Cheap Poirot: Death in the Clouds (DVD) (Poirot, David Suchet) Price

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Customer Reviews of Poirot: Death in the Clouds

As the plot centers around a murder that takes place on a plane not three feet over from a sleeping Hercule Poirot (who wishes to restore his reputation, especially when the alleged weapon is found near his seat), it takes one back to a time when air travel was mostly worry-free (except for the airsick, including Poirot) and terrorists and bomb threats were not even in the picture.

My two favorite scenes are the classic drawing-room conclusion, as always, and a scene in the middle where Poirot performs a few little "experiments" aboard a plane, much to the chagrin of poor Chief Inspector Japp ("I've been to see the lawyer, Inspector - " "Chief Inspector.") ;-)

Featuring David Suchet in a fine performance as the star detective, and also Cathryn Harrison as the high-society smoking gambler Lady Cicely Horbury, who, according to the Internet Movie Database (imdb.com), is the granddaughter of Rex Harrison.

All in all, a great film adaptation, but also a great movie in its own right. A lot more funny moments in this one. :-)

The Prettiest Poirot
One of my favorites in the "Poirot" series, "Death in the Clouds" nonetheless significantly alters the story of Christie's novel. While some of the changes are the inevitable result of condensation and simplification, the most noticeable seem to have been made more with an eye to drawing attention to the show's period reconstruction. That is what I find personally appealing about the adaptation, the fastidious style, as immaculately turned out as Poirot himself. The style is perhaps more perfectly realized in this episode than in any of the other feature-length adaptations in the series.

For example, the novel begins with the plane flight from Paris to London during which the murder occurs. In the adaptation, however, it takes quite a while to get to the flight, as the film makers dawdle in 1930s Paris, providing a meticulously reconstructed tennis match, trips to gaming houses, superbly recreated upper crust hotel rooms, even a brief trip to a museum to remind us this is the high point of Surrealism in the arts.

If you can enjoy these details for themselves, you will probably view "Death" repeatedly and with great pleasure. If you are more interested in seeing Christie's novel "faithfully" adapted to the screen, you will be disappointed. In addition to cutting characters, some of those who remain have been reduced quite a bit in importance, and not always to the benefit of the story. Others, like Jane Grey, the young hair dresser on holiday in Paris, have been changed so much that they are practically different characters.

Still, even with these reservations, it's difficult to imagine anyone who enjoys the Suchet "Poirots" not getting a kick out of such choice moments as the detective trying to determine if someone could use a blow pipe unnoticed in a crowded airplane, or Japp's hapless efforts to communicate with people in French. With the polished period exteriors dressing up these wonderful bits of business, it's almost impossible to resist the episode's charms.

A little flat
Death in the Clouds is not the most engaging or entertaining of the Acorn series of feature-length Poirot's, though it offers international locations and therefore, international intrigues. Highlights include some excellent support performances and an interesting series of Jap giving a little grief and getting a little in return from a French contemporary. But the story leave a bit to be desired, and feels too contrived, as in--what's the most convoluted and risky way I can kill this person? Also, there's a coldness here that I don't find in most of the others.

Of course, my standard complaint with this series remains. Where are the multimedia extras? Get with it Acorn.

Complaints aside, if you're a fan of the series, you'll probably want this because you still get Suchet's always wonderful performance. But if you're new to the series, start elsewhere. In fact, try ABC mysteries.