It is true, his character does not exist in the book, but instead of the 'pantomime' additional character, I liked the character of Lord Boynton.

But for me, the biggest surprise was Tim Curry as Lord Boynton. John Hannah and Paul Freeman have both given better performances, but here they were rock-solid in their roles. Elizabeth McGovern turns in a decent performance as Celia Westholme, though she could have done with more screen time. The acting is very fine, with David Suchet impeccable as always as Poirot, and Zoe Boyle was just stunning as Jinny. And it was lovely to hear the poignant Dido and Anneas lament When I am Laid in Earth, which along with Lensky's aria from Eugene Onegin, Ach ich fuhl from Magic Flute, Phillip's Lament from Don Carlo and Che Glenida Manina from La Boheme is one of the heart-rending arias in opera history. The music was absolutely wonderful, very dramatic and very often enhanced the drama. The costumes were lovely too, and the script while bearing little resemblance to the book is not so bad. The opening scene was superb by the way, and the ending with Poirot and Jinny was quite moving. Visually, Appointment With Death looks absolutely stunning, with dazzling photography and breathtaking landscapes, making it one of the more visually beautiful 'recent' Poirots. It is unfair to say that this has no redeeming qualities, it has its flaws, but I personally really liked it. I also preferred it over the adaptation of Murder of Roger Ackroyd, that was a real disappointment. It isn't as good an adaptation as Five Little Pigs or Sad Cypress, but I do think it is an improvement on Cards On the Table, that started off so well, but let down considerably by the last thirty minutes. The adaptation looks stunning, has lovely music and is well acted, but the underdeveloped plot changes and the many deviations from the book undermine it. The book isn't Agatha Christie's best overall, I much preferred Death On the Nile, Murder in Mesopotamia, Sleeping Murder, And Then There Were None and Murder of Roger Ackroyd, but it was beautifully crafted and does keep you guessing to the last minute. The second question I asked myself was did I prefer the book or the adaptation? For me, the book.

The Peter Ustinov version was good on its own merits, but I did think it was the weakest of the Poirot films that Ustinov did, lacking the grandeur of Death On the Nile and Evil Under The Sun. One was which version did I prefer, the Peter Ustinov version or this? This is the easier to answer of the two, although it is more unfaithful to the book, in terms of visuals, music and acting I do prefer this. While I was watching this version of Appointment With Death, I asked myself two questions.

Appointment with death story