Agatha Christie's Poirot - Collection 8 [DVD]

Poirot visits Cornwall to attend a dinner hosted by his friend, the retired actor Sir Charles Cartwright. But when an amiable local Reverend chokes to death on his cocktail Poirot cannot see how murder could have been committed. With the exception of Sir Charles’s doctor friend Sir Bartholomew Strange and the enigmatic Miss Egg Lytton Gore, any one of the eclectic mix of guests might have taken the glass - the inquisitive playwright, vulnerable ex-jockey, celebrated dressmaker, faithful housekeeper or young suitor of Miss Lytton Gore’s. When, weeks later, Sir Bartholomew Strange chokes to death at a dinner party he is hosting with many of the same guests, Poirot and Charles are not surprised to discover that Strange was poisoned. The motives seem plentiful - could a missing butler, mysterious telephone message or secret tunnel be the key to solving the case?

The Halloween Party
In this new mystery, Hercule Poirot (David Suchet) is reunited with his good friend Ariadne Oliver, (Zoë Wanamaker - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone). Crime writer Ariadne attends a children's Halloween party where young Joyce Reynolds boasts about witnessing a murder. The Woodleigh Common locals, including her stepmother (Sophie Thompson - Doc Martin), refuse to take her seriously. The girl is renowned for telling tall tales, and it is Halloween after all. However, when Joyce is found drowned in an apple-bobbing bucket that very same evening, Ariadne asks Poirot to investigate. There are many suspects - any one of the guests could have slipped out during a game of Snapdragon. Then, in a shocking development, Joyce's younger brother Leopold is also found drowned. Amid rumours of a curse on the village, Poirot knows it is only a matter of time before the killer strikes again and he sets out on a quest for the truth.

Murder On The Orient Express
This eagerly anticipated adaptation of Agatha Christie's best-loved murder mystery is a star-studded production. Directed by BAFTA winner Philip Martin (Wallander), David Suchet returns as eccentric Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot. Travelling from Istanbul to London on the famous Orient Express, Poirot is approached by ruthless businessman Samuel Ratchett, (Toby Jones - Frost/Nixon), who offers him $10k to watch his back. Poirot refuses, but when Ratchett is stabbed to death he vows to find the killer. Aided by amateur sleuth Dr Constantine, (Samuel West - Desperate Romantics), Poirot assembles an extensive list of suspects, including Ratchett's manservant Edward Masterman, (Hugh Bonneville - Bonekickers), elderly Princess Dragomiroff, (Dame Eileen Atkins - Cranford), and pushy Mrs Hubbard, (Barbara Hershey - The Mountain). The stakes are raised when the train gets stuck in a snowdrift. Cut off from civilization, Poirot's skills are tested to the limit. What was Ratchett frightened of? More importantly, is the assassin still on the train?

The Clocks
Poirot (David Suchet) arrives in Dover to help Lieutenant Colin Race determine if Sheila Webb is responsible for the murder of a middle aged man found stabbed at 10 Wilbraham Crescent. Could there be a connection with the recent discovery of a German mole within the Navy?