The Best Agatha Christie Movies Available to Watch

In his third Agatha, directing star Kenneth Branagh returns to his role as the brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, with a yard-long mustache and a strange accent that sounds like boiled eggs (shells included) when taken for a spin at Cuisinart. Christie adaptation. A Haunted in Venice It’s a typically sumptuous Branagh production, with a randomly stellar supporting cast that includes Michelle Yeoh and Tina Fey.

For Unforgettable, But Branagh added a new twist to the Queen of Crime’s already complex plot. It adds a supernatural flourish, including a wispy-haired ghost that may have emerged from a forest. Ring film. This trick, which gives Branagh plenty of opportunities to shake the audience, ultimately backfires: Because Poirot is so unfailingly, unfailingly logical, you know that the ghost, no matter how malevolent, must be grounded in everyday reality. This makes it easier to identify the killer before Poirot gathers everyone together for the big, deductive reveal. However Unforgettable it’s still a well-appointed entertainment, and proof that Christie’s old-fashioned mysteries are eminently adaptable.

With A Haunted in Venice Here are some of the best Christie films currently in theaters and available to rent/purchase.

Galloping Murder (1963)

Margaret Rutherford, a wonderful British actress known for her quirky, wobbly comedic taste, played village detective Miss Jane Marple in a series of four popular films – wobbly like a jello salad eaten with a serving spoon. gallop It’s a complete comedy, with all the suspects gathered at a luxury hotel catering to equestrians (Miss Marple herself is being saddled – apparently she won a few equestrian ribbons in the days before the First World War). As in every good episode Wrote the Murder or Law and Order, The culprit will likely be found among the most well-known members of the supporting cast. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it), Flora Robson, Robert Morley and Finlay Currie probably mean little to modern audiences. But the movie is actually just a game for the eccentric, unconventional Rutherford.

Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

Directed by Sidney Lumet, it was the first of the big-budget Christie mysteries featuring stars; It occasionally descends into a quagmire of oversaturation, but there is a classic explanation at the end. Oscar nominee Albert Finney looks like a slimmer version of the explosive Mr. Creosote. Monty Python’s The Meaning of Life, Poirot and the cast includes Ingrid Bergman (who won the Supporting Actress Oscar), Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave and Jacqueline Bisset. Branagh’s equally A-list 2017 remake featured Penélope Cruz, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp and Daisy Ridley. (There is also 1978 SCTV parody, Death Doesn’t Take a Holiday, It turned out that the killer was a train. It’s on YouTube.)

Evil Under the Sun (1982)

Peter Ustinov is probably the most enjoyable Poirots movie; round-bellied, moving slightly as if filled with helium. The actor received great acclaim with both this film and his previous film, 1978’s. death on the Nile (which Branagh remade in 2022). Sun, However, Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith have an irresistible camp appeal as the former rival showgirls face off at a swanky island resort. Rigg sings “You’re the Top” as if at the top of his lungs (the film’s soundtrack is based on the songs of Cole Porter), and Smith exclaims, “This place feels like a place.” morgue” stretching out the last word as if it were a marshmallow – mwaaaaaaahrguh!

Agatha (1979)

An unconventional film, it is a speculative take on a famous real-life mystery in which Christie was the victim but whose corpse was not central. The famous writer left his home in 1926 and disappeared for 11 days, abandoning his car after an accident. This led to a massive manhunt and became a tabloid sensation. She was eventually found at a luxury spa, registered as “Theresa Neele”, which was the name of her husband Archibald’s mistress (a delightful clue). Most likely, Christie had an emotional breakdown due to her troubled marriage. In any case, that’s the gist of it. Agatha, In the movie, Vanessa Redgrave plays a fragile, delicate Christie. Dustin Hoffman is the dogged American reporter who finds her, perhaps losing his heart in the process.

We won’t get into the many Christie adaptations for television, except to point out: 1) David Suchet’s long-running take on Poirot. Agatha Christie: Poirot generally considered the best, and 2) Joan Hickson’s performance as the title character Miss Marple For the BBC, especially in the 1980s, it is strikingly the most confident and persuasive; his Marple is a stony, relentless and sometimes brutal dynamo of intelligence and observation.