Evil Under the Sun (1982) (2017 Restoration)   Starring: Peter Ustinov, Jane Birkin, Colin Blakely, Nicholas Clay, James Mason, Roddy McDowall, Sylvia Miles, Denis Quilley, Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith Distributor: StudioCanal RRP: £TBC OPTD4071 Certificate: PG Release Date: 23 October 2017

A mysterious death in a glamorous hotel in the Mediterranean can only be solved by legendary Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot...

Evil Under the Sun must be my favourite of all the Agatha Christie films with a plot full of twists and turns which keep you guessing throughout. Peter Ustinov plays Hercule Poirot, once again, to perfection.

Filmed in 1981 on location in Majorca, Spain and directed by Guy Hamilton (The Mirror Crack'd and Goldfinger). Evil Under the Sun was selected for presentation to Her Majesty the Queen at the 1982 Royal Film Performance.

Again, producers John Brabourne and Richard B. Goodwin present us with an excellent star studded cast including Jane Birkin, Peter Ustinov, Colin Blakeley, Nicolas Clay, James Mason, Roddy McDowall, Sylvia Miles, Denis Quilley, Diana Rigg and Maggie Smith.

A brilliant transformation of Jane Birkin and excellently acted by all. A fantastic music score filled with classic songs from Cole Porter.

Extras include Making of (14 min, 39 sec old '80s feature); New Interviews with Costume Designer Anthony Powell (7 min, 29 sec); Screenwriter Barry Sandler (7 min, 32 sec) and Producer Richard Goodwin (6 min, 03 sec, who explains why the novel's plot was moved from coastal Devon and the filming took place in Majorca. They looked at locations in Devon but the weather just wasn't good enough. They decided to capture a luxury feel to the picture - back in the early '80s it wasn't common place to go abroad on holiday and it would have been hard to get to Majorca if you wanted to for a short break).

We also get two Stills Galleries: Behind the Scenes (1 min, 28 sec) and Costumes (1 min, 54 sec).

10

Heather Simpson