Evil Under the Sun 4K Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		4.0

Evil Under the Sun 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov January 22, 2026

Guy Hamilton's "Evil Under the Sun" (1982) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the disc include vintage making of featurette; promotional materials; and archival audio commentary by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thomson. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Mixing business with pleasure.

When a young woman is found dead in the British countryside, Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov, Death on the Nile, Lola Montes) is hired by an insurance company to solve the case. He is also asked to inspect a fake diamond, which a wealthy industrialist (Colin Blakely, Nijinsky, The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes) wants to be insured for £50,000.

Soon after, the eccentric Belgian detective travels to the South of France where he meets the industrialist and discovers that some time ago he gave the original diamond to Arlena Marshall (Diana Rigg, Julius Caesar, Theatre of Blood), a sophisticated but rather capricious actress with whom he fell madly in love. They met in New York and decided that she would come back to Europe with him. Before they left, he bought her the diamond from Tiffany’s. However, halfway across the Atlantic, the actress changed her mind and ran off with another man - but kept the diamond. When they met again later, she returned the diamond, but when the industrialist tried to insure it, he discovered that it was fake. Having recently learned that the actress will be vacationing on a beautiful Mediterranean island, the industrialist asks Poirot to travel with him and prove that his former lover cheated him. Poirot agrees, but shortly after he arrives on the island, someone kills the beautiful actress.

Completed in 1982, Guy Hamilton’s Evil Under the Sun is unquestionably the least exotic of the three films in The Poirot Collection. A good portion of the film feels like a straightforward melodrama, rather than an exotic period thriller full of colorful characters hiding juicy secrets. However, this is hardly a bad thing because the distracting pomposity from Murder on the Orient Express is completely eliminated.

Ustinov’s relaxed performance gives the film its identity. Instead of consistently trying to impress with intelligent remarks, most of the time, Poirot looks like a curious outsider who has just as much trouble guessing the motives of the mysterious killer as the rest of the guests on the island. As the film progresses, it is easy to see that he is a lot more intelligent than everyone else, but he remains a human being capable of mistakes. As a result, it never feels like one is viewing an old-fashioned period play whose characters interact with each other simply because they have to.

The mystery is resolved quickly and convincingly. Poirot gathers all of the wealthy guests and, in a familiar fashion, reconstructs the murder of the beautiful singer. There are a few minor twists that add some flavor to the case, but they feel right for a film in which Agatha Christie’s famous character is expected to be a few steps ahead of everyone else.

Unsurprisingly, the supporting cast is quite big, but it is not difficult to remember the different names and the possible motives that make each character a suspect. Jane Birkin and Nicholas Clay are the handsome couple Christine and Patrick Redfern. Maggie Smith is the bubbly Daphne Castle, who owns the lavish hotel on the exotic island. Sylvia Miles and James Mason are the wealthy producers Myra and Odell Gardener. Denis Quilley is Arlena’s husband, Kenneth Marshall, while a young Emily Hone is his daughter, Linda. Finally, Roddy McDowall is the eccentric critic and writer Rex Brewster.

Evil Under the Sun was lensed by British cinematographer Christopher Challis (Stanley Donen’s Arabesque, Peter Yates' The Deep).

Evil Under the Sun 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Evil Under the Sun is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures included with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc.

Screencaptures #1-26 are taken from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #31-39 are taken from the 4K Blu-ray.

This combo pack release brings to America StudioCanal's new 4K restoration of Evil Under the Sun. In native 4K, the 4K restoration can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with HDR. I also spent time with the 1080p presentation of the 4K restoration on the Blu-ray.

Last year, in late November, we posted a review of this 4K Blu-ray release of the 4K restoration, produced by StudioCanal. If you have seen it, you already know that I like the restoration work that was done and its presentation a lot. While this Blu-ray release offered a very good presentation of the film as well, the new 4K restoration is easy to describe as a meaningful upgrade in quality.

The most significant improvements are in three areas. First, the new 4K restoration is wonderfully graded, and all primaries and supporting nuances boast superior saturation levels. As a result, the entire film has a lusher, more attractive appearance. This improvement is extremely easy to appreciate on the 1080p presentation of the 4K restoration as well. Second, unsurprisingly, all visuals have a better dynamic range. I think that this is the most important and consequential improvement. Third, the density levels of the visuals are better, and on a large screen, the strength of the new 4K restoration becomes very easy to appreciate. The HDR grade is good. However, I feel that the original cinematography is so beautiful that it helps the HDR grade appear a lot more effective. (You will understand what I mean when the various panoramic shots from the island begin emerging on your screen). There are no traces of any problematic digital corrections. Image stability is excellent.

Evil Under the Sun 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There is only one standard audio track on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

The lossless track is very healthy. However, the lossless track from the previous Blu-ray release was excellent as well. I do not know if any additional work was done on the new track when the 4K restoration was completed. All exchanges were very clear, sharp, and stable. Dynamic contrasts are good, but it is usually the music that creates the most excitement. I did not encounter any encoding anomalies.

Evil Under the Sun 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thomson. It initially appeared on Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of Evil Under the Sun.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this archival audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thomson. It initially appeared on Kino Lorber's Blu-ray release of Evil Under the Sun.

• Making of - this archival featurette contains raw footage from the shooting of Evil Under the Sun as well as clips from archival interviews with director Guy Hamilton and cast members. In English, not subtitled. (16 min).

• Radio Spots - a few vintage radio spots for Evil Under the Sun. In English, not subtitled. (2 min).

• Trailer - vintage trailer for Evil Under the Sun. In English, not subtitled. (4 min).

• Cover - reversible cover with vintage poster art for Evil Under the Sun.

Evil Under the Sun 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Guy Hamilton's Evil Under the Sun should appeal primarily to folks who have seen John Guillermin's Death on the Nile and enjoyed Peter Ustinov's Hercule Poirot. His return is even more convincing. Now, the case Poirot is hired to solve is a little less complicated, and this helps the characters he encounters appear more authentic, which I think is a good thing. Also, of the four recently restored in 4K films featuring Agatha Christie's famous character, Evil Under the Sun produces the most gorgeous visuals. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.