The ending of the novel really saves it. All the false leads about a lunatic and instead its the stable but very evil gardener and housewife that are the real killers. And the winging about the youths and their music paying off with the youths saving the day. Not bad for a book that felt like sometimes it was going to go into a scene of Poirot machine gunning hippies.
Oh, I'm the opposite. I hate the ending. I think it is hard to believe. We are expected to accept that someone is insane without prior built-up to it. There are also characters with mental health challenges in the 'ABC Murder' and 'After The Funeral', but we are given backstory prior to the disclosure, so they are more believable.
The comment about adaptations that improved on the book was mine! And I did mention "Cat among the Pigeons", but "Halloween Party" is also a great choice. Thanks for the great video!
Thanks for the suggestion🙏🙏🙏. There are not many adaptations which are better than the books. Especially if the books are already outstandingly good, like many of Christie's novels.
I have to say it: I like Hallowe'en Party. It's actually one of my favorite Christie novels (CONSTERNATION! UPROAR!). I recently reread it, inspired by the Branagh film coming out, this past October (2023), and still enjoyed it, even though I knew who the killers were and what was going to happen. One nest twist was that Miranda is saved by the 'eccentric young men', turning the idea the murders were committed by 'youthful offenders' on its head. That said, I really enjoyed the adaptation as well.
Another great review. If I haven't mentioned before, I really LOVE how you use unrelated pop icons as visual stand-ins for book characters that don't appear on screen. Troy and Abed from community made me laugh out loud and of course adding Angela Lansbury was a nice homage.
WHAT? Is sir Branagh going to adapt _this_ novel, which is one of my favorites (even though i prefer david suchet adaption too)? After the mess of "Death on the Nile"? dear me...
Just saw the trailer for the adaptation for this book (Kenneth Branagh directed) and I have just 5 words to say...... Tina Fey as Ariadne Oliver. It could have "disaster" written all over it.
It'd be great if you covered Elephants Can Remember or Third Girl. Both are much better than their respective books, especially Elephants. The book is possibly the worst Poirot, but the film is quite interesting & even touching ❤ Every video of yours is a delight ❤️ thanks❤🙂
These adaptations are either hit or miss. Some are just missed opportunities (The murder of Rodger acroyed) and some are better than the original stories (Halloween party)
You break the plot down so nicely =) I agree, this was a good adaptation. And it introduced me to british 'snap dragon' game. Not that I would play it, I just hum it to get "1, 2, bugel my shoe" out of my head.
I like Halloween Party. At first reading I knew the solution--or the murderer at least. I enjoyed the adaptation although I think the lead was a bit long in the tooth for the romantic interest. Just my opinion. And just for the fun of it I'm creating an adaptation of POSTERN. What could have been a very interesting (and what Agatha did best) "return to the past" mystery. We'll see what happens.
Hey, I was wondering if, in the same vein, you'd be interested in discussing the Poirot episode of The Clocks. It's honestly one of favourite Christie adaptations as I found the book kind of silly. It's one of the few adaptations of the later books that really benefited from the pre-war setting change IMO. I know you did mention it already, but I would love a full episode on it
At first I was confused as to why Brannagh was doing this one. I didn't see many opportunities for him to... Well... Make everything INSANELY EXTRA. It's what we love and hate about the guy. A snowdrift gets in the way until a plow comes in? Nay nay. AN AVALANCHE THAT DERAILS THE TRAIN. But then I remembered this story's BODY COUNT. Highest of the series if I recall correctly. Plenty of opportunity to go nice and crazy and considering the perpetrator's mental state at the end of it, plenty of opportunities for someone to point a gun at Poirot again. I can't decide if I love or hate the Brannagh movies as a whole.
A good story synopsis of a later Christie work that would have been excellent 20 years earlier. I hope Brannagh and the writers stick close to the original plot and don't screw it up much.
On the whole, I really like Branagh's work (especially his Shakespeare adaptations) but in approaching Agatha Christie, he's gone full Baz Luhrmann and opted for spectacle over logic. One should never go full Luhrmann.
I'm thankful that you, and others in modern times, make a point to acknowledge that people suffering from mental illnesses of many different kinds are more likely the victims of abuse and crimes than the perpetrators. That is a very important distinction to make, despite our potential love for old classic media and writings.
Branagh was smart. This time he picked a book that he can't ruin because it's dull, tired and not very good. I was really impressed with how the Suchet adaptation improved it. (As they improved Third Girl, another very weak novel.)
I loved this video and the title made me laugh out loud, so that's always a good sign going in. Halloween Party was the first Agatha Christie novel I've ever read, and I'll admit, I prefer the movie over the book. 🙂 I was curious though. Have you ever played the Agatha Christie adventure games? And if so, do you plan on covering any of them at some point?
@@MysteryMiles Alright. 🙂 Thanks for the answer. I was also curious to know if you had thought about a smaller scale version of the ATTWN Tournament with The ABC Murders (There has been the parody, The Alphabet Murders from the 60s, The David Suchet version and the Miniseries with John Malkovich, and all of them have drastically different takes on the source material.)
@@jeremyroberts9065 Funny you should mention that. I'm actually working on a future video covering the John Malkovich version (though it won't be finished till 2023). There's really not much I could say about the Suchet version other than it's awesome, and I really, REALLY don't want to watch The Alphabet Murders again. Just. No.
@@MysteryMiles Alright. 😅 I understand. I'm very interested in hearing your opinion on the Malkovich version. I'll be keeping an eye open for this one. I loved the Suchet version as well. It's the first one of the TV movies I saw actually, and it's still one of my favourites.
Have you actually read this book? Several of the things you said about the book are inaccurate. This is actually one of my favorite books, so I know it well.
Branagh changed the location to abroad, considerably aged up one important character, and put a very uncharacteristic monologue for one iconic character. He did a good job warning us in advance. No one is allowed to complain about accuracy to the novel AFTER watching this movie. You've been warned😂😂😂
Yes, Michelle Yeoh plays a medium ( from Agatha Christie’s short story “The Last Seance”) who is hired by Rowena Drake to contact her deceased daughter in the Afterlife. Michelle’s character’s name happens to be Joyce Reynolds because she is later murdered (like Joyce, but not in a tub of apples). The film has almost nothing to do with the novel except for the names and the villains, but their motivations are entirely different.
@@cristinademartini1284 All three Kenneth Branagh movies were disappointments.
6 месяцев назад
I found this among the worst from Agatha Christie. It was so difficult for me to even finish it. And the solution was such a letdown, both because it was super obvious (the artist is evil, like all Christie's novels) and not particularly interesting. The writing was also dragged on and the characters so boring.
