Rating summary

Movie		4.0
Video		4.0
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.5
Overall		4.0

Poirot: Series 12 Blu-ray Movie Review

Poirot Revisited

Reviewed by Michael Reuben May 12, 2014

As an apéritif to the final series of Poirot arriving this fall, Acorn Media is reissuing the episodes comprising Series 12, which were the first ever to be released on Blu-ray. Acorn released them piecemeal in 2010 and 2011, but they have now been gathered into a single set in their original U.K. broadcast order. In this instance, that turns out to be different from their U.S. broadcast order, no doubt because Boston's PBS station had become a producing partner, and Poirot itself had become a worldwide phenomenon, its U.S. audience established through the PBS series, Masterpiece Mystery.

The most famous entry in Series 12, and the first episode to be released on Blu-ray in October 2010, is Poirot's controversial adaptation of Murder on the Orient Express, which had been twice adapted previously, once in a star-studded 1974 theatrical film directed by Sidney Lumet and starring Albert Finney, and again in a 2001 TV version featuring Albert Molina. The version penned by writer Stewart Harcourt for David Suchet struck an entirely different tone than anything suggested in Agatha Christie's novel in an attempt to provide a new experience, and opinion was split on whether the new approach was successful. (I happen to like it, but I understand why it rubs diehard Christie fans the wrong way.)

The remaining three episodes in Series 12 were released the following year as Poirot: Movie Collection Set 6. Both of these releases were reviewed at the time, and Acorn does not appear to have done any remastering beyond some minor changes in sound format. This review will be limited to a brief overview of the contents of the reissued Series 12.

Three Act Tragedy (disc 1) (first broadcast: Jan. 3, 2010, U.K.; June 19, 2011, U.S.): For further discussion, please see Casey Broadwater's review of Poirot: Movie Collection Set 6.

Hallowe'en Party (disc 1) (first broadcast: Oct. 27, 2010, U.K.; July 3, 2011, U.S.): For further discussion, please see Casey Broadwater's review of Poirot: Movie Collection Set 6.

Murder on the Orient Express (disc 2) (first broadcast: Dec. 25, 2010, U.K.; July 11, 2010, U.S.): For further discussion, please see Casey Broadwater's review of Murder on the Orient Express.

The Clocks (disc 2) (first broadcast: Dec. 26, 2011, U.K.; June 26, 2011, U.S.): For further discussion, please see Casey Broadwater's review of Poirot: Movie Collection Set 6.

Poirot: Series 12 Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Presented on two 1080p, AVC-encoded BD-50s, instead of four BD-25s, the Blu-ray presentations appear to be identical to the prior releases. Evaluations can be found in Casey Broadwater's reviews of Murder on the Orient Express and Poirot: Movie Collection Set 6.

Poirot: Series 12 Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

As with past series, Series 12 of Poirot features a stereo track. The previous release of Murder on the Orient Express provided its two-channel mix in lossless DTS-HD MA, whereas Poirot: Movie Collection Set 6 utilized PCM 2.0. For this reissue, all four episodes have been remastered in DTS-HD MA 2.0, but since we are merely dealing with different lossless vehicles for delivering the same soundtrack, the difference is immaterial. Further audio discussion can be found in Casey Broadwater's reviews of Murder on the Orient Express and Poirot: Movie Collection Set 6.

Poirot: Series 12 Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Poirot: Movie Collection Set 6 contained no extras, whereas Murder on the Orient Express offered an entertaining documentary entitled "David Suchet on the Orient Express", plus text files profiling Agatha Christie, listing the Poirot novels and providing cast biographies. The reissued Series 12 omits the text files but retains the documentary. It also adds a photo gallery featuring stills from all four episodes.

Poirot: Series 12 Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

For any collector of Poirot who does not already own these episodes, Series 12 is a must. The episodes maintain the show's high production standards, and several of them are a standout, especially Hallowe'en and, yes, Murder on the Orient Express, which allows David Suchet to show a different side of Poirot than we have ever seen. For those who already own the previous releases, the question is more difficult. There's no upgrade in quality or new content of any importance. The only appeal is consistent packaging with Series 1 through 11 and the forthcoming 13. Buyer's choice. (Note: The scores on this review are my own, based on (among other things) the totality of Acorn's releases of Poirot.)