Many famous actors have portrayed Agatha Christie's sleuths. Many have succeeded though few have closely approximated to the originals. Agatha Christie herself would no doubt wish that David Suchet could be adorned with a much more luxuriant moustache than the little "clip on" one seen here.

Disappointing and artificial
Review date: 2004-10-17 Rating: 4 out of 10

I like most of the Suchet Poirot's, but this one was extremely disappointing. David Suchet and James Fox are good, but far too many of the rest of the cast act like they're playing bad comedy stereotypes, and the overall direction is 'stagey'.

The production values and attention to detail are also surprisingly poor - much of the make-up looks painfully artificial (Poirot's moustaches look particularly fake in several scenes), and in one scene you can clearly see the 'corpse' breathing!

Not bad but not perfect either
Review date: 2004-08-24 Rating: 6 out of 10

In general I am a big fan of the Suchet adaptions of the Poirot novels. I was eagerly awaiting Death on the Nile, if only to compare it with the classic Peter Ustinov adaption, which I've watched more times than I can remember.

The new adaption is overall well done. In style and mood it's very like Suchet's adaptations in general. Shot in Egypt it also manages to capture the Egyptian atmosphere very well. It's well acted; all actors involved do a fine job of bringing the characters to life. Technically, unlike previous Suchet DVDs, this one is anamorphic 16:9 aspect ratio, which should make widescreen TV owners happy.

The big question for me was whether the film would be better or worse than the Ustinov version. I had high hopes since in general I prefer Suchet over Ustinov as Poirot. However, this adaptation of Death on the Nile shares what I consider a weakness in most of the feature-film-length Suchet adaptations: It's short. Clocking in at under 100 minutes, although I hate to admit it, I find it too short. The film starts off with careful character development and scene setting, but the last half of the film feels extremely rushed, and the final gathering of suspects and explanation by Poirot flies by at top speed.

So, despite enjoying Suchet's Poirot adaptations a lot in general, Death on the Nile is not one of the better ones. Not a bad film by a long shot, but overall not as good as the old Ustinov version.

True Poirot
Review date: 2004-07-23 Rating: 10 out of 10

In an interview recently David Suchet said that these latest Poirot films (Death On The Nile, Five Little Pigs & Sad Cypress) are much darker than the television series he did a few years ago and that they stick much more closely with the original storylines, he is not wrong. As a child I watched the series (and original films) with my Gran, and as an adult it seems fitting that Suchet creates a much darker portrayal of some classic Agatha Christie stories.
A warning however, buy one Poirot and you will want them all!

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