Rendez-vous avec la mort

If you're an Agatha Christie fan then you'll enjoy this whodunit, a Christie tale with all her classic ingredients. The locations are superb, as are the period costumes and surroundings. The plot certainly rolls along at a good enough pace and there's enough change of location to keep the whole thing interesting. The cast list is spectacular and........you're probably waiting for the'but!'. Well, the 'But' is that the acting in all honesty, with the exception of Bacall, Mills & Seagrove, is decidedly average. Ustinov was undoubtedly talented, but does not put across the little mannerisms that make Poirot such a classic character. David Soul is very disappointing, as are several other of the leads. Michael Winner seems to have concentrated so much on location and period that he forgot about the performances. This is an enjoyable enough romp but if you're looking for classic acting, this is not the movie for you.

Suspense and intrigue with Poirot on holidays in Jerusalen . This whodunit deals with Hercules Poirot (Peter Ustinov) as the Belgian sleuth man in he case of killing a rich , unpopular heiress in an archaeological dig during a luxurious vacations . He investigates the travelers and as numerous suspects , all support cast ( Carrie Fisher, Nicholas Guest , David Soul , Hayley Mills , John Terlesky , Lauren Bacall and Jenny Seagrove married to Michael Winner). Who is the killer? , can he find the guilty? . Hercules Poirot is helped by a British Colonel (John Gielgud). After the clues have been shown we will get a chance to give the answer with Poirot finding out about the culprit at a twisted finale with outstanding surprises but are taken the murders from different viewpoints of everyone which it makes a little bit boring, pedestrian , endless and overlong.

The film is a detective story in which you are the detective . In the picture there are mystery , emotion, love story , suspense and wonderful outdoors from Jerusalen , Italy and the rout on the cruise ship . The movie gets a lush costume design ( John Bloomfield ) and magnificent production design . Colorful and sunny cinematography by excellent cameraman David Gurfinkel . Sensitive and atmospheric musical score by Pino Donaggio . Actors 's interpretation are first-rate , Peter Ustinov acting is similar to Albert Finney ( Murder on the Orient Express). Ustinov starred various Hercules Poirot films as : ¨Evil under the sun¨(Guy Hamilton), ¨Death on the Nile¨(John Guillermin) and for TV with low budget as : ¨Murder in three acts¨,¨Dead man's folly¨ and ¨Thirteen at dinner ¨; but the best considered is Death on the Nile .

This film is professionally directed by Michael Winner though contains some flaws and poor edition . After directing the successful ¨Death wish¨ he made worst sequels in which Bronson-Paul Kersey goes on to torture robbers , all of them inferior and the violence could be deemed excessive , are the following : ¨Death wish II¨ with Jill Ireland and Vincent Gardenia , ¨Death wish III¨ with Ed Lauter and Deborah Raffin. Subsequently Michael Winner career was failed , alternating some hit as ¨The sentinel¨ and various flops as ¨ Firepower, The big sleep, The wicked lady, Appointed with death, A chorus of disapproval, and Bullseye ¨. The flick will appeal to suspense lovers and Agatha Christie-Poirot novels buffs .

You'd think that with a good story (an Agatha Christie whodunit), a solid cast of actors, and some great locations, it would be difficult not to produce a good movie. Unfortunately, in this case all that is for naught. "Appointment" has the look and feel (and lousy sound) of a badly done 'Movie of the Week' or an episode of 'The Love Boat' from hell. Most of the blame should go to director Michael Winner: every one of his directorial choices -- from his over-reliance on pedestrian shots, his ill-conceived blocking, or the waste of good acting talent (he should be shot for turning Piper Laurie and Lauren Bacall into scene-chewers) -- seems designed to make this production the movie equivalent of root-canal.

I have seen all of the old Hercule Poirot with Peter Ustinov and I liked most of them, and I had to watch this one too as it's considered the weakest of those movies. It wasn't terrible tho.

This film is set in Jerusalem. When it begins the Boynton family (with Piper Laurie as the martiarch Emily and Carrie Fisher as one of her daughters) is preparing for destroying the patriarch's will as he died recently. They go in Jerusalem and Poirot casually happens to be there. Along them also Lady Westholme (Lauren Bacall), her secretary Miss Quinton (Hayley Mills) and her lawyer Cope (STARSKY & HUTCH's David Soul). At a dig, Emily is found dead with pin marks on her wrist, suggesting that she had an injection with a syringe. With the help of Colonel Cadbury (John Gielgud) Poirot investigates. I won't spoil the ending.

The scenery is great and the soundtrack was decent. The cast is full of famous stars apart Ustinov: Lauren Bacall, Carrie Fisher, Piper Laurie, David Soul and legendary stage actor John Gielgud are quite an ensemble cast of A-listers. The problems with this movie were that at times it was sloppy and slow paced, and Mrs Boyinton looked a bit too cantankerous than a tyrant. And the plot twist at the end was hard to believe.

Not a complete disaster but with some faults (and the fact that it was produced by Cannon films probably says a lot).

Peter Ustinov investigates into the murder of a rich heir during a cruise with the children of his deceased husband. Peter Ustinov lends once more his mockery and his gentleness in acute Hercule Poirot in this pleasant adaptation of Agatha Christie's novel.