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Rating:  - Hard to forgive the ending...
I am new to the Poirot series and just rented "The Mysterious Affair at Styles." I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the use of setting, and was very impressed by the acting.
I also thought the story was strong...that is until the end. Please DON'T READ ON if you haven't already seen the movie.
I want to see if other Poirot fans agree that this ending is hard to forgive...
The killer is revealed because he wrote a letter to his co-conspirator, a letter than describes in detail the murder they are about to commit. Then, Poirot deduces who the murderer is by finding scraps of the letter in the bedroom.
Here are my problems: why in the world would the killer write that letter in the first place, especially when his co-conspirator lives in the same house? Secondly, when the killer broke back into the bedroom to steal the letter from the briefcase, why didn't he just take the letter with him when he left the room? Instead, he rips the paper into three parts and hides them in the bedroom. The solution of the murder hinges on these details, but they insult the intelligence of the viewer.
I really enjoyed watching the movie, but came away disappointed with the absurdity of the conclusion.
Rating:  - Take a step back to the beginning
Some actors play characters and some become them. Suchet is Poirot...or is Poirot Suchet? Missing is the greasiness that Albert Finney injected into the character in Murder on the Orient Express. Also missing is the familiarity that Ustinov brought--that feeling that Ustinov as Poirot was similar to Ustinov as anybody. Suchet is an original.
One warning before I say more: I've read only a couple of the books, and am no expert to say the least.
The Mysterious Affair at Styles is a good place to begin this series of DVDs, as it shows how Poirot and Hastings met. Especially memorable is the suggestion of a greater degree of depth of experience with Hastings than usually found in the shorter episodes. Don't worry though, you still get the enjoyable Hastings goofiness. Check out his marriage offer and the woman's response as an example.
The story itself isn't as memorable as some, though I think it does do an excellent job with redirection that sets it apart from most. Specifically, I think it does an excellent job of playing on the jaded assumptions we often make as we leap ahead with our guesses; I admit that I was more smug in the middle than accurate in the end. In addition, the settings, from buildings to countryside, are wonderful and the dialog is engaging.
However, I can only give the Acorn series 4 out of 5 stars. Why? Because until DVDs become the sole way people watch movies at home, expectations must be higher. I have no complaints about the audio or the picture, but where are the multimedia extras? The features that make owning (and paying more for) a DVD worthwhile. Except for some text-based items, this DVD is bereft of goodies. Shame on you, Acorn! How about a 10 minute interview with the actors? Behind the scenes footage? A brief documentary on Christie and where this episode fits in? Something? DVDs are not books. They are multimedia delivery devices.
OK. Rant over. Suffice it so say, if you love the character, and especially if you love the series, the feature length DVDs are worth it.
Rating:  - OUTSTANDING
This is simply a stumper of a who-dunit that is an absolutely charming period piece. I am amazed at how true to the novel the story remains. Poirot and hastings are outstanding together. If you have never seen anything of the productions involving David Suchet, please start with this(it was also Christie's 1st novel). If you have seen any of Mr. Suchet and company's work count yourself blessed. Television has rarely if ever been this good.
Rating: - Story content versus film quality.....
If you're an Agatha Christie-Poirot fan, you will probably enjoy this DVD in spite of the less than perfect quality of the recording. THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES is one of the longer Poirot tales (1 story, two 50 minute segments-merged), compared with the short stories (three stories, 50 minutes each) released in VHS format. Because the tapes are so vulnerable, I prefer the DVD mode even when the film is simply a "copy" of a tape (which seems to be the case for STYLES). STYLES--the DVD--is not of the caliber of the earlier ACORN DVDs-MUDER IN THE AIR, ABC MURDERS, etc., however, I would buy it again because I like the content.
THE MYSTERIOUS AFFAIR AT STYLES is one of the eariest Poirot tales, and like THE ABC MURDERS takes place in the English countryside Agatha Christie depicted so well from the 1920s to the 1950s. Styles is also the setting for FINAL CURTAIN, the last Poirot tale. Seems Ms Christie was as obsessive about balance, order, and loose ends as her little sleuth.
In STYLES, Poirot is a war refugee who has been evacuated from his beloved Belgium where he was a police inspector-one step ahead of the Kaiser's troops. He is part of a group of other Belgian men--all dressed in little black suits, white shirts and spats, and bowler hats--reminiscent of a flock of penguins or Charlie Chaplins--whom he quickly attempts to "order". Some very humorous scenes occur with Poirot and his little group of immigrants.
At STYLES, Poirot meets by chance Captain Hastings whom he had met earlier in Belgium on another muder case where Hastings was a suspect. Captain Hastings is recovering from war wounds he suffered at the Battle of the Somme in northern France near the Belgium border, and he has been invited by an old school chum to come to his home at STYLES to recover from his wounds.
As you might imagine, the film depicts the bucolic countryside of the upper crust--clay tennis courts, afternoon tea on the lawn, horseback riding on fine looking "farm" animals with neatly coiffed manes and tails, and vintage period hair, clothing, automobiles, etc. -- a feast for the eyes. The handsome and aristocratic David Rintoul plays Hastings friend (Darcy in the BBC production of PRIDE AND PREDJUDICE with Elizabeth Garvey--everyone who has seen this film 18 times raise your hand!!, and a suspect in the recently released FIVE RED HERRINGS a Dorothy Sayers mystery I recommend).
When a family member dies under mysterious circumstances that point to murder by poison, Hastings suggests to his friend they recruit the services of Poirot. Enter Inspector Japp, and in no time Hastings friend is in the dock and accused of murder. Is he the perpetrator of the crime? Hercule will discover the truth and all shall be known.
Rating: - Not the Best but Fine Enough
If you're at all familiar with the wonderful series of BBC adaptations of Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot, then you don't need me to tell you that David Suchet is the walking embodiment of the character. Though the case, Christie's first published mystery, isn't one of her most baffling (go to THE ABC MURDERS also available on DVD for that), it is certainly full of the author's well-known devices: a murder by poisoning (Christie was a poison expert having worked in a dispensery during World War I), a suitable cast of suspects who we inevitably learn all had reason enough for wanting the victim dead, and the studied investigation by our Belgian sleuth with the usual endearing incompetence of his friend Arthur Hastings.
These BBC adaptations are beautifully made, faithful in their period touches (though, of course, Hastings and Poirot don't look any younger here than in their later adventures which take place at least ten to fifteen years later), and the casting as always couldn't be better.
Though lacking much in the way of supplements (the information on Agatha Christie and David Suchet is repeated on each disc in the series), the clarity of the picture and clear sound (alas mono) make owning these DVDs a must for mystery lovers.
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