7 best adaptations of Agatha Christie books that you watch in one breath

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

The English writer today is the standard of the detective genre in literature. Her works are reprinted in millions of copies, and new films based on her detective novels are constantly being released on the screens. Agatha Christie saw about fifty adaptations of her creations, although not all of them were worthy of attention. Our today's review presents the best films based on the works of Christie.

And There Was No One Left, 1945, USA, directed by René Clair

The play with the title that is used today to rename the film adaptations of Ten Little Indians was written by Agatha Christie in 1945. The most important difference between Rene Clair's film and the novel is a not so dark plot and even a happy ending, which appeared with the light hand of the writer. In the picture, two "conditionally positive" characters are saved from the punishing hand of retribution. By the way, the director of the film was accused of being too vaudeville because of the many funny episodes.

"Witness for the Prosecution", 1957, USA, directed by Billy Wilder

This film is significant already in that Agatha Christie herself liked it. Next time, Murder on the Orient Express will be honored. In addition, Marlene Dietrich herself appears in Billy Wilder's film, and Witness for the Prosecution was nominated for 6 Oscar awards, although he did not receive a single one as a result.

4:50 pm from Paddington, 1961, UK, directed by George Pollock

In this film, the curious and wise Miss Marple, played by Margaret Rutherford, appears for the first time. The director managed to show a detective story with elements of drama and comedy, because in this film there are a lot of funny and ridiculous situations in which the main character falls. By the way, the servant in this tape was played by Joan Hickson, who twenty years later will become the best Miss Marple in the history of cinema. But once the actress was directly offended by the prediction of the writer, who saw in 40-year-old at that time Joan Hickson the future best performer of the role of a curious old detective woman.

Murder on the Orient Express, 1974, UK, USA, director Sidney Lumet

When the writer was already at a fairly mature age, she found more and more reasons to be dissatisfied with the film adaptations of her works. And these were, as a rule, not the whims of an aging lady, but the inconsistency of the film with the literary original. The author's endorsement of Murder on the Orient Express seems all the more valuable. The only thing that raised doubts about the author of the novel was Hercule Poirot's too "thin" mustache. By the way, initially the director, who decided to film the work, received a refusal from Agatha Christie, and a member of the royal family had to intercede for Cindy Lumet.

Death on the Nile, 1978, UK, directed by John Guillermin

The shooting of this picture actually took place on the Nile, and the climate in those latitudes, as you know, is not very conducive to the work process in direct sunlight. It is known that the temperature there by noon rose to 54 degrees Celsius, so the shooting was usually carried out until six in the morning, and then stopped until the heat began to subside. It is also noteworthy that Hercule Poirot in this film is a blonde with a wheat mustache, and was played by Peter Ustinov, since Albert Finney did not agree to come to Africa.

Poirot's Failure, 2002, Russia, director Sergei Ursulyak

In the mini-series by Sergei Ursulyak based on the novel by Agatha Christie "The Murder of Roger Ackroyd," Konstantin Raikin played the main role, creating a very eccentric, and in some places even formidable, image of detective Hercule Poirot. Noteworthy is the play of Svetlana Nemolyaeva, who played the role of a hysterical socialite. It is especially pleasant that the creators of the series treated the literary source very carefully.

"Ten Little Indians", 1987, USSR, director Stanislav Govorukhin

An incredibly atmospheric and sometimes eerie film about the inevitability of retribution for a crime. At the same time, the director managed to evoke in the viewer not gloating, but sympathy for those who were overtaken by retribution. Great actors, excellent direction and music, together with an amazing script, make the film a real masterpiece.

Authors of detective novels have the ability to combine psychological tension and mystery with cold facts in their works. The best authors have been writing incredibly complex and exciting detective stories for decades, creating images of the most popular characters, whose adventures readers follow from book to book.