Kingslaay Another well executed episode that pays fitting homage to an Agatha Christie novel.David Suchet is the definitive Hercule Poirot once again as he solves this cold case that saw the hanging of an innocent women for killing her husband. Now the daughter seeks solace for both her parents leaving her all those years ago. The great Belgian detective seeks to uncover the truth and as usual discovers all kinds of motives and golden nuggets of information. One of the finer episodes in this great series8/10

blanche-2 This is definitely one of the best, if not the best, adaptation of a Christie story, "Five Little Pigs," and certainly a top Christie story in itself.A young woman, Lucy Crale, comes to see Poirot to ask for help in clearing her mother's name. Fourteen years earlier, Caroline Crale was hanged for the murder of her husband, an artist, Amyas Crale. Lucy promises that even if it turns out that her mother committed the murder, she will accept it, but she wants the whole truth.Poirot then visits the five people who were present when the murder took place: Amyas' best friend, Philip Blake, a visitor at the Crale home when the murder happened; Philip's brother Meredith, from whom it is suspected that Caroline stole the poison used to kill Amyas; Elsa Greer, Amyas' lover and whose portrait he was painting; Caroline's half-sister, Angela, who is sure her sister was innocent; and Miss Williams, Lucy's governess. After hearing each story, Poirot knows the truth and reunites all of them to make the announcement.The story unfolds neatly, and at the end, Poirot keeps you guessing. The flashbacks are beautifully, dreamily photographed, and the locations are lovely, as is the period atmosphere. The way the flashbacks were filmed is reminiscent of the flashback scenes in the feature film, "Murder on the Orient Express." The acting is superb, with David Suchet perfect as usual, and he's surrounded by some top talent, including Rachel Stirling, the brilliant Toby Stephens (he comes by his talent honestly, being the son of Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith!), Gemma Jones, and Patrick Malahide, Top drawer - don't miss it.

TheLittleSongbird I saw this when it first aired in 2003, when I was 11, and I was very impressed, really I was. Two years ago, I read the book, and I personally think the book is up there among the best with Death on the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia. What impressed me most with the TV adaptation, which I got on video recently, was that some of the scenes, like the hanging scene, were genuinely haunting, and that's what I want to feel in a mystery. The music score gave that haunted feeling and some poignancy, in an already complicated story. As far as I can remember, the overall structure was faithful to the book, and I also liked the actress of Caroline Crale, as you really feel for her, and Amias was certainly hissable here in the way they made him behave. Marc Warren and Gemma Jones also do well as Meridith and Mrs Williams. Also what the writers got right were Angela's disfigurement and although it was changed, the ending with Lucy in the lovely dress was very effective. As ever, David Suchet is impeccable as Hercule Poirot, and he is helped by a brooding script. However there were two things I didn't like about the adaptation- the idea of Blake being homosexual(I don't think that was in the book), and Julie Cox was perhaps too old for Elsa. All in all, technically and visually it's a delight to look at, and I enjoyed this adaptation very much, though I do prefer the book. 9/10 Bethany Cox.

honic the novel name is driven from a nursery rhyme i read the book first year in colleague & i have to admit it's very enjoyable to watch specially when the script writers respected the original novel , one of my favorite poirots movies of all timeFIVE LITTLE PIGSis a story being repeated 5 times ( in many flashbacks) by the 5 people who were there 14 yrs ago on an island where a famous painter was poisoned , his wife trailed & executed latereveryone always thought his wife was guilty ,at the present time Lucy Crale (daughter of amyas the painter & his wife)asks poirot to help her discover the truth behind the mystery as she's very sure of her mother's innocence ( caroline ) poirot listens to the 5 witness Philip Blake (amyas's friend) , Meredith Blake (Philip Blake's brother)Elsa Greer (amyas's model & mistress but now she's become Lady Dittisham),Miss Williams (the governess), Angela (Caroline's younger sister) stories about the day of the murderfrom interigating miss William's the governess she confessed seeing caroline removing fingerprints off the bottle of beer that amyas was drinking from last & telling miss William's that amyas committed suicided but if he did ,why did she remove the finger prints when everyone saw her bringing the bottle to him & that she didn't tell the police back then about this coz she thought this would incriminate caroline more this is the key to the mystery coz caroline removed the fingerprints to whom she thought it belonged to the murderer but there is a the suspense & the surprise waiting at the end of the moving the Director Paul Unwin used yellowish screen to help viewers to separate between the flash backs & the present the director was not routine at all & handled the story in a very moral way without directing our minds into thinking the same way he didi have to mention the beautiful locations in which it was used , the sea was a beautiful back ground to a flashback scene with caroline in it .. the garden .. the beautiful terrace in the house of the painter .. the place near the river where amyas paints , even the rays of sun in the flashbacks down on the scenes were so appealing (strong photography )as for the actors Lucy the daughter i didn't think she was good as she should no spark in her eyes , amyas as womanizer painter he was perfect for the role , the best performance goes to the acting of Rachael Stirling (caroline) she's very remarkable in that role very strong & yet calm till the end ,Julie Cox ( Elsa) was good & vague a bit but very effective , the one who surprised me was Sophie Winkleman ( angela) she's very talented to the bones & i saw her in a previous miss marple episode called ( the moving finger)where she appeared prettier &had a bigger role but here she is stronger although with a less space on screen i cant forget to mention the theme music at the beginning and the ending very charming & enchanting puts you in the right mood in those old times i love that era back in time you'll enjoy the movie i m quite sure , it's a story about love ,a woman who love her husband to death & he loves her back to death too very charming drawing .. enjoyyy