Hercule Poirot Five Little Pigs (1989–2013) Online

This film is incredibly good. The cast is uniformly good. The direction is clever and thoughtful. The music is beautiful. The script has all the essentials of the plot and remarkably faithful to the book. I would be quite willing to say it's the best Christie adaptation so far. It's so good in fact that it could have been made for the silver screen. I even forgive the fact that it isn't set on a rocky battlement as it is in the book - the documentary on the DVD explains why - budgetary constraints - and the water garden does just as well. All the heart-breaking tragedy from the book - and it is a tragedy, even for the culprit - is there. It bodes well for the next lot of Poirot films, and so too for the upcoming Miss Marples. I thank the producers for having the courage, which has paid off handsomely. Well done.

The Poirot series has always appealed to me because I love that era, but also because it's intriguing and interesting. This is no exception - actually, this is one of my favorites, if not THE favorite.

A young woman asks to meet Poirot and she explains that she believes her Mother was wrongly hanged for killing her Father. There are a number of flashbacks, beautifully arranged in accurate places. Every suspect is interviewed and gives their account on the story. One little pig is lying.

Not only did the incredibly sad story make an impact on me, but the hauntingly beautiful score which set just the right mood (mysterious, sad, haunting) for the movie. It is the cherry on top of a very beautiful, yummy cake.

Poirot: Five Little Pigs is one of the best movies I've seen. It just feels right. You just relax and enjoy the story - you don't have to cringe at bad actors. A truly beautiful, hauntingly sad movie.

I'm quite opinionated when it comes to Agatha Christie's books-turned-movies, but this one was simply great (ignoring a minute comparison with the book).

I liked pretty much everything, from the actors, and I LOVED Rachael Stirling's performance as Caroline Crale, to the directing filled with flashbacks. Everything was so tense that you could even feel the powerful emotions and feelings the characters were going through. You could even feel sorry for the murderer in the end, as you were made to understand exactly what he was going through. Once again, I have to say that the acting was top quality.

One of my favourite episodes!

Quite the best Christie adaptation I or my wife have seen to date. We were particularly surprised by how emotionally engaged we were. Where as with most detective stories you remain dispassionate, quietly observing from the outside, FLP draws you in to care about the characters and come the final denouement we are both intellectually and emotional rewarded by the resolution.

The direction and story telling are perfect - cutting neatly between the present and five flashback accounts of the same 14 yrs old incident. We are led gently up all manner of garden paths, and even allowed to think we've 'nailed it' only to have our smugness shot down in the final reel. The acting is far above the norm, and the casting, especially of the flashback 'younger versions', particularly effective.

FLP is lovely to look at - with a nice contrast for the flashbacks to a heightened, over exposed look, and lovely to listen to - the score is a magnificently clever variation of the basic Poirot theme.

Yes - an all round joy that we even wanted to watch again the next day. A 'whodunit first' for us!

A great adaptation of one of Christie's more intriguing Hercule Poirot mysteries. All the characters were well-played with David Suchet as Poirot leading the band. The plot concerns a murder that took place 14 years ago. The daughter of the murdered man and his condemned wife wants to find out the truth. Poirot must interview the only other individuals(the five little pigs) who were present on that day. Not only do we get interesting character studies but we get to know the murdered man and his condemned wife and can see how clearly their own inherent weaknesses led them to their untimely ends. The book, in my opinion, does not communicate the tragedy of this situation nearly as well as the movie does. I must say something about Julie Cox who plays Elsa Greer. I've seldom seen such a realistic aging effect. The flashback that showed her a coquettish, somewhat spoiled young girl was a great contrast to her persona in the present, a cold and hard woman. And then, despite being easily the least sympathetic of all the suspects, to actually be able to elicit pity from the viewer at the end (and you DO pity her!) only goes to show that fine acting is the rule and not the exception in these recent Christie adaptations.

This is definitely one of the best, if not the best, adaptation of a Christie story, "Five Little Pigs," and certainly a top Christie story in itself.

A young woman, Lucy Crale, comes to see Poirot to ask for help in clearing her mother's name. Fourteen years earlier, Caroline Crale was hanged for the murder of her husband, an artist, Amyas Crale. Lucy promises that even if it turns out that her mother committed the murder, she will accept it, but she wants the whole truth.

Poirot then visits the five people who were present when the murder took place: Amyas' best friend, Philip Blake, a visitor at the Crale home when the murder happened; Philip's brother Meredith, from whom it is suspected that Caroline stole the poison used to kill Amyas; Elsa Greer, Amyas' lover and whose portrait he was painting; Caroline's half-sister, Angela, who is sure her sister was innocent; and Miss Williams, Lucy's governess. After hearing each story, Poirot knows the truth and reunites all of them to make the announcement.

The story unfolds neatly, and at the end, Poirot keeps you guessing. The flashbacks are beautifully, dreamily photographed, and the locations are lovely, as is the period atmosphere. The way the flashbacks were filmed is reminiscent of the flashback scenes in the feature film, "Murder on the Orient Express." The acting is superb, with David Suchet perfect as usual, and he's surrounded by some top talent, including Rachel Stirling, the brilliant Toby Stephens (he comes by his talent honestly, being the son of Robert Stephens and Maggie Smith!), Gemma Jones, and Patrick Malahide, Top drawer - don't miss it.

This is one of my personal top favorites of Christie's books, and I've always wondered why it hadn't been adapted for television; although considering how badly many of them have fared in the past, you figure maybe its just as well! Amazingly, this production has stuck remarkably close to the book - tight budgets and weather permitting - although it starts to derail badly a couple of times at the very end. Christie's books are sometimes quite dark and very adult, something which has usually been scrubbed out of the various movie and television versions, as they are dumbed down, cheered up, and "sanitized for your protection". However in this adaptation, the producers have instead chosen to "dive deep", and have come up with something surprisingly moving, which starts to edge towards Greek tragedy. In many ways, it stands head and shoulders above prior Poirots.

The casting has netted a very interesting group of actors, although as much as I admire Aidan Gillen's work he is the last person that I would have thought of for Amyas Crale - I would have looked for someone more like Denis Quilley. Suchet's work here is just about seamless, as he wisely takes a "less-is-more" approach to this serious outing. Its amusing to see Annette Badland in a minor role; she appeared memorably in a "Miss Marple" many years prior, as an unfortunate victim tied to a clothesline.

Finally! I've now seen all of the feature length installments of the Poirot movies featuring David Suchet. And wouldn't you know it - the last one I watch just happens to be one of the best of the entire series.

Five Little Pigs, which happens to benefit from staying fairly true to Agatha Christie's original work (at least as best as I can remember), is a poignant, gut-wrenching, and beautifully filmed movie. As Christie did in her novel, the mystery is told though a series of five interviews that flashback to that fateful day when a murder was committed. Director Paul Unwin handles this portion quite nicely. I was worried about all the hand-held shaky-cam, but it works well for the iffy memories of events of fourteen years previous. Even though I knew the outcome, I thought the mystery elements were well done. I think someone without knowledge of the plot would really enjoy this part of Five Little Pigs. The acting, other than the abysmal performance of Aimee Mullins as the adult Lucy, is more than acceptable. By now (or by 2003 at least), Suchet has grown in the role of Poirot to the point that I cannot imagine anyone else even attempting to do the character. Two other real highlights for me were the music (it's quite beautiful) and the photography (there are some gorgeous landscape shots throughout the movie). All together, an 8/10 seems about right by me. Had the adult Lucy not been so distractingly poorly played, I could have easily rated Five Little Pigs higher.

'Five Little Pigs' could have been a tricky novel to dramatise. Most of it is set in the past and as a result there is little 'action' but this adaptation is very well done indeed. By this time, David Suchet IS the definitive Poirot and it's difficult to imagine anyone else playing him. The flashback sequences are beautifully handled and very atmospheric; the 'ageing' of the characters superbly done. Indeed, I have to admit to feeling very foolish to discover at the end that there were two different actresses playing young and older Angela - I was quite convinced it was one actress doing a really spectacular job - they looked SO alike! The cast is almost perfect I think except perhaps Aiden Gillen who (in my opinion) doesn't quite convey the magnetism and charisma of Amyas Crale - he's a bit ordinary. The modern Christie's (the new Poirots and the McEwen Marples) can be fairly criticised for overplaying the gay card and in this adaptation at least one of the 'Pigs' has been made into a gay character (it might be argued that Miss Williams' intense love and admiration for Caroline could constitute a second) but in this case I think it has done little harm and the central plot remains untouched. There is also an overly melodramatic finale but overall this remains one of the best of the Suchet Poirot films.

I absolutely loved this movie. It was VERY faithful to the book. And the book is a heart-breaking novel. I was moved to tears. There was only one MAJOR change, and that was (the usual) making a character gay. There was also a tense moment at the end, with an attempted assassination of the killer. This scene was never in the novel. (It's just a tense psychological moment.) But other than that, the movie was fantastic. An enjoyable cast and great storyline, and David Suchet once again plays the unbelievable Hercule Poirot. To summarize, the movie was an enjoyable experience, faithful to the original material unlike some episodes out there (*cough* Cards on the Table *cough*). Well done!

Having stopped reading Five Little Pigs on two third I started on the complete series of the BBC's Poirot. I am a big Agatha Christie fan, but the book is really dull. Christie a Plot Queen, but not a Writing Queen. Let's all be honest. She isn't. In the book, there isn't happening much in the 5 testimonials. After 3 testimonials you don't really want to sit through 2 more.

But then I saw this adaptation: and the whole story came to life thanks to brilliant acting of almost the complete cast (a pity the American Lucy Crale doesn't quite land it for me, but then again: it seems in all episodes American actors fall short next to the English ones). Then there is a wonderful and compelling atmosphere. Beautifully filmed. And bold and daring choices we're made in writing the screenplay. Five Little Pigs is absolutely more suited for a film then for a book, I'd say.

I saw some other (re)viewers nag a little about minor plot changes: the biggest one - Phillip Blake's confession of his love for Amyas, is actually very close to the book. When I read his testimonial in the book i already thought: my, he must be in love with Amyas. I think in Christie's time it was not done to speak of homosexuality out loud, but I'm quite convinced in her mind she was writing Blake's character with those exact feelings.

I think, so far, Five Little Pigs is one of this series best. And definitely: 'Better Then The Book!'

What is to say? One of the best of Christies' novels adapted as close to the original story as possible, if you neglect the homosexual stuff. Some minor flaws (esp. the age and looks of Julie Fox) have been mentioned elsewhere. But if you don't like this one, I gather you're not able to appreciate any Christie at all. "Five Litte Pigs" is on the very top rung and maybe the most touching Christie of them all. Anyone is allowed to cry out loud even though most are engaged in solving the mystery.

David Suchet makes one of his most convincing performances here and as many other states, Rachel Stirling is unbelievably good as Caroline Crale. Any man with a touch of "gentle" in his blood would fight for this woman until his death.. some clue to the denouement might be stated here!

I saw this when it first aired in 2003, when I was 11, and I was very impressed, really I was. Two years ago, I read the book, and I personally think the book is up there among the best with Death on the Nile and Murder in Mesopotamia. What impressed me most with the TV adaptation, which I got on video recently, was that some of the scenes, like the hanging scene, were genuinely haunting, and that's what I want to feel in a mystery. The music score gave that haunted feeling and some poignancy, in an already complicated story. As far as I can remember, the overall structure was faithful to the book, and I also liked the actress of Caroline Crale, as you really feel for her, and Amias was certainly hissable here in the way they made him behave. Marc Warren and Gemma Jones also do well as Meridith and Mrs Williams. Also what the writers got right were Angela's disfigurement and although it was changed, the ending with Lucy in the lovely dress was very effective. As ever, David Suchet is impeccable as Hercule Poirot, and he is helped by a brooding script. However there were two things I didn't like about the adaptation- the idea of Blake being homosexual(I don't think that was in the book), and Julie Cox was perhaps too old for Elsa. All in all, technically and visually it's a delight to look at, and I enjoyed this adaptation very much, though I do prefer the book. 9/10 Bethany Cox.

'Five Little Pigs'is a hauntingly beautiful film with brilliant performances from its entire cast, especially David Suchet (Hercule Poirot) and the amazingly beautiful,Rachael Stirling (Caroline Crale). I haven't read the novel, and so won't compare the film with the book. It is indeed a very sad, melancholic story which poignantly illustrates the dark shades of the human psyche,..there is very little alleviating about the film, and in my opinion that is how indeed it should be! The performances by the entire cast are first rate, and you indeed feel sorry for everyone involved...even the real murderer at the end. Another thing that struck me was that the "suffering" wife looked a lot better than the "other woman",who came across as childish in comparison... something that has also been rightly been commented upon by another reviewer! Another masterpiece from the "Poirot" series....go ahead and watch it...at least once...the story and the performances will stay with you for a long time, I promise! Agatha Christe was indeed the undisputed "Queen of Crime Fiction"...hats off to her !!

Regular readers of my comments know I have dozens and dozens here that complain about Christie films. Oh, I'll ramble on and on about the nature of detective narrative and how the filmmakers (different each time) always seem to apply formulas in ways that trample on the most fun parts.

What a sourpuss! What a killjoy!

But it all sets the stage for my enthusiasm over this project.

Here's the basic problem set. You must set the track of the story so that facts can be interpreted in different ways, "playing fair" with different outcomes. At the same time, there are important mechanics of narrative which move the viewer into the thing, detecting, writing, conspiring. And then we have the cinematic and theatrical needs. All that stuff about faces and places, character and rhythms, types of rhythms.

We have it all here, thanks to some smart people and the happy structure of the novel, which is a rashoman-like retelling of the same event. Each layer, each visit shows more and we know some versions will be lies.

Yes, I must admit the trick of the overly juggled hand-held camera and washed colors for the "movie within" was a bit amateurish and annoying. But forgivable, especially since this Poirot is so unlike all the other Suchet portrayals. This one is not a prissy joke, but a mind on legs, one that can be patient with a foolish world. Swapping directors around is so interesting because even with the same actor, you get a completely different character.

This one also has a higher level of acting talent than in the series stories.

I've remarked on Julie Cox before. Striking woman, something like an anorexic Polly Walker.

Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.

This has to be, without doubt, the best Suchet-Poirot outing so far, except perhaps "Lord Edgware Dies" in 2000. At least Hastings, Japp and Miss Lemon haven't been injected clumsily into the story. A few things peeved me: Cara Lemerchant became Lucy Crale, Phillip Blake became a homosexual and Agatha Christie's autograph was all over the screen. Other than those points, the script is extremely close to the source, acting is of surprisingly high quality (We don't expect Marc Warren to be able to act - he normally can't), and Suchet's moustache is - at last! - convincing. Fans won't be disappointed; Despite some toning down of the original story, this production is definitely good viewing.

Whoever read it, knows that if there is one Agatha Christie's novel which would be difficult to adapt for television, must be "Five Little Pigs". Basically due to its plot, in which Monsieur Hercule Poirot has to build the case by five testimonies from a group of people involved in a case of murder closed fourteen years ago. Nevertheless, it is known that Poirot doesn't investigate facts 'per se' but people's psychology. Here he leaves us astonished once again... or should I say it is Christie's amazing knowledge on human behaviour which actually does? The direction of this film really helps on that sense, by remarking the value of the characters' perspective, which adds a lot to a pretty good adaptation of the book. Although, there are some points that Christie's fans must be aware of. They relate to the script, which even when it's quite adjusted to the novel itself, includes several changes from the book as from her style as well. Unnecessary items like a bed scene, an homosexuality confession and some unexplainable non fit-character behaviour by the end of the movie are the points that don't allow me to say this is a great Christie's adaptation. It isn't a question of quasi moralism, it's just that she never wrote about it, not in this story nor in her others. As readers we have the right to find these things and themes hidden, implied in any line, but there's a limit for our own interpretations. Specifically in the case of the character of Philip Blake being gay, there is not much to assume since the author herself tell us that Blake has always been in love with Caroline Crane (not her husband Amyas, as the film tells). Maybe the presence of sex and guns were some sort of influence of nowadays footages. The truth is, as a real fan I didn't like that. Anyway, despite this comment, in my opinion it is fair to say that the acting, as well as the already congratulated direction, turn the beautiful locations into a disturbing atmosphere, where Poirot and his 'little grey cells' take us through a long walk to the past to find the truth in an unexpected end.

Hercule Poirot is called in to re-investigate a fourteen year old murder case, in which a womanizing artist was poisoned and his wife hanged for the crime, by the daughter who is convinced of her mother's innocence.

An engrossing whodunit. It takes a few viewings to fully appreciate this one, but it is actually a highly imaginative adaptation of Christie's novel with sympathetic characters and directed with flair by Paul Unwin. He and Producer Margaret Mitchell elected to shoot the flashback scenes with hand held cameras in order to try and make the audience feel as if they were part of the film. And in the children's flashbacks they tinted the shots in hazy colours to heighten the impression of the vagueness of the characters' recollections. All the performances work but Suchet stands out particularly as Poirot. The DVD comes with a bonus interview with the actor in which he talks about playing the Belgian sleuth. He has read every Christie Poirot novel and has compiled a complete dossier of the character's habits and eccentricities and as his star status has risen with the success of the series, he has been allowed to have more influence on the scripts and costume design and he is determined to go back to the books for inspiration.

Five Little Pigs is one of my favourite novels of all time, when you love a book so much it's so often the case that any adaptation lets it down somewhat. Not the case with Five Little Pigs, this adaptation is glorious. Very few changes were made from the text, so plaudits to the team involved for creating such a sincere, quality version. I was a little underwhelmed by recent productions like Dumb Witness and Hickory Dickory Dock, Five Little Pigs is all together a more sophisticated and sumptuous production. The first thing you're aware of us is how lucky the team were with the weather, it was filmed on days of glorious sunshine, that adds to the feel of the story, it looks sensational.

The production values are superb, it looks amazing, I loved the music too, indeed the overall flavour of the episode is outstanding. The performances are truly great, Rachel Stirling, Gemma Jones, Aimee Mullins are all brilliant. Aidan Gillen is terrific as the handsome but aloof Amyas Crale, perfect casting indeed.

It's so well paced, the contrasts of colours and textures really help with the flow of the story, you get the brightness of the past, and the harshness of present day, after the tragic deaths have occurred.

Story telling at its very best, 10/10

What a sorrowful, haunting tale. It's rarely that an adaptation is better than the original piece of work, and this is one such example. The movie is far more poignant and moving than the book, and possibly the best of all the Poirot adaptations.

Painter Amyas Crale is murdered, and his wife hangs for the crime. A decade and a half later, their daughter enlists Hercule Poirot to uncover the truth and clear her mother's name. Thus begins the journey of Poirot, who proceeds to interview the 'five little pigs' - the five other people who were present when the crime took place, thus donning the role of both suspects and witnesses, each with a different motive and a different version of the events that transpired.

The casting here is spot on and everyone does a fabulous job. The most riveting performance is undoubtedly Rachael Stirling's, who is pitch-perfect as the ill-fated Caroline Crale. Julie Cox as Elsa Greer is also very good, coming across exactly as the part was written by Christie herself.

Overall, this is one of the most beautiful episodes of Poirot and a must-watch. The 9/10 is only because Sophie Winkleman's 'bad eye' (her character, Angela Warren, has a disfigured, blind eye throughout the movie) isn't done up correctly in the denouement. In one particular shot, the makeup is off and both her eyes look fine. A rather noticeable flaw in a production that has otherwise been done with such painstaking attention to detail.

I watched this episode as I was reading the book for the umpteenth time. In many ways it is remarkably faithful to the book, at times taking scenes and dialogue straight from the pages. It's times like this, when an adaptation is so faithful, that it makes any variance seem either unnecessary or puzzling. For instance, in the book "Lucy" is named Carla, Caroline Crale dies in prison but is not executed, Elsa is 20 instead of 18, the events happened 16 years ago instead of 14, and Philip Blake was in love with Caroline, not Amyas, when he was young and hated her because she did not return his love. There is also an extra scene at the end where Lucy confronts the real killer with a gun but, as another reader pointed out, this is more of a tense psychological moment that works here but would have seemed over-dramatic in the book. All the characters were very much how I pictured them, and David Suchet was wonderful as usual. All in all, a very enjoyable episode with some puzzling variations.

Unlike some of the adaptations of Christie' s Poirot, this was very true to the novel. There were a few melodramatic moments in this production that were not true to the novel but they were minor.

This is one of the Christie novels where the characterizations were at the heart of the tale.

The close-up of all the major characters showed not only how much they suffered from the events of the past but how hollow they had become. It seemed, even in death, the husband and wife were more dynamic than those who orbited around them.

The acting was fabulous and Suchet' s Poirot showed subtlety and charm and happily, few of the affectation s he sometimes employed with his quarry and I think Rachael Stirling,as Caroline Crayle was first among equals.

This show affected me greatly and won't soon be forgotten.

the novel name is driven from a nursery rhyme i read the book first year in colleague & i have to admit it's very enjoyable to watch specially when the script writers respected the original novel , one of my favorite poirots movies of all time

FIVE LITTLE PIGS

is a story being repeated 5 times ( in many flashbacks) by the 5 people who were there 14 yrs ago on an island where a famous painter was poisoned , his wife trailed & executed later

everyone always thought his wife was guilty ,at the present time Lucy Crale (daughter of amyas the painter & his wife)asks poirot to help her discover the truth behind the mystery as she's very sure of her mother's innocence ( caroline )

poirot listens to the 5 witness Philip Blake (amyas's friend) , Meredith Blake (Philip Blake's brother)Elsa Greer (amyas's model & mistress but now she's become Lady Dittisham),Miss Williams (the governess), Angela (Caroline's younger sister) stories about the day of the murder

from interigating miss William's the governess she confessed seeing caroline removing fingerprints off the bottle of beer that amyas was drinking from last & telling miss William's that amyas committed suicided but if he did ,why did she remove the finger prints when everyone saw her bringing the bottle to him & that she didn't tell the police back then about this coz she thought this would incriminate caroline more this is the key to the mystery coz caroline removed the fingerprints to whom she thought it belonged to the murderer but there is a the suspense & the surprise waiting at the end of the moving

the Director Paul Unwin used yellowish screen to help viewers to separate between the flash backs & the present the director was not routine at all & handled the story in a very moral way without directing our minds into thinking the same way he did

i have to mention the beautiful locations in which it was used , the sea was a beautiful back ground to a flashback scene with caroline in it .. the garden .. the beautiful terrace in the house of the painter .. the place near the river where amyas paints , even the rays of sun in the flashbacks down on the scenes were so appealing (strong photography )

as for the actors Lucy the daughter i didn't think she was good as she should no spark in her eyes , amyas as womanizer painter he was perfect for the role , the best performance goes to the acting of Rachael Stirling (caroline) she's very remarkable in that role very strong & yet calm till the end ,Julie Cox ( Elsa) was good & vague a bit but very effective , the one who surprised me was Sophie Winkleman ( angela) she's very talented to the bones & i saw her in a previous miss marple episode called ( the moving finger)where she appeared prettier &had a bigger role but here she is stronger although with a less space on screen

i cant forget to mention the theme music at the beginning and the ending very charming & enchanting puts you in the right mood in those old times i love that era back in time

you'll enjoy the movie i m quite sure , it's a story about love ,a woman who love her husband to death & he loves her back to death too

very charming drawing .. enjoyyy

I have read and enjoyed Agatha Christie's novels since I was 10. This book was a clever well crafted story and is a showcase for Monsieur Poirot's considerable talents.

I have always enjoyed the television adaptations of the book and this was no exception. I would say that the adaption has stayed about 95% true to the novel and this is no mean feat.

I was slightly disappointed with the daughter - Lucy. I expected her to have a bit more fire, although she doesn't really have much to do with the story. I thought that the actress who played Caroline Crale was wonderful and fully met my expectations.

David Suchet as Poirot was, as ever, brilliant; I have seen him in several other roles and he is always believable but this is definitely my favourite.

One other comment - the lovely Marc Warren is fab as Meredith, just the sort of bumbling, slightly confused chap that Christie portrayed. So good that I could not connect him with "Hustle" until I looked him up on IMDb!

Another of the darker Poirots with David Suchet up to his high standards. Also known as "Murder in Retrospect" I won't comment on the plot which has been adequately covered already and though I surely read the book quite a while ago, I didn't remember the culprit.

A solution was clearly telegraphed early on but it turned out not to be the case and so I was somewhat surprised by the conclusion. Again, I appreciated the absence of Hastings, Lemon and Japp who would have certainly been out of place here.

I assume that the producers of the series are determined to fill in all the gaps in Mr. Suchet's participation even if it is a "Herculean" task. It was nice to see Patrick Malahide of the Marsch Inspector Alleyn series and the cast was very good indeed.