Evil Under the Sun (1982)

It is a performances centric movie

i must have seen a different film!!

A Masterpiece!

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

The best of the Agatha Christie movies I have seen till now.Yes it follows the same formula as any other movie adapted from Christie's work. Yes we still have the detective rounding up all the suspects and explaining the plot. But it's really the cast of characters and the sharp writing that makes this the most enjoyable of the lot.Peter Ustinov is as good as he's ever been as Poirot. I have read the book and I think the book lends itself more to a cinematic style than some of her other books. It has a tight plot and a surprising ending. And the ending managed to hold the same impact as it had years ago when I read the book.Evil Under the Sun is a winner because it is able to capture the essence of her books and her style.

Great film, escapist entertainment. While attempting to figure out who did it, I enjoyed the repartee (Have a sausage, dear!)between Daphne & Arlena. Arlena looks mah-velous! I do want to find a robe like Hercule Poirot's, that robe he wore to the beach - where can I find something like that? The cinematography is wonderful and I wondered where it was filmed - Balearic Islands, Mallorca - but the scenery looks more like the Tyrrhenian Sea or the Greek Islands. I wished I could go to this Mediterranean hotel and spend a blissful few days, traipsing around in my flowing dress or colorful bathing costume. I had no clue as to how the murder was committed or who did it - all the characters had a reason to wish Arlena dead, even her stepdaughter. I do think the final resolution was far-fetched and took so much planning - wishing someone dead is a lot less work than actually planning every minute of the morning to actually make it happen. Still, it was great entertainment worthy of a second or third viewing just to concentrate on the setting, scenery, and nostalgic period of the 20th century.

SPOILER ALERT I guess my only real complaint here is that for the first 50 minutes of the 117 minute film are kinda slow. Yes, it's fun watching the various characters being catty toward one another, but the plot doesn't advance much. Of course, it was all setting the stage...but it could have been done a tad quicker.Aside from that, the real treat here is watching Peter Ustinov. What a gem he was. I cannot really accept any other actor as Hercule Poirot after seeing him in the part.SPOILER ALERT It must have been a let down for James Mason to have such an inconsequential role...and so little screen time. Maggie Smith does rather nicely here as the proprietor of the hotel where all the action takes place. Nicholas Clay also has a nice turn as the murderer, as does Jane Birkin as the murderess. I liked Roddy McDowall just as much here I always do...not at all. Diana Rigg was interesting, but gets murdered halfway through the flick.A nice feature of this film is using Cole Porter songs as the score! And to see -- if you catch it -- Porter's name in the hotel register.Entertaining as these flicks are, they always seem a bit too convenient when it comes time for the master to unveil the murderer, and that's no less true here. Nevertheless, this is a rather fun movie to watch, and a treat to savor Peter Ustinov.

Hugely enjoyable Christie. Peter Ustinov is a perfect Poirot clever, urbane, canny and sly you feel a real liking for the man but when another character refers to him as that fussy Belgian fart you can see that too. Amazing costume design, Sylvia Miles never looked this good before or since, her black and white ensembles are jaw dropping. It's all filmed on an absolutely glorious island in the Adriatics. The entire cast seems to be having fun even if there parts aren't very demanding. Best of all are the brilliant Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith who make great sparring partners with dialog dipped in venom. After "Murder on the Orient Express" the best of all Agatha Christie adaptations.