Review of Poirot: Death On The Nile

Introduction

Of all of David Suchet`s outings as the great Belgian detective to date, this is the one that suffers the most from being in the shadow of a major movie version of the story. Only Murder On The Orient Express may suffer more, but as yet that is only a twinkle in the actor`s eye.

Death On The Nile is the story of spoilt little rich girl Linnet Ridgeway, who steals the fiance of her best friend Jacqueline DeBellefort and comes to a sticky end on the Nile cruiser Karnak. Isolated on the boat, Poirot and his old friend Colonel Race investigate the murder of the heiress although everybody, not least the prime suspects Jacqueline and Linnet`s husband Simon, have cast-h`iron h`alibis.

Ustinov`s version was a masterpiece of bitchery, glamour and bloodletting - the story frequently resembles a horror film as minor characters are polished off along the way. Suchet`s version is a little more sedate and a little more involved as a number of curious subplots are weaved into the whodunnit.

David Suchet as ever is the definitive Poirot - fussy, precise but never irritating. This time he isn`t accompanied by the redoutable Captain Hastings, but by Colonel Race; James Fox stepping into David Niven`s shoes. The supporting cast consists of a happy mix of young actors and characters such as Barbara Flynn, Frances De La Tour and David Soul, who plays embezzling lawyer Pennington.

Video

The programme was produced in 16:9 widescreen and is presented here in that format. Shot on film, the transfer is excellent, with no signs of wear and tear. Colours are bright, contrast is excellent. Granada yet again proves its pedigree in making this sort of programme.

Audio

The audio comes in Dolby Digital 2.0 ProLogic Surround. Adequate.

Features

This is where the disc lets down in some places, but in others shows a vast improvement on previous releases. The extra on the disc is a short "making of" programme presented in 16:9 anamorphic. It`s a puff-piece that doesn`t quite match up to the promotional piece run on ITV2 directly after the first showing of the main programme on ITV1.

Neither the main programme or the extra are subtitled. Shame.

Conclusion

One of Agatha Christie`s best known and best loved mysteries brought to life by Granada Television. David Suchet has claimed the role of Hercule Poirot for himself and Death On The Nile has him at the heights of his powers. Although it may be unfortunately compared with the 1981 feature film starring Peter Ustinov, this feature-length adventure can hold its own, and has a few surprises and delights of its own.