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Rating:  - MULTIPLE MARPLE MYSTERY MIXES
I was familiar with all of these stories except Mirror
Crack'd From Side to Side. This is the only story I did not like.
The photography was awful and the script is unsettling. The director
is probably to blame for this . I liked all the rest very much.
My favorites were At Bertram's Hotel. Nice to see Marple's sleuthing
away from her little village and an array of interesting characters
keeps her busy. Also, The Moving Finger. This story involves a brother
and sister who are newcomers to the village. They are drawn into the story
without a clue. A nasty problem called poison pen letters are buzzing
like a mysterious bee hive that is stinging everyone. I won't give away
the rest. Buy it! Very entertaining.
Rating:  - THEY NEED TO ADD CAPTIONS
I THOUGHT THE SERIES WAS AWESOME...EXCEPT...IT WOULD HAVE BEEN PERFECT WITH CAPTIONS....IT IS SOMETIMES HARD TO UNDERSTAND WHAT THEY ARE SAYING...AND YOU CAN SOMETIMES MISS SOME CLUES....I THINK I WOULD RE PURCHASE THIS DVD IF THEY ADDED THEM.
Rating: - Marvellous Miss Marple.
There have been many Miss Marples, throughout the time since Agatha Christie first fictionalised the character. Stage, films and television have all been vehicles for the portrayal of the elderly sleuth. Each of the actresses, portraying the venerable character, will have their champions of course. In my time, there have been three main portrayals of Christie's competent and cognitive character. Margaret Rutherford played a slightly 'dotty' version excellently. Lately, we have had Geraldine McEwan playing the part superbly well. However, my favourite has always been Joan Hickson's portrayal. Hickson manages, excellently, to maintain the elderly and slightly uncertain character that I feel Christie intended. However, her occasional dithering doesn't deter her from displaying her devilishly sharp wits, when it comes to the 'crunch'! A true delight to view. The Series is excellent value.
Rating: - Not only for mystery buffs
This collection is not only for mystery buffs (although that is an added bonus), but for all who love to watch first-rate acting (solo and ensemble), perfect period touches, and experience a top drawer "British Invasion". A welcome addition to any DVD collection. My personal caveat: Stick to the Hickson portrayal of Marple. It is not only my opinion that she perfectly embodied the character,but Agatha Christie's as well.
And who am I to argue with the creator--particularly when I agree.
Rating: - As compared with newer series...
These are longer than the series with Geraldine McEwan, with more detail. They are closer in accuracy to the books but they still changed some things, for example, adding the character of Superintendent Slack. The lower voices, particularly Joan Hickson's, make these movies somewhat harder to understand.
The newer Miss Marple series is not as close to the books as far as accuracy, but is very entertaining, with snappy music, and dialogue that is easier to understand without straining or turning the volume up too loudly.
These are considerably longer, well over two hours each in length, than the newer versions. Therefore, they are harder to fit into a busy evening. My husband and I like both series, but we end up having to watch the Joan Hickson Marple movies in two parts due to the lenght. This is supposed to be relaxing for us, but sometimes we end up stressed with trying to concentrate well enough to catch all of the clues and the explanations at the end which sometimes happen so fast we miss it. We had to watch several of them twice --- due to so many details, we missed tiny ones that ended up being important to the plot or answered a question as to motive.
In summary, my husband and I like both series, but we agree we like the newer series better for entertainment and relaxation (because they are shorter and less complex) and the older series better for being true to Agatha Christie and more classic. These just seem to move more slowly than the Hercule Poirot shows made about the same time. But these are all feature length, whereas, most of the original Hercule Poirot mysteries were of the one-hour variety. We like both Marple series, probably equally well, though I'm sure the Joan Hickson ones are more what Agatha Christie would have preferred.
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