![Agatha Christie's Marple: Series 5 [DVD]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/81Aizh9voJL.jpg)
Product Description Celebrated actress Julia McKenzie (Cranford; Notes On A Scandal) stars as the world-famous crime writer, Miss Jane Marple in this stunning collection of four new murder mysteries. Miss Marple's sweet old lady exterior hides an excellent perception of human nature and a razor sharp intuition for solving crimes--murderers underestimate her at their peril! The Blue Geranium Set in the picturesque village of Little Ambrose, the wealthy and widely disliked Mary Pritchard (Sharon Small, Murderland) is found dead. The circumstances are bemusing and even Miss Marple is perplexed. Agoraphobic Mary had a well-known fear of anything blue, but did she really die of shock when the geranium in her wallpaper changed colour? Also starring Toby Stephens (Robin Hood, Jane Eyre), Kevin R. McNally (Wuthering Heights, Valkyrie), Joanna Page (Gavin and Stacey, Love Actually), Claudie Blakley (Cranford, Lark Rise to Candleford), Claire Rushbrook (Collision, Whitechapel), Caroline Catz (Doc Martin, The Vice), Patrick Baladi (Bodies), Paul Rhys (The Queen, Beethoven) and David Calder (Red Riding, The Last Enemy).The Pale Horse Featuring ingenious deceptions and black magic, The Pale Horse sees Miss Marple investigate the brutal murder of an old friend. The day after Father Gorman is found dead she receives a mysterious letter from him containing a list of names. His final act was to administer the last rites to a dying woman, Mrs Davis, so Miss Marple starts by visiting her boarding house. It turns out to be a good hunch. Lodger Paul Osborne describes a man he saw following Father Gorman on the night he died, and she also chances upon a slip of paper bearing the name of The Pale Horse Inn. At this creepy establishment Miss Marple is greeted by three modern-day witches. Indeed, the whole village is steeped in the occult. When an eccentric local is also killed, Miss Marple is forced to take the law into her own hands.The Secret Of Chimneys A lavish weekend party sees Miss Marple accompany Lady Virginia Revel (Charlotte Salt, Tudors, Beowulf) to her family home of Chimneys - a house which was once prized for its diplomatic gatherings until a rare diamond was stolen from the premises over twenty years ago. Virginia must decide by the end of the weekend whether to accept a marriage proposal from the tenacious career politician George Lomax (Adam Godley, Mad Men, Breaking Bad, Cor Blimey!) or to follow her heart and the courtship of another more adventurous suitor, Anthony Cade (Jonas Armstrong, Robin Hood, The Street). Throughout the course of the evening, a contract for the sale of the house is drawn up only for the purchaser to be found dead in a secret passageway within its walls.The Mirror Crack'd From Side To Side Hollywood star Marina Gregg (Lindsay Duncan, Margaret, Criminal Justice), has left the palm trees and bright lights of Los Angeles for the leafy lanes and picturesque countryside of St Mary Mead, England. She has taken up residence at Gossington Hall with her dashing young English husband, film director Jason Rudd (Nigel Harman, Hotel Babylon, EastEnders), his secretary, Ella Blunt (Victoria Smurfitt, Trial and Retribution),and her personal assistant, Hailey Preston (Brennan Brown). When the glamorous couple decide to throw a party, the grounds are abuzz with curious locals, including previous owner of Gossington Hall Dolly Bantry (Joanna Lumley, Absolutely Fabulous). But when fan Heather Badcock (Caroline Quentin, Blue Murder, Life of Riley) consumes a poisoned daiquiri, Marina finds herself starring in a real-life mystery, supported by Miss Marple and Inspector Hewitt, who suspect that the lethal cocktail was intended for someone other than Marina's harmless admirer. .co.uk Review Marple series 5 is something of a mixed bag. Starring Julia McKenzie in the title role, this boxset brings together all four stories from the show’s fifth series, and they vary in quality, from the very good to the not-quite-so-strong. Overall? It’s still a good mix. Each is adapted from the Agatha Christie story of its name, although there are gradations of faithfulness to those stories. There’s also varying quality at work here, with some of the tales faring notably better than others. The highlight of this particular set of Marple? That’d probably be either The Mirror Crack’d or The Blue Geranium. But even when the show is off colour, as happens once or twice throughout series five, then there’s at least something in there to enjoy. There’s a bevy of guest stars to keep your interest, and a strong central performance from McKenzie to keep everything anchored. It’s not vintage Marple, maybe, yet this series five set does have some diverting yarns, and enough in it to warrant a look. You might, though, want to check out the Joan Hickson era of Miss Marple, though, if you want to see Agatha Christie’s work in a slightly better light… --Jon Foster
D**O
Marple 5
All good.
J**9
A fantastic story
Thank goodness for Miss Marple (Julia Mckenzie), the creep Edward fox(what a slimeball he is).It's a clever twist of a tale and I definitely recommend
M**M
Great condition
Work perfectly
C**R
Julia makes a really good miss marple too
I bought this as I've been interested in seeing 'the blue geranium' after seeing it on tv so it was worth it for that alone but its also interesting seeing another version of marple stories I've already seen as well
S**O
Marvellous!
Julia Mckenzie once again succeeds as a marvellous Miss Marple in 4 superb new stories. As with all good drama there are variations from the original written word of Agatha Christie but these enhance the stories rather than detract from them and are sometimes needed just because the medium of TV is so different: conveying the written word of a book to the TV screen and TV scripts is a skilled process and one has to make allowances.Sets, costumes, brilliant supporting casts, TV drama at its brightest and best. Julia McKenzie has given us another view of and aspect to Miss Marple and I love her interpretation of the role. I think she has rounded off Miss Marple's character very well following upon the Joan Hickson and Geraldine McEwan interpretations.Once you have seen Miss Marple on TV you just want to read the original book/story which inspired the drama and gain even more from the Agatha Christie experience and that in itself shows just how marvellous the screen adaptations have been and still are. My list of the best on screen would be: 4.50 from Paddington with Margaret Rutherford, A Caribbean Mystery with Joan Hickson (absolutely could not ever be beaten), At Bertram's Hotel with Geraldine McEwan and The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side with Julia McKenzie.A message to ITV: why take so long in getting the DVD's distributed? If there is to be a series 6 (I do hope so!) then please please please get the DVD's out in record time!!!!!
S**T
Brilliant series
I didn't think I could see anyone else but Geraldine McEwan as Marple but actually Julia McKenzie did a great job. The stories aren't true to the books but to be fair a lot of them weren't actually Marple stories and I think they were adapted fairly well, unlike Endless Night in series 6 where she seemed to just be plonked in occasionally. Each of the actresses who have played Marple have brought something different to the role, and while my favourite will always be Geraldine McEwan I really enjoyed this series. Good to watch on rainy evenings with your knitting out!
M**D
Brilliant Tour de Force
A divine Sunday is a roast dinner, a large cup of tea and an afternoon with this box set - the acting of the highest calibre, the setting perfection and the plots twisted.
M**N
Excellent Series
A must for all Agatha Christie fans. Julia McKenzie makes an excellent Miss Marple, and she is well supported by a wealth of great actors. The scripts are excellent, and all of this makes of an excellent series.I think that my fav. has to be "The Mirror Crack from Side to Side", I have also got the version that stared Angela Lansbury, Elizabeth Taylor and Rock Hudson, and I found it interesting to compare them.
R**P
Gute Unterhaltung
Super Serie
I**
Excelente
Llego en perfecto estado y antes de lo esperado. Buena definicion. Estoy encantada. Viene con todos los dvds. Recomendadisimo sibretodo para los amantes de Miss Marple
D**L
Marple Again!
This series 5 continues an excellent presentation of Agatha Christie's Miss Marple in all its forms. A superb presentation, by an excellent actress. Well worth the price.- and closed captioned for those of us who need that bonus.
C**A
Questi adattamenti sono molto coinvolgenti e rielaborati in chiave moderna.
Proprio per questo motivo a volte si discostano dall'originale( ne "Il geranio blu" ad esempio sono stati aggiunti personaggi e situazioni trattandosi di un racconto breve). Nulla da segnalare per quanto riguarda puntualità e integrità del pacco: tutto perfettamente a posto! Per chi non lo sapesse non sono presenti nè la lingua italiana nè i sottotitoli in italiano.
A**H
The Blu-Ray Set Comes With *The Pale Horse* !!!
I'm starting in reverse with this series, buying the AGATHA CHRISTIE'S MARPLE SEASON 5 BLU-RAY first. I've seen some of the series that starred Joan Hickson Miss Marple - 3 Feature Length Mysteries (The Body in the Library / A Murder Is Announced / A Pocketful of Rye), which I enjoyed, and so I figured I give the newer series a try.The reason I started with Season 5 is because I read that Joanna Lumley (Absolutely Fabulous: Complete Series 1) was in one of the episodes and I adore her, so I figured I'd start here. Also, Seasons 1-4 are not available on Blu-Ray. And there was an actress change from Geraldine McEwan to Julia McKenzie in the role of Miss Jane Marple, but I don't know why.Anyway, I enjoyed watching Season 5 and since I really haven't read any of the books, except for "The Blue Geranium," which I thought was from Sherlock Holmes -- I read it in high school -- and it was another reason I started with this season, I can't really say whether or not substantial changes have been made to characters or story-lines.I can say that each episode, they're actually like feature length movies, are fun, riveting, and the scenery is exquisite. The cinematography is fantastic and each mystery will have you guessing up until the last minute.Julia McKenzie does a great job in the role of "Miss Jane Marple," as she's a little more sprightlier than Joan Hickson (whom many believe to be the definitive "Marple"), and has slightly more elegance than the disheveled (but endearing) portrayal by Geraldine McEwan. Joanna Lumley is fabulous as "Dolly Bantry" and she's also featured in Season 1 (I just got the Season 1-3 McEwan MARPLE on DVD) as the same character.I'm not sure why but the DVD version of MARPLE SERIES (SEASON) 5 doesn't include "The Pale Horse." I almost bought it accidentally when I was ordering the previous seasons since it's available as a separate DVD Agatha Christie's Marple: The Pale Horse, but luckily I checked because the MARPLE SERIES 5 BLU-RAY includes The Pale Horse!Here's the specials on the Blu-Rays:*** SPECIAL FEATURES ****** THE MIRROR CRACK'D FROM SIDE TO SIDE ***"Agatha Christie's Garden" - 01-hour:09-secondsThis hour long featurette hosted by Pam Ferris shows the wonderful garden that was Christie's sanctuary."Greenway Garden" - 03-minutes:06-secondsThe history of the Greenway Garden, which is on the property that Christie and her husband lived on the "Greenway Estate.""Remembering Agatha" - 03-minutes:18-secondsGrandson Mathew Prichard talks about his famous grandmother."Agatha's Writing" - 02-minutes:56-secondsVarious writers discuss Christie's writing style and why it was so beloved by many.*** THE PALE HORSE (this has the new version with McKenzie too)***"The Pale Horse" - 1996 Version - 01-hour:41-minutes:27-secondsThis earlier adaptation has a different plot twist and Miss Marple isn't the crime solver (in fact, she's not in it at all). In this version, a friend of one of the victims, a suspect, and a budding investigator/police aide come together to solve the crime. I'm not sure why this was not included on the DVD set, but it is here on the Blu-Ray.Picture and sound quality is outstanding. If you enjoy mysteries than I would definitely recommend MARPLE SERIES (SEASON) 5 BLURAY, since you get "The Pale Horse" movie as well.
Trustpilot
2 weeks ago
2 months ago
