Desyat negrityat

In 1939 Agatha Christie wrote her famous novel "And then there were none" and in 1945 René Clair made the first adaptation for film.

Although the adaptation by Clair was far from perfect, it was not surpassed for a long time. In my opinion the 1987 Russian adaptation by Stanislav Govorukhin was the long awaited improvement.

The Russian version is much more philosophical that that of Clair. In stead of being a "who donnit" the film treats the relationship between criminal law, ethics and (bad) conscience

With respect to the relationship between ethics and conscience there is a remarkable difference between men and women. At the end of the film (and different from the Clair adaptation) her own conscience is punishment enough for the Vera character.

The film creates a huge gap between ethics and criminal law. The assumption seems to be that criminal law only covers those instances in which a person does the wrong thing on purpose. I think in practice the difference is smaller. Criminal law also covers instances in which a person does not act although he ought to (not saving a person in mortal danger when possible) or acts not with the intention of doing harm but accepting the real possibility that harm nevertheles will happen (drunk driving).

This is not the type of movie that a typical moviegoer will seek, so, instead I will give some other insight.

This was the only movie that ever gave me nightmares when I was a kid. Mostly, I think it's because the movie achieved a rare feat of actually transforming not only the book and it's characters to the screen but also the atmosphere.

Many people will not watch this movie just based on it's original name, but I can assure you, the name conveys no negative information. That leads to believe that it's P.C title, is just a cop-out.

As far as adaptations done, there are no better versions of any ever made.

10/10

Ten people find themselves on an isolated island, and one by one they begin to die, is the killer hiding on the island, or hiding in plain sight?

For my shame I haven't watched this movie for about a decade, that's bad on my part, because it is a superb adaptation.

Who'd have thought that a Russian adaptation of Agatha Christie's incredible novel, would be the first to follow through with the original ending, it took some courage not to opt for the softer conclusion.

Great atmosphere, it's tense, suspenseful and claustrophobic, they truly captured the tone and essence of the book. Some of the earlier adaptations, films I love, but have a degree of humour, the book is a straight up thriller, it doesn't have sentiment or humour, this adaptation is bleak, as is the story.

Each of the characters look the part, Miss Brent looks exactly as I pictured the character from the book, as so The Doctor and Judge.

The music is great, the visuals are spot on, I love the property they use, it has that isolated feel.

I only wish a British made adaptation had been made along these lines, not until the later BBC series was it adapted again.

Perfect adaptation, 10/10.

I must say first off that I am a HUGE Christie fan; Ten Little Indians was the first Christie novel I had read and I was just blown away! The story was so complex and the resolution so brilliant that I was left speechless. What made this story so great is the fact that everything one usually suspects to happen in a book... for instance, one realises early in to tha book that everyone on the island is marked for death... but almost always there are usually two heroic characters who fall in love and overcome the antagonist. When one thinks that, one tends to look at Miss Claythorn and Lombard as the two who likely fit the bill... but this is not so, for they never fall in love, nor are they by any means likable people (they both were murderers and one even killed a little boy). Then, of course there is the fact that they both die.

One would think that this would be the subject of a thousand wonderful adaptation... Well, it's almost right. There were many film versions but none matched up to the book's splendor. Then I finally get my hands on this (not easy) and I was stunned at how good it was... it follows the book all the way down to the original ending. The characters were well played, the plot was quick, and the scenery was beautiful.... all in all I I've this film a 9/10.

I won't rehash the storyline which everyone knows but just a few comments:

Plus points: -the first film adaptation which sticks to the ending as outlined in the novel

-dialogue is very much as per the novel. If you know the book well, the subtitles are almost superfluous as you will know what the characters are saying

-the choice of location for filming was inspired. Oddly, the external shots feel more claustrophobic than those inside the house. The crucial scene at the end between Vera and Lombard is powerfully shot with the sea almost a background character on its own.

Minus points: -At times it can be difficult to distinguish Lombard from Blore. Facially, they are very alike.

-The actress playing Emily Brent is too young...equally, the character playing Anthony Marston is some 10 years too old.

-There's something lacking with the interior shots which fail, at times, to convey the cloying claustrophobia so evident in the book. It may be that there are simply too many daylight scenes.

While I prefer the 2015 BBC adaptation, this 1987 Soviet version is in second place, well ahead of any of the previous adaptations.

However, no film version will ever beat the novel itself and the imagery those words conjure up in the reader's imagination. It's still the only book I can pick up and read from start to finish without a break.