Best movie of this year hands down!

A Brilliant Conflict

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

This movie tries so hard to be funny, yet it falls flat every time. Just another example of recycled ideas repackaged with women in an attempt to appeal to a certain audience.

The best thing about the early all-star Agatha Christie murder-mysteries ("Murder on the Orient Express" and "Death on the Nile") was their eerie glamor, a shimmering kind of evil which translated tantalizingly into murder. "Appointment With Death" has a disappointing cast, including a rather fatigued Peter Ustinov as detective Hercule Poirot, and a travelogue-styled production which doesn't lend itself well to the intimate setting of a whodunit. It's all too airy and blasé, with a set-up that rarely engages the attention. Former prison wardress Piper Laurie (camping it up) has cheated her step-children out of their late father's money and now has them all greedily at her beck and call; after a cruise from Europe to Palestine however, Big Mama Laurie ends up dead under the sun at an excavation site. Poirot's suspects include each of the disgruntled children (actually grown adults), a boasting Member of Parliament (Lauren Bacall), an archaeologist (Hayley Mills), a conniving lawyer (David Soul), the dowager's cheating daughter-in-law (Carrie Fisher), and a novice female doctor (Jenny Seagrove, who has been instructed to maintain a guilt-ridden look throughout). John Gielgud is utterly wasted as a Colonel, while Ustinov wheezes and grimaces his way along. Michael Winner is responsible for the shapeless direction, which includes halving Poirot's final summation into two separate sequences for no other purpose than to bide some time. *1/2 from ****

An avid fan of Agatha Christie, I enjoyed this film greatly. Particularly because of the quality of the cast and their impressive portrayal of the characters. Although David Suchet, in his series and films makes a very impressive Hercule Poirot, Peter Ustinov creates a far more real character and is a superb actor. Lauren Bacall, as always, impresses. Carrie Fisher excels and moves on from the Starwars era, to her advantage. Am I the only viewer to "fall in love with" Amber Bezer? Hayley Mills is also excellent, but I continually find it a bit difficult to not keep remembering her as Pollyanna and her other early successful parts. As usual in Christie movies, the reproduction of the period seems to be perfect, from the vehicles, the dress, realistic and appropriate sites and scenery, to the actor's portrayals is, in my opinion, superb.

Peter Ustinov is an absolute joy to behold in the role of Hercule Poirot! He played Poirot in three theatrical films: Death On the Nile, Evil Under the Sun, and Appointment With Death. He also played Poirot in three TV movies: Thirteen At Dinner, Murder in Three Acts, and Dead Man's Folly. It's always a delight to spend time with Ustinov's Poirot. He's so much fun! The three Poirot TV movies starring Ustinov are now available in a three DVD set. I've had a great time watching these with friends and family and all of Ustinov's Poirot movies are worth watching and re-watching. My deep affection for Ustinov's Poirot grows with each viewing. He's brilliant and each of his Poirot movies are fantastic fun!

Appointment with Death is a wonderful film for pure escapism. Piper Laurie is really fantastic as Emily Boynton. Of course Peter Ustinov is always a treat as Hercule Poirot. Sir John Gielgud is a treasure to watch and Lauren Bacall is incredibly good as Lady Westholme. This is a glamorous film with additional supporting cast such as Jenny Seagrove, the handsome John Terlesky, the beautiful Hayley Mills and Carrie Fisher. David Soul is passable as the Boynton family lawyer. The scenery is wonderful, the costumes beautiful and the story intriguing. It is hard to know who has done the deed. The much underrated Michael Craig also puts in an appearance. I wish there could be more appointments with such a talented cast.