guy Hamilton , his first was The crack mirror (1980) . Rating : passable and acceptable , well worth watching . The flick will appeal to suspense lovers and Agatha Christie-Poirot novels buffs .