Evil Under the Sun | | Cast : | Peter Ustinov, James Mason, Maggie Smith | | Director : | Guy Hamilton | | Studio : | Anchor Bay Entertainment | | Format : | Color, Widescreen | | Released Date : | March 05, 1982 | | DVD Released Date : | June 08, 2004 | | Language : | English (Dubbed), English (Original Language) | | Audience Rating : | PG (Parental Guidance Suggested) | | | BUY THIS DVD FROM AMAZON |
Customer Reviews
| Rating |  | | Date | August 07, 2005 | | Summary | Christie Fan | Content
 | Great acting, beautiful scenery and vintage Agatha Christie story line! What more could you want. |
| Rating | | | Date | June 11, 2005 | | Summary | Campy yet "Evil" | Content
| Campy characters, a Mediterranean hotel, and a sparkling murder mystery -- what more could this big-screen Agatha Christie thriller need? "Evil Under the Sun" is both goofy and highly enjoyable, although the martini-swilling, sunny atmosphere make the murder feel rather too... relaxing.
An insurance goof and a stolen gem send Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) to "Daphne's Place," a palace-turned-hotel in a small Mediterranean country. He arrives on the same boat as famed stage actress Arlena Marshall, formerly Stuart (Diana Rigg) and her new husband and stepdaughter. Arlena turns out to be having an affair with boytoy Patrick (Nicholas Clay) -- and then she suddenly turns up, strangled on a remote beach.
There are suspects galore: her betrayed husband, resentful stepdaughter, the old rival who is attracted to Mr. Marshall, a pair of ugly American producers whom she's bankrupting, a flaming gossip writer who has written a steamy tell-all, and her boytoy's mousy wife. But no one had the opportunity -- everyone has an alibi. So Hercule Poirot exercises the "little gray cells," unravelling the clues of a discarded bottle, a midday shower, a cannon, and perfume in a cave.
Don't expect "Evil Under the Sun" to be any more faithful to its book than Arlena is to Marshall -- it's totally different from the book. Characters are changed, deleted or added in, whole subplots are added, and the sense of darkness is exchanged for a rhinestoned camp quality. The clothes say it all -- both Rigg and Maggie Smith wear faux jewels on silver lame, and American Myra resembles a Christmas tree with fur.
That said, "Evil Under the Sun's" campy quality is part of what makes it so much fun. Lots of catty, witty dialogue ("She always could throw her legs up in the air higher than the rest of us... and wider..."), sniping characters with plenty of motives, and a delightfully loathsome victim. You'll want Arlena dead by the time she tells her daughter to go play with the jellyfish, and then you'll want to know who could possibly have done the impossible.
Peter Ustinov has the right combination of smarts and comedy to play Poirot, the Belgian sleuth who saves the day and drives the hotel staff crazy. Maggie Smith also turns in a wonderful performance as the razor-tongued maitresse-en-titre-turned-hotelier, and Rigg is wonderfully catty, nasty and glamorous. The supporting cast also does a wonderful job, particularly the two who play the murderers -- and are the last ones you'd expect.
The one flaw is that all the humor, glitz and wit detract a little from the dark atmosphere one expects from a murder mystery. Instead, "Evil Under the Sun" is a campy comedy that happens to have a murder in it. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 17, 2005 | | Summary | Ustinov as Poirot Rox! | Content
| As far as mysteries go, this early 80's Agatha Christie yarn is filled with colorful characters and star-power. Ustinov is classic as Hercule Poirot, campy, funny, full of piss and vinegar... a pip! You have Roddy McDowall as a a flaming, bitchy gossip columnist... Maggie Smith as the dowdy resort proprietor . . . James Mason. The list goes on. Not exactly the best movie ever made, but then it wasn't aimed at that. Here we have a good little mystery and a lot of zinging acting. What more could you ask for. Works as well as Death On The Nile and Murder On The Orient Express, although I prefer Ustinov to Finney's Poirot. Sit back and enjoy. |
| Rating | | | Date | April 15, 2005 | | Summary | Delicious camp! | Content
| How often do you see the two brilliant stars, Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith, go eyeball to eyeball? Jousting, jabbing, dissing, undermining... it's all too delightful! And Roddy McDowall at his campy best. And Jane Birkin's sudden metamorphosis from plain jane into dazzling beauty. And Peter Ustinov hamming it up as only Peter Ustinov can. Get yourself a cocktail or a glass of wine (or two), sit down, put your feet up, and enjoy! By the way, the audio and video quality of this film on DVD is much better than on VHS. |
| Rating | | | Date | February 18, 2005 | | Summary | Campy Christie Fun | Content
| This all-star adaptation of Agatha Christie's "Evil Under the Sun" adds an archness, cattiness, and camp that wasn't in the original novel, but no matter. It's still great fun with the delightful Peter Ustinov in another outing as the famous Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, and a delicious cast of characters played to the hilt by pros.
An industrialist from a London insurance company calls Poirot in to solve the murder of a woman murdered in the English countryside and also to retrieve an original diamond taken by stage actress Arlena Marshall (Diana Rigg). Poirot follows Marshall to a beautiful Mediterranean island where she is vacationing with her husband and step-daughter at a resort run by an old rival (Maggie Smith). After observing the shenanigans of flirtatious, glamorous, catty Arlena at the resort, it's clear to Poirot that she is not well liked among the guests. When she winds up dead, he has plenty of suspects, but they all have alibis.
The film was shot in Majorca, so it's scenically beautiful, giving a feeling of escapism, and the 30's costumes are colorful and fun. The cast is all superb. Rigg is marvelous as Marshall and looks stunning in the period attire, particularly the gold lame evening gown and red and white polka dots. The rest of the fun cast include Roddy McDowall as a gay columnist; James Mason and Sylvia Mile as crass (and very funny) producers of plays; an Irish playboy (Nicholas Clay) and his wan, mousy wife (Jane Birkin). The mystery is resolved deliciously as Poirot sorts out a bottle thrown from the cliff; the noon day gun; and other anomalies that puzzle his "little gray cells."
Witty, colorful fun with a crackerjack ending and super cast and characters. |
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