Still another mega set of already great stuff
Eric Pregosin | New Carrollton, Maryland United States | 08/04/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Well for the benefit of the woman who asked me to explain the difference in the Poirot collections back when the Acorn sets of the "original series" came out, now she and others who waited can complete their collection and save space at the same time. This indeed is all 12 feature length episodes released to date that were shown here on A&E. For those of you bought them like me in either the smaller sets of 4 and/or individuals, their is nothing new here, but at least this set like the 2 Acorn sets (1 of the hour length shows, the other of the 2 hour ones both of which aired "here" on PBS and A&E later on) will take up less space on your shelf. Since nothing new was added, I will be content with what I have, if by now 7 years after they started you have not gotten any of the A&E ONLY aired stories now is your chance to get them all together. 12 for less than $100 is most definitely a bargain."
Great collection, but buy the european version if you can pl
Bo Bennike | Sherman Oaks, CA | 08/15/2009
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Great collection as always. However in the US version (Region 1) the format it 4:3 Full Screen, which means the picture has been cropped from the original European version (Region 2) which was shot in 16:9 Wide-screen. If you are into cinematography this is a big deal and sometimes the cropping is pretty awful. It still great TV though!"
WONDERFUL - BUT SOME SCENES WILL DISTURB YOUNGER VIEWERS
Mike S. | Milford, MA | 08/18/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The quality of this collection of Poirot mysteries is better than anything I have ever seen in the realm of television production transfer to DVD. To say that the video quality is magnificent is an understatement. When I began watching these DVD's I was immediately struck by the depth and richness of the color and the brilliant clarity of the images, right down to the finest detail. A&E deserves the highest praise for treating this collection like the masterpieces of cinematography they are. For people who are familiar with David Suchet's brilliant portrayal of Hercule Poirot and the fine acting of Hugh Frasier as Poirot's good natured friend and associate Captain Hastings and Pauline Moran as his dedicated secretary and friend Miss Lemon, it goes without saying that the quality of the acting is a mark of excellence throughout the world. Philip Jackson as Chief Inspector Japp of Scotland Yard rounds out the experience as these four great actors are like welcomed family members to the viewers who know the wonder of this fantastic series. This collection is something you will treasure forever. The only thing that I did not like is the way the DVD's were packaged in the box. The box they come in is designed to hold all twelve DVD's but in order to make the box reasonable in size the DVD's are overlapped, two on each leaf of the box, one DVD on a full spindle and the one overlapping it on a half spindle. It makes it awkward to remove the DVD's carefully from the leafs. I purchased 12 separate jewel cases for these DVD's and I am storing them in the jewel cases rather than the box. It is a small price to pay for maintaining these equisitely high quality productions. I find that each of the twelve productions runs approximately 95 minutes including credits and opening. Whether you are a mystery fan or not, these video productions are wonderful to behold. Absolutely worth the investment. There is one thing, however, that I must caution you about. These productions are NOT for young viewers. Some of the scenes in these films are brutal enough to earn an "R" rating if they were shown in theaters today. For example, in the very first DVD, The Murder Of Roger Ackroyd, there is a scene in which his murder is depicted and it is a horrific scene. A knife is clearly rammed into the victim's throat, firmly held there as blood pours out, and every agonizing twitch of his screaming death throes are displayed. It is enough to give even the most jaded person nightmares. So please exercise caution regarding allowing younger viewers to watch these films. I recommend no one younger than a teenager.
- Mike S."
EXCELLENT
Shenandoah H | NM, USA | 04/01/2009
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Excellent Video Collection. These were very well done, and David Suchet makes a very good Hercule Poirot. It is tough to take the amazing books of Agatha Christie and put them on film, but these do justice and then some. Highly entertaining, for a great value. Would definitely recommend."