Posted on 11/29/2017 10:54:35 AM PST by Rummyfan
I don't think I can ever forgive Kenneth Branagh for what he's done to Hercule Poirot. It starts, obviously, with the moustaches (given their prominence in the oeuvre, I shall use Agatha Christie's spelling, although unlike her I prefer, in M Poirot's case, the plural). The great Belgian detective's moustache is stiff, waxed and with upturned points: as Captain Hastings notes, in their debut adventure The Mysterious Affair at Styles, "Even if everything on his face was covered, the tips of moustache and the pink-tipped nose would be visible".
Poirot's moustache is as the man: small and precise. Branagh's is grey, luxuriant, unruly and, as Greg Gutfeld noted on Fox the other day, appears to have been borrowed from Geraldo, or a trio of passing raccoons. The point about the diminutive Belgian is that he is fastidious in everything, including his appearance. Hastings again: "The neatness of his attire was almost incredible; I believe a speck of dust would have caused him more pain than a bullet wound." This "quaint dandified little man" appears ridiculous in the drawing room of an English country house because his habits - from his pomade to his gleaming patent leather shoes - are not those of the environment in which he finds himself. But he is punctilious about them, as he is punctilious about his detecting. That's the point: The waxed moustaches and the "little grey cells" are all of a piece.
(Excerpt) Read more at steynonline.com ...
I watched the 1974 version over the weekend and rolled on the floor every time Ingrid Bergman said “brown babies”. Loved seeing Richard Widmark. Can’t get enough of Tommy Udo.
I LOVED this movie!.....saw it yesterday!
I got through abut 15 minutes of the latest version and turned it off.
People will miss the movie because they’ll be staring at that Mustache(Too Much)
Every few years, my wife and I make our way through the complete run of David Suchet’s episodes of Poirot (first on DVD, now on Blu-ray). I have only read about a half dozen or so of the Poirot books, but I can imagine no one else but Suchet in the part. I don’t know what Branagh was thinking.
That mustache is diverting. Maybe I’ll see it when it comes to my local $3 historic theater, although I hate contributing a penny to Johnny Depp.
[I got through abut 15 minutes of the latest version and turned it off.]
How did you “turn it off” when it’s still in the theaters?
How was Johnny Depp?
I already knew who did it.
After reading the smug, condescending responses agreeing with Steyne’s smug, condescending piece.....
.....I feel sorry for them all!
They’ve lost the pure pleasure of sitting in a darkened theater and transporting oneself to The Wailing Wall in Israel to the glamorous trappings of a luxury train speeding through the snow covered mountains and enjoying the satisfaction of a good mystery.
He played his part very well.
One look at Branagh's mustache in the previews was enough to warm me not to waste my time.
Once again, Stein really nails it!
David Suchet IS Poirot!
The Kodi app installed on my Firestick. If you’re unfamiliar with it, it’s worth checking out.
As a drunken sleaze-ball who ends up dead? I’d say he was pretty good, though the part wasn’t a big stretch for him.
The best part is that, as the victim, his part was small and over quickly!
He's the one that the title alludes to.
Amen to both of you! I can’t stand Branagh. He seems to have an incurable case of MeMe disease.
After Suchet, Finney just looks (and SOUNDS) ridiculous by comparison and he is a much better actor than Branagh.
I don’t know how the Brits did it. They got the penultimate Holmes in Jeremy Brett and the definitive Poirot in David Suchet. I only wish my mother had lived to see both men in their respective roles.
Me and my GF saw and liked it
Welcome break from crap Hollyweird shovels out .....
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