Seldon's Blog

"EDWARD AND MRS. SIMPSON" (1978) Review

I have noticed in the past decade or so, there have been an increasing number of television and movie productions that either featured the Duke and Duchess of Windsor (aka King Edward VIII and Mrs. Wallis Simpson), either as supporting characters or lead characters. Actually, only one production - the 2011 movie, "W.E." - featured them as leads. And yet . . . with the exception of the 2011 movie, the majority of them tend to portray the couple as solely negative caricatures. ( Read more... )

"ADAPTING AGATHA CHRISTIE"

Ever since the release of the BBC recent adaptation of Agatha Christie’s 1939 novel, "And Then There Were None" television viewers and critics have been praising the production for being a faithful adaptation. In fact these critics and fans have been in such rapture over the production that some of them have failed to noticed that the three-part miniseries was not completely faithful. As long as the production followed Christie’s original ending, they were satisfied. ( Read more... )

Below are images from "MURDER ON THE LINKS", the 1996 adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1923 novel. The movie starred David Suchet as Hercule Poirot. ( Read more... )

Below are images from "PERIL AT END HOUSE", the 1990 television adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1932 novel. The movie starred David Suchet as Hercule Poirot: ( Read more... )

"PATRIOT GAMES" (1992) Review

I tried to recall the number of Hollywood movies made about Irish militants and their conflicts against the British government. And it occurred to me that very little have been made in which pro-Irish characters are portrayed as antagonists. Very little. One of them happened to be the 1992 movie, "PATRIOT GAMES". And considering the rarity of such a scenario, it still surprises me that it was a big box office hit during the summer of 1992. ( Read more... )

"LORD EDGEWARE DIES" (2000) Review

The worlds of Britain's upper-crust and artists mingled in Agatha Christie's 1933 novel called "Lord Edgeware Dies aka Thirteen at Dinner". There have been at least three movie and one radio adaptations of the novel in the past seven to eight decades. The most recent was a 100 minute television adaptation that aired in 2000 on the ITV series, "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT". ( Read more... )

Below are images from "DUMB WITNESS", the 1996 adaptation of Agatha Christie's 1937 novel. Directed by Edward Bennett, the movie starred David Suchet as Hercule Poirot: ( Read more... )

"MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA" (2001) Review

One can categorize the "AGATHA CHRISTIE'S POIROT" television movies into two categories. The ones made between 1989 and 2001, featured the supporting characters Captain Arthur Hasting, Miss Lemon (Hercule Poirot), and Chief Inspector Japp. The ones made post-2001 sporadically featured the mystery writer, Adriande Oliver. The very last television movie that featured Poirot's close friend, Hastings, turned out to be 2001's "MURDER IN MESOPOTAMIA". ( Read more... )