Desyat negrityat

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.

The Agatha Christie novel upon which this film is based is an excellent read and one of her most popular titles. It has been put into film many times, but each version is far inferior to the actual novel. Except this one. There is no matching the quality of the book, but this Russian one does a very good job, because for the first time the material is not softened down. It is as dark and as grim as Agatha Christie intended her novel to be. It also keeps the original ending, which other versions have adjusted, forfeiting the deeper things that the story has to stay. The flashbacks are woven in perfectly, the sound recording is noticeably sharp, and in general there is very little to complain about this superb rendition of the novel.

A note for prospective buyers:

After some searching, I managed to order a DVD copy of this film from a Russian company via the internet. The DVD quality itself is quite good, however the English subtitles are often poorly translated and out-of-sync with who is talking. Those who have read the novel should still find it easy enough to follow - this is just a little warning. However, that is only on the DVD copy that I viewed. As for the film itself, there is very little wrong with it.

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

Amazing! AllI can say is amazing! The best movie adaptation yet! I liked the realistic reactions rather than the wise cracks from older versions. Vera was played to perfection right down to the hanging and the Judge, all I can say is brilliant. I'm glad they played out the ending there versions were afraid to do, and the setting is just perfect to the way Christie described it! I'm also happy on the way they did the death scenes in that manor. Aside from liking Vera's breakdown, I was equally amazed by Miss Brents break down to her smashing her bible through the window! The score was just plain creepy! My only grip is the horrible subtitles, that look like they were written by some 4-year old! Plus they were completely off. Like the guy would speak and seconds later, the words would prompt on. Next time I'm watching it subtitle less, after all, it was so close to the book I felt like I didn't even need the subtitles! Overall I give it 9 out of 10 N i g g e rs!

I've seen many adaptations of this story but this one is really unrivaled. From the very beginning, you can see the talent of the director. When he's filming the guests waiting to depart, you can feel the tension among them, and the culpability too. On the contrary of the other adaptations, this movie doesn't only show the action, the murder series, but also (and it seemed capital to me) what's in the victims' minds. I appreciated in particular the flashes back. Personally, I only deplore the location. The place where the movie was shot is too well known, and doesn't fit with the idea one could have of the island. To adapt such a famous book is always tricky, but not for Govorukhin ! Mankiewicz couldn't have done better.