Miss Marple: Volume Two [Blu-ray]

DVD Wholesale Quick Overview:

The actress Joan Hickson is superb that “plays” Miss Marple. She was named by Agatha Christie personally as being the actress that she would prefer pay the part of Miss Marple on the big screen. The sets and cast of characters respectively lavish and well-casted. The big disappointment is that several of the stories have been edited until some of the actions of the characters are not resolved and do not make any sense. For example, in “They do it with MIrrors” there is a whole plot of a young group of actors interweaving throughout the story, and near the end, one of them is found murdered by a falling stage weight. The story ends without ever figuring out why this happened, although one part of the story is resolved. I have had to go back to the book to learn what the subplot was all about. I am disappointed that nothing was said by the ads about some of the stories being abridged so as to, apparently, fill a time quota.-Starflower

Joan Hickson is my favorite TV Miss Marple. (My favorite movie Miss Marple is Margaret Rutherford. In the movie, “Murder She Said,” Rutherford’s Miss Marple actually comes into contact with Hickson who was playing a cook at the murder mansion. In one scene, as Hickson’s character is leaving the kitchen, impatient after waiting for payment from Rutherford’s Marple, Rutherford’s Marple says, “ah, the younger generation.”) Well, I have the original standard versions of all of these remastered movies, and watch them all once a year. I am so pleased to report that the remastered versions are excellent, and distinctly crisper. I congratulate those who decided to remaster this excellent set of TV Marples!- J.

Color and HD quality in these new blu-rays is generally great but some middle distance shots aren’t as sharp. These retain the 4:3 aspect ratio of the originals. In most ways there shows are very similar to what BBC produces today but the old fashioned styles of this 1980s production are fun to see, for example the police station is one large room and the officers’ desks are simply folding tables. Also strange that Miss Marple gets so little screen time. Joan Hickson brings a Ma and Pa Kettle sensibility to the role.- Greg

DVD Wholesale Main Features:

Actors: Various
Directors: Various
Format: Blu-ray, NTSC
Language: English
Region: Region A/1
Number of discs: 2
Rated: NR – Not Rated
Studio: BBC Warner
DVD Release Date: March 31, 2015
Run Time: 436 minutes
ASIN: B00RDTK452