merrywater
This is a very good adaptation of one of Christie's novels about Hercule Poirot.The pace is great, and the village setting is quite believable. I've never been to an English village, but this is the image I receive of one when reading Christie.The plot is perhaps a little weak as for the motive, and the criminal. Sad Cypress is not one of her best novels. The title is apparently from Shakespeare.There are naturally some divergences from the original story: Mary Gerrard received only 2000 pounds, and not 7000. Elinor Clarlisle actually sold the estate after the death of her aunt.Special praise for the ingenious dream sequence where Poirot sees Mary Gerard's pretty face dissolve into that of an ugly corpse. It is actually one of the best, and scariest, of the kind that I've seen in a long time. I do, however, believe that this was not in the novel.
TheLittleSongbird
Sad Cypress is one of my favourite Poirot episodes, along with Five Little Pigs and Peril At End House everything about this adaptation was stunning. I do admit I did cry two or three times. It is faithful to the book, apart from a slight misjudgement about the rose. The plot is quite a complex one, but it is very well constructed here. The look of Sad Cypress was absolutely exquisite- you can never go wrong with dazzling photography, splendid scenery and lovely costumes- this adaptation had all three of those things. The music was gorgeous, haunting yet tragic, and I think it was this that reduced me to tears. The script is very good, beautifully written, and does have a hint of faithfulness about it. The acting was exceptional, although he looked tired, David Suchet turned in an impeccable performance as Poirot. I do consider Suchet the definitive of the Poirots, like Jeremy Brett was the definitive Sherlock Holmes. Elizabeth Dermott Walsh was beautiful beyond words as Elinor Carlisle, just perfect for the role, and Rupert Penry Jones perfectly conveys his flawed character. Diana Quick and Phyllis Logan are fine actresses, and they were superb in their roles. The final solution was very well done, not quite as good in construction as the one in the book, but still effective. I have to say when I first saw this adaptation, I was extremely disturbed by Poirot's dream of Mary Gerrard and her decompsing face. All in all, highly recommended. 9/10 Bethany Cox
gridoon2018
Hercule Poirot looks into the case of a woman accused for two murders: there is overwhelming evidence against her, her dislike for one of the victims - the girl who stole her fiancé's heart - is well-known, and she doesn't express any feelings of regret. Despite all that, a doctor, who is secretly in love with her, is convinced of her innocence and asks his old friend Poirot to help him prove it.Let me put it simply: the story, direction, performances, music, and set design of "Sad Cypress" are of higher quality than approximately 90% of what is available out there. Dropping the (highly entertaining, it must be said) sidekicks, changing the tone to almost completely serious, and reducing Poirot's screen time in favor of the other characters (in fact, it could be argued that the beautiful Elisabeth Dermot Walsh is the central figure here) are all bold moves, and they pay off brilliantly, in this case at least. Up to this point in the series, and without having seen "Five Little Pigs" yet, the only episodes I would rank above this one are "Wasps' Nest" and "Lord Edgeware Dies".A must-see if you love good cinema, even when it's made for TV. (***1/2)
Ed
A quite engrossing if, as usual, contrived mystery. I do agree that David Suchet is the ultimate Hercule even if he's losing much of his energy. In fact, I think that "Curtain" would be the ideal Hercule for him to do at this or a little later point.I disagree with a review that said that it was more fun with Japp, Hastings and Lemon. I thought they were brought into the earlier productions by the short hairs and not convincingly all the time.I do agree that the Suchet "Death on the Nile" was disappointing but I'd recently seen the Ustinov again (I didn't really like him in the part.) and was only too familiar with the story so I gave up early on.I thought the acting was generally good and everyone was well-cast.8 out of 10.
