Reviews

And that big flaw is the two leading actors. The rest of the cast gives a solid good performance but Sylvestra Le Touzel ( as Fanny) and Nicholas Farrell ( as Edmund) are just too dull. You hardly care for them and it's very hard to believe that Henry Crawford falls in love with her.This may be true to the book but it does not work in a movie / TV- series. Of course Fanny should not be glamorous and Edmund should not be dashing but here they go overboard. The performances by Anna Massey , Samantha Bond, Angela Pleasence, Bernard Hepton, Liz Crowther and Jackie Smith-Wood are the ones that really shine . Of course it's long ( 260 minutes) but if you like this kind of TV-series this will be no disappointment to you ( it will - most likely - also not be your favorite ).

I really like Jane Austen and normally i like TV-series of her work more then a movie ( i think the 1971 TV-series of Emma is great). But this series just does not sparkle. The acting is too restrained. Therefore the whole production becomes rather dull. There is hardly any humor in it. Also there is no chemistry between Elinor and Edward.

Irene Richards ( Elinor ) has not done much TV / film work after this series and that should come as no surprise. Most of the actors in this TV-series are no match to the actors in the 1995 movie.

I would like to see a new TV series of this novel. As for now... i'll watch the Emma Thompson movie.

If you are a Jane Austen fan and considering to buy a film of Emma i would recommend this version. This because , as a TV series it's longer then any movie and therefor includes more of the original story. Also the acting is very good and the whole production has a Austen feel about it. Yes it's been mostly filmed in a studio but to me that gives it a more intimate feeling. Also i have to say that i did like the version with Kate Beckinsale but do not really care of the version with Gwyneth Paltrow. This TV series lasts about 4 and a half hours. So, if you look for a shorter version , take the Beckinsale and if you really want to dive into it, take this one. I would like to single out Donald Eccles who , as Emma's father, is very funny as is Mary Holder as Mrs. Bates.

I read that someone called it a dark and gloomy adaptation. I have to disagree with that ! I thought it

a very funny TV-series.

Of course there's a lot of scheming and some people get treated very badly. But all the characters are

played in such a manner that you can't help but see them as ridiculous. Tom Wilkinson is marvelous as the pompous Seth Pecksniff and i would like to mention Elizabeth Spriggs who makes her part as Mrs. Gamp unforgettable. If you like a period drama with a good deal of humor this one is for you ! The series lasts 337 minutes. It's a shame that it's still not released on DVD.

Let's hope we don't have to wait too long ! If you like the wit of Jane Austen you will like this series

too ( yes there is a love story in it as well).

This very good adaption tells a story set in Victorian England but it's issues are still relevant today and all over the world. First of all there are the misunderstandings between the new and old citizens . The new comers are from the south and the city is in the north. Nowadays we have new comers from India ( we in Holland have them from Morocco and Turkey)and we all have problems with communication between the two groups. Secondly there are the deplorable working conditions in the factories and we see how many of their owners hardly care for the people. First they were the slaves ( well... almost ) of the rich - as farmers or servants, then they became the slaves of the factory owners ( and if we are not carefuller we will now become the slaves of the 24 hour economy). This all is told in the form of a love story and that works very well to bring those issues to the attention to people who would not be interested had it been told in a too grim a manner. Our admiration must go to the writer, Elizabeth Gaskell. To those who liked The Jane Austen books / movies and who might think that this one will be too dark for them, i would like to say : give it a try. I'ts very well acted and you'll get your love story.

If you like the TV series Partners in crime you will like this movie as well. It was filmed after the series but is in fact the story of how Tommy meets Tuppence. It also shows how Alfred comes into their lives. In this story they become involved in a search for a girl who has some very important papers in her possession that could start up a revolution. A group of people , led by a Mister Brown, want to use those papers to overthrow the government. Who this Mister Brown is ,is a mystery up until the end. At one point you will suspect several people of being Mister Brown as is usual in a Christie story. There is a DVD box for sale containing this movie and all ten episodes of the Partners in crime TV series. I have it and love it.

This is a must have DVD for every Agatha Christie fan ! It is just as i imagined Tommy & Tuppence from the short stories. There is a lot of humor and Annis and Warwick are superb as are most of the rest of the cast. The whole series has an intimate feel about it that i liked very much. Every episode is a spoof on one of the famous detectives of the time the stories were written like Sherlock Holmes, Father Brown etc. as Agatha Christie intended. It would be nice if ITV decided to use Warwick and Annis again for a follow up on this series, they could use the novels about Tommy and Tuppence this time as they are written about the couple when they are older. It would be a good idea to do this instead of remaking Miss Marple or Poirot movies.

This is not one of the best movies based on a Agatha Christie novel but i have seen worse. As for Ustinov as Poirot well...i'm getting tired of all those "fans" who claim that Suchett is the "definitive" Poirot, or that Ustinov is the better one. I enjoy both of them as i think both put their own stamp on the part and both have made Poirot movies that were either good or mediocre. This one is not as good as Evil under the sun or Death on the Nile but it still provides you with 90 minutes of entertainment. Most of the acting is so so. I did like Jean Stapleton as Ariadne Oliver but Ustinov has done better in the other Poirot movies i mentioned. Good for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

I have just seen this movie and have the 1978 one on DVD. I do like Suchett as Poirot a lot but this remake can't stand up to the 1978 original. As a film the first one works much better. You just can't help but missing the likes of Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury and Maggie Smith. Not that i think a film needs an all star cast but here they provided us with a lot of good acting and humor. Francis De La Tour seems to do her best as Salome ( Lansbury in the 1978 version) but it's almost as if she does not have the freedom to let herself go. The same goes for the actress who plays the Bette Davis part. There is not as much humor in this version and the characters simply do not seem to come to life. I have only seen 3 full length Poirot TV movies with Suchett but they seem to lack something that IS there in the short Poirot stories he has made for TV. Maybe the makers should have a look at them again to see where they've gone wrong.

It may not be the best of the bunch but it's still a good TV movie. A nice touch is the fact that we see several faces that we saw in Murder At The Vicarage an earlier movie of this series. There is Dolly Bantrey ( now a widow), there is the vicar ( he was not the vicar in Murder at the vicarage but seems to have made a promotion) and some more characters. This one is surely better than the movie with Liz Taylor and Angela Lansbury. This was the last one of the series and it's a shame they did not continue it with movies of some of the Miss Marple short stories. Hickson was - up till now - the best Miss Marple. Let's hope they 'll find another person just as good and still use the short stories!

If you like the Agatha Christie films to be faithful to the book or view them as period movies then forget this one. However ! If you like whodunit movies no matter what, then this one is OK. It's not the best of it's kind but you'll have a nice 90 (or so ) minutes. Yes it's updated ( computers, mobiles) and yes Poirot has a love interest. But that does not mean that it's a bad movie. I liked the 1974 one better and the book even more so but i can see that this movie is entertaining as well, just not as good as the 1974 one. As for Poirot i have to say that i did not care much for Finney's portrayal and Molino does not do it any better. Suchett and Ustinov are my favorites. For those who would like to have the DVD : it's for sale in The Netherlands. Together with the TV movie The Pale Horse it has been released as the DVD box "Agatha Christie Mystery Box ".

I recently saw the DVD of this film and i must say I Loved It ! Campbell and Warwick are great and John Gielgud is funny. The joy of movies like this is that you can actually understand everything that 's been said because they don't use background music as soon as things become more quiet. As i am from The Netherlands and only could get a copy with no subtitles this is a very great plus. If you like the Partners in crime series or the A C TV movies Secret Adversary or Why Didn't They Ask Evans ? Then you'll like this one as well ! Of course it also provides the things we have come to expect from an Agatha Christie movie. There are several twists in the plot that will leave you guessing who the killer is.

I recorded this BBC series on video years ago and i still watch it with great pleasure. Those series enable the makers to stay much more faithfull to the book then e mere movie. It's long but it's the best adaption to date. Timothy Dalton is the best Rochester Yet ( maybe a bit too good looking ) and Zelah Clarke is great as Jane. The BBC has made several great mini series over the years and several have been released on dvd. Let's hope we don't have to wait too long for this serie to be released on dvd as well ! If anyone knows of a site where i can go to to sign a petition for the dvd release . Please let me know at once !