International The Agatha Christie Mystery Collection (1 Viewer)

[Mark-P]

Thanks atfree I DID see that and I'm hoping that it was our very own Mark-P that did the confirming!

Yep that was me. I always like to share region A compatibility for the Blu-rays I import as I appreciate others' contributions on Blu-ray.com. Some people just use the site to report what region is printed on the label and therefore claim certain releases to be "locked" when in fact they are not. I only report whatever I've verified with my actual Blu-ray player.

 

[Will Krupp]

Hugz Mark and thanks!!

I just ordered it (woohoo!)

 

[Will Krupp]

And Finney missing from the end credits of Express isn't the only problem - Colin Blakely's name is misspelled in the front credits. It's all correct on the Paramount DVD and one wonders exactly how something like this could have happened.

They aren't the original opening credits. For some unfathomable reason, they've re-shot the opening credits from scratch in (what looks like) HD video, with a slightly different (computer generated) font over the same type of pink satin but with all of the folds in different places. With the exception of "Colin Blankey" (I'm imagining an overworked intern tasked with getting the job done quickly) I don't see any other difference between the two in the text. Why on earth....?

I'm thrilled to have these in HD but I agree wholeheartedly with you, Bruce, about the first two. ORIENT is unforgivably pulled toward a pale, sickly yellow and NILE (also too yellow but brighter, which makes the grass at Wode Hall a neon lime green!) is lacking in detail and looks "old." It still looks better and more robust that the DVD (it would have to, wouldn't it?) and I have never in my life seen NILE actually look good. From the early TV prints to VHS to DVD it's always looked (for lack of a better term) "fragile."

EVIL UNDER THE SUN, however, looks great. Lots of detail, a fine layer of grain and well saturated colors. It's easily the best looking of the bunch (which is no surprise because it's always been the best looking of them) and the Majorca location work is stunning in 1080p.

MIRROR CRACK'D has good, robust colors but can't escape the flat TV-movie look it's always had (which I distinctly remember from sitting in the theater when I first saw it at the age of 13 a few days after Christmas in 1980.)

All in all a very imperfect set but I've loved the big-screen Christies my whole life so I'm very much of the "half a loaf is better than none" mode of thinking as far as these are concerned. Other people's mileage may vary.

 

[Mark-P]

They aren't the original opening credits. For some unfathomable reason, they've re-shot the opening credits from scratch in (what looks like) HD video, with a slightly different (computer generated) font over the same type of pink satin but with all of the folds in different places. With the exception of "Colin Blankey" (I'm imagining an overworked intern tasked with getting the job done quickly) I don't see any other difference between the two in the text. Why on earth....?

End credits also misspell Wendy Hiller's name.

 

[Will Krupp]

I didn't even look at those Mark. Why, I wonder would they even feel the need to re-shoot them? They stick out like a sore thumb.

 

[Mark-P]

I didn't even look at those Mark. Why, I wonder would they even feel the need to re-shoot them? They stick out like a sore thumb.

No idea, Will. It's not the first time it's been done. You'll remember the review screener Blu-rays for Alfred Hitchcock's Frenzy had regenerated titles with typos and there was such a huge outcry on the forums that Universal fixed it and went back to the original filmed credits before it actually hit the stores.

I hope you can still enjoy your Christie set even though you are disappointed with the color grading. Fortunately I'm not fussy about color grading and "close enough" is usually fine by me, heck I was even happy with The King & I Blu-ray!

 

[Will Krupp]

I hope you can still enjoy your Christie set even though you are disappointed with the color grading.

Most definitely. To be honest, the only one that I "dislike" the look of is ORIENT and, truth be told (and I know I'm in the minority on this one) it's probably my least favorite so I can live with that. I know it's considered the best of the bunch (and was certainly the most commercially successful) but I've always found it too earnest, talky and plodding and I'm always ready for it to end about 20 minutes before it actually does. I prefer the Ustinov films and I prefer Ustinov's Poirot (as inaccurate as that portrayal may be to the Poirot of the novels) as I personally find him a far more endearing and easier to take character than Finney's mannered (and acted with a capital "A") Poirot.

I'm thrilled to have the set, as imperfect as it may be!

 

[ChromeJob]

Color on ORIENT EXPRESS should not be off ... Geoffrey Unsworth's cinematography is usually like a Rembrandt painting ... the man was a genius. Part of SUPERMAN THE MOVIE's charm is the quality of light and glow he gave it. Someone should fix that @(%*.

Re-fabricated credits ... ugh. With misspelled actors' names ... double-ugh. And this was Studio Canal??

 

[Will Krupp]

Re-fabricated credits ... ugh. With misspelled actors' names ... double-ugh. And this was Studio Canal??

Yes and the more I think about it (I was actually thinking about it in shower the other day...weird, I know) I wonder if all Studio Canal had access to was a foreign language element and they HAD to re-generate English credits. Just a guess but otherwise I have no idea.

 

[haineshisway]

Color on ORIENT EXPRESS should not be off ... Geoffrey Unsworth's cinematography is usually like a Rembrandt painting ... the man was a genius. Part of SUPERMAN THE MOVIE's charm is the quality of light and glow he gave it. Someone should fix that @(%*.

Re-fabricated credits ... ugh. With misspelled actors' names ... double-ugh. And this was Studio Canal??

Of course the color should not be off - but it is off. It's perfect on the Paramount DVD.

 

[haineshisway]

Yes and the more I think about it (I was actually thinking about it in shower the other day...weird, I know) I wonder if all Studio Canal had access to was a foreign language element and they HAD to re-generate English credits. Just a guess but otherwise I have no idea.

This is what I was thinking, too. It would make sense and I truly believe the original elements for Orient reside with Paramount here in the US.

 

[Reed Grele]

I have a question that's always bothered me about Death on the Nile. Who put the Cobra in the bathroom?

Spoiler

Since Simon was out of commission, I'm assuming that it must have been Mia Farrow. But unless snake handling was one of her many talents, I just can't see her catching (or buying?) one somewhere along the way, getting it on board, and then planting it.

 

[Will Krupp]

I have a question that's always bothered me about Death on the Nile. Who put the Cobra in the bathroom?

mind....blown

 

[ABaglivi]

Good question, especially since we've never seen such a serpent in First Class!

 

[TheSteig]

This is the one that I ordered - the reviews look good from what I gathered


http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KCL9G98?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

 

[Will Krupp]

This is the one that I ordered - the reviews look good from what I gathered


http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00KCL9G98?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

It's the same set we've been discussing. The exact same discs were released all over Europe with the language on the paper inserts being the only difference between them. The discs themselves are text-less and you choose your preferred menu language each time the disc boots up. I think you'll enjoy it (the price is great!) even though they aren't perfect. They're plenty good enough (but hold on to your ORIENT DVD!!)


I made some lo-tech English language slipcovers for them based on the original poster art which you're welcome to have copies of if you're interested.


Have fun!!

 

[TheSteig]

They were great but why hold onto the Orient DVD ?

The PQ was great on all of the ones I watched.. great films, great release, and I doubt these will get US releases.. especially the Ustinov films

 

[Will Krupp]

They were great but why hold onto the Orient DVD ?

Sorry, for the extras!!

 

[TheSteig]

Oh, I never watched them on the DVD.. Ill check it out.. I like the movie to keep..extras are secondary to me, sometimes I see them one time and that's it. I know thats kind of odd for a collector like me that gets all the collectors editions hehe


The price for all 4 movies in the box set was a great value. They do surpass the DVDs, not by a great deal but at least they have a higher resolution. Good purchase for me !

 

[Mark-P]

Sorry, for the extras!!

And the original credits without the typographical errors... and the 5.1 remixed sound.