Whodunnit?

The Name of the Rose

Jean-Jacques Annaud's The Name of the Rose is a flawed attempt to adapt Umberto Eco's highly convoluted medieval bestseller for the screen, necessarily excising much of the esoterica that made the book so compelling. Still, what's left is a riveting whodunit set in a grimly and grimily realistic 14th-century Benedictine monastery populated by a parade of grotesque characters, all of whom spend their time lurking in dark places or scuttling, half-unseen, in the omnipresent gloom. A series of mysterious and gruesome deaths are somehow tied up with the unwelcome attention of the Inquisition, sent to root out suspected heretical behavior among the monastic scribes whose lives are dedicated to transcribing ancient manuscripts for their famous library, access to which is prevented by an ingenious maze-like layout.

Enter Sean Connery as investigator-monk William of Baskerville (the Sherlock Holmes connection made explicit in his name) and his naive young assistant Adso (a youthful Christian Slater). The Grand Inquisitor Bernado Gui (F. Murray Abraham) suspects devilry; but William and Adso, using Holmesian forensic techniques, uncover a much more human cause: the secrets of the library are being protected at a terrible cost. A fine international cast and the splendidly evocative location compensate for a screenplay that struggles to present Eco's multifaceted story even partially intact; Annaud's idiosyncratic direction complements the sinister, unsettling aura of the tale ideally. --Mark Walker

"The Name of the Rose" is a gothic medieval mystery thriller set in a 14th-century Italian monastery. Franciscan monk William of Baskerville (Sean Connery) and a young novice (Christian Slater) arrive for a conference to find that several monks have been murdered in mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his wit and intelligence.

DVD Features:
Audio Commentary:Commentary by Director Jean-Jaques Annaud
Documentary:Vintage making-of documentary - The Abbey of Crime: Umberto Eco's "The Name of the Rose"
Featurette:All-new Photo Video Journey with Jean-Jacques Annaud
Scene Access
Theatrical Trailer

Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express

Just the name "Orient Express" conjures images of a bygone era. Add an all-star cast (including Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, and Lauren Bacall, to name a few) and Agatha Christie's delicious plot and how can you go wrong? Particularly if you add in Albert Finney as Christie's delightfully persnickety sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Someone has knocked off nasty Richard Widmark on this train trip and, to Poirot's puzzlement, everyone seems to have a motive--just the setup for a terrific whodunit. Though it seems like an ensemble film, director Sidney Lumet gives each of his stars their own solo and each makes the most of it. Bergman went so far as to win an Oscar for her role. But the real scene-stealer is the ever-reliable Finney as the eccentric detective who never misses a trick. --Marshall Fine

Murder by Death

Neil Simon wrote this 1976 spoof in which virtually every famous fictional detective of the 1930s and 1940s congregate at the home of a mysterious fellow (Truman Capote) to try and solve the mystery of who's trying to kill them all. Simon's jokes are mostly obvious, and the film's real appeal is the clever concept matched with fine--sometimes legendary--actors. Peter Falk plays a very Bogart-like Sam Spade equivalent, James Coco is a Hercule Poirot wannabe, Peter Sellers does a Charlie Chan bit, David Niven and Maggie Smith are reflections of Nick and Nora.... You get the picture. Lighthearted and silly, this is cotton-candy comedy for the cast as well as viewers. --Tom Keogh

Witness For the Prosecution

Tyrone Power Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton star in this brilliantly made courtroom drama (The Film Daily) that left audiences reeling from its surprise twists and shocking climax. Directed by Billy Wilder scripted by Wilder and Harry Kurnitz and based on Agatha Christie s hit London play this splendid six-time Oscar-nominated* classic crackles with emotional electricity (The New York Times) and continues to keep movie lovers riveted until the final mesmerizing frame. When a wealthy widow is found murdered her married suitor Leonard Vole (Power) is accused of the crime. Vole s only hope for acquittal is the testimony of his wife (Dietrich) but his airtight alibi shatters when she reveals some shocking secrets of her own! *1957: Best Picture Actor (Laughton) Supporting Actress (Elsa Lanchester) Director Sound Film EditingFormat: DVD MOVIE

Billy Wilder cowrote and directed this brilliant 1957 mystery based on Agatha Christie's celebrated play about an aging London barrister (Charles Laughton) who's preparing to retire when he takes the defense in the most vexing murder case of his distinguished career. In his final completed film (he died of a heart attack less than a year later), Tyrone Power plays the prime suspect in the murder of a wealthy widow, and Marlene Dietrich plays the wife of the accused, whose testimony--and true identity--holds the key to solving the case. A classic of courtroom suspense, Witness for the Prosecution is one of those movies with enough double-crossing twists to keep the viewer guessing right up to the very end, when yet another surprise is deftly revealed. This being a Billy Wilder film, the dialogue is first-rate and the acting superb, with both Laughton and his offscreen wife Elsa Lanchester (playing the barrister's pesty nurse) winning Academy Awards for their performances. Although later films would concoct even more complicated courtroom scenarios, this remains one of the best films of its kind and a model for all those films that followed its lead. --Jeff Shannon

Death on the Nile

Peter Ustinov makes his debut as Agatha Christie's brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in this lavish and star-studded follow-up to MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. As Poirot enjoys a luxurious cruise down the Nile a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board and every elegant passenger becomes a prime suspect. Can Poirot identify the killer and motive before the ship of clues reaches the end of its murderous journey? Bette Davis David Niven Angela Lansbury Maggie Smith Mia Farrow George Kennedy Olivia Hussey Simon MacCorkindale Jane Birkin Jack Warden and Lois Chiles co-star in this sumptuous Oscar-winning classic adapted by Anthony Shaffer (SLEUTH) and filmed on location throughout exotic Egypt. Other Information: Starring: Peter Ustinov Mia Farrow Jane Birkin David Niven Olivia Hussey Bette Davis Angela Lansbury Lois Chiles Maggie Smith Jack WardenDirector: John GuillermanProducer: John Brabourne & Richard GoodwinRunning Time: 140 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE

Following Albert Finney's quirky and compelling performance as Agatha Christie's Belgian detective, Hercule Poirot, in 1974's Murder on the Orient Express, Peter Ustinov capably took over the role in this 1978 adaptation of Christie's river-bound whodunit. While on a pleasure cruise along the Nile with a taciturn companion (David Niven), Poirot slips into action following the murder of a much-despised heiress (Lois Chiles). There's no shortage of suspects... until, that is, they also start dying off, obfuscating the investigation by suggesting that several killers may be at work. With a disciplined screenplay by Anthony Shaffer, the film is solid enough (certainly better than its 1981 follow-up, Evil Under the Sun) and is graced immeasurably by a glittery cast including Bette Davis, Maggie Smith, Mia Farrow, Olivia Hussey, Jack Warden, and Angela Lansbury. Directed with customary efficiency by John Guillermin (King Kong, The Towering Inferno). --Tom Keogh

And Then There Were None

At first glance, René Clair might seem an odd match for Agatha Christie's mystery thriller Ten Little Indians, but his buoyant touch is exactly what is missing from so many overly solemn remakes. Ten strangers gather for a mysterious gathering on a secluded island. It turns out to be a farewell party, for they all have been sentenced to die for crimes in their past by a self-appointed judge, jury, and executioner who may be one of them. One by one, the guests are systematically dispatched in the manner described in the lyrics of the children's rhyme "Ten Little Indians," while the survivors nervously eye one another, splintering into tenuous alliances until the next murder throws suspicion on someone new. The terrific cast of character actors has a ball with Dudley Nichols's witty script. The flamboyant sparring of Barry Fitzgerald (whose paternal Irish lilt takes a sinister dimension) and Walter Huston is almost upstaged by Roland Young's deadpan drollery. Romantic leads Louis Hayward and June Duprez come off as arch and stiff in august company that includes a sinisterly detached Judith Anderson, a dotty and distracted C. Aubrey Smith, and a hilariously flippant Mischa Auer. The story has been remade numerous times under the title of Christie's novel, Ten Little Indians, but never as well. Clair's effervescent, lively little gem is a fatal drawing-room comedy with a body count and a surreal mood of doom. --Sean Axmaker

Ten people, strangers to each other, are invited to a lavish estate on an island. Through a recording, their mysterious host accuses each of his `guests' of murder and proceeds to exact `justice'. The tension mounts as, one by one, the number of people are reduced through the ingenious plotting of the unseen killer. Finally only two are left and each is uncertain as to weather or not the other is the murderer. A top cast of veteran performers bring the intricate twist of the plot to life. One of the most thrilling novels, climaxes at the spine tingling conclusion. Match wits with the script as you watch a thriller that has carved its own special niche in the realm of tales of suspense and mystery. Released by 20th Century Fox. Bonus Features: Bonus Classic Comedy Two-Reeler starring Leon Errol, Scene Selection, Actor Bios, Narrative track for the blind. Specs: DVD5; Dolby Digital Mono; 97 minutes; B&W; 1.33:1 Aspect Ratio; MPAA - NR; Year -1945.

Evil Under the Sun

Peter Ustinov returns with an all-star cast in one of Agatha Christie's most sinister mysteries! When a shrewish stage star is found strangled at a posh island resort detective Hercule Poirot (Peter Ustinov) is called in to investigate. But as the brilliant Belgian learns it isn't a matter of who would want the diva dead but who wouldn't? As he follows the twists and turns of clues and motives Poirot soon dicovers that even among the rich and famous murder never takes a holiday. Maggie Smith Roddy McDowall Diana Rigg James Mason Jane Birkin Colin Blakely and Sylvia Miles co-star is this Christie favorite filmed on location in stunning Majorca Spain directed by Guy Hamilton (THE MIRROR CRACK'D GOLDFINGER) adapted by Anthony Shaffer (SLEUTH) and filled with classic songs by Cole Porter. Other Information: Starring: James Mason Maggie Smith Diana Rigg Peter Ustinov Roddy McDowall Jane Birkin Colin BlakelyDirector: Guy HamiltonProducer: John Brabourne & Richard GoodwinRunning Time: 116 Min.Format: DVD MOVIE

Mostly for Poirot completists and admirers of then-trendy, all-star ensemble casts from the 1970s and early '80s, Evil Under the Sun finds Peter Ustinov in his second outing as Agatha Christie's famous Belgian detective (three years after 1978's Death on the Nile). As the title promises, the action this time takes place on an Adriatic island (though Christie fans will surely balk at the switch from the novel's setting on the English coast), where a famous stage star (Diana Rigg) is murdered, and the list of likely suspects is unusually high. The parade of legendary performers--Roddy McDowall, James Mason, Sylvia Miles, Maggie Smith, Jane Birkin--plus Ustinov's energetic performance keep things hopping. But Anthony Shaffer's lazy screenplay and director Guy Hamilton's superficial approach nudge everything (action, characters, tone) toward campy, near-parody, with bitchy sniping, tacky costumes, and an obligatory soundtrack of Cole Porter tunes. It's only in the last lap that the film transcends such obviousness and finds its way back to the glories of detective fiction. --Tom Keogh

Thunderheart

Tough but moving, Thunderheart is an unusual story about an arrogant FBI agent (Val Kilmer) who participates in a federal investigation of a murder on an Oglala Sioux reservation. Kilmer's character is part Sioux himself, a detail that leaves him cold as he sets about pushing his way through the community to find facts on the case. In time, however, he begins to feel an ethnic tug and grows increasingly sympathetic to the locals and hostile toward his fellow G-men, much to the dismay of his agency mentor (Sam Shepard). The script is based on real events that occurred on the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1975 in South Dakota (involving an armed standoff between Indian activists and the FBI, an event that prompted Thunderheart director Michael Apted to make a companion documentary, Incident at Oglala). The conclusion of Thunderheart feels like politically charged whimsy, but the real strength of the film is Kilmer's outstanding performance as a man in transformation. Apted's clear-eyed depiction of the Sioux's spiritual and cultural continuity with the past has none of the cloying romanticism of other films about Indians. Produced by Robert De Niro. --Tom Keogh

The Gift

Take a pinch of psychic phenomenon, add a dash of Southern gothic, stir in a sharp cast of talented actors, and you'll come up with The Gift, director Sam Raimi's ingenious gumbo of a thriller. It doesn't hold together as well as Raimi's earlier A Simple Plan, but the two films are stylistically connected--The Gift was cowritten (with Tom Epperson) by A Simple Plan's costar, Billy Bob Thornton, who in turn draws from the Deep South milieu that informed his own Sling Blade and his earlier collaboration with Epperson, One False Move. A similar sense of mystery permeates The Gift, in which a small-town Georgia psychic (perfectly played by Cate Blanchett) is tormented by tragic loss and visions connected to the murder of a local vamp (Katie Holmes) whose schoolteacher fiancé (Greg Kinnear) is a prime suspect.

Other suspects include a hot-tempered bully (Keanu Reeves) whose battered wife (Hilary Swank) is one of the psychic's regular clients, and a traumatized local (Giovanni Ribisi) who is tenuously stabilized by therapy and antidepressants. While this trio of potential killers keeps the mystery alive, the requisite red herrings don't add much to the film's low-level suspense. Instead, Raimi is far more effective in creating an atmosphere of anxious dread that wells up from each of these finely drawn characters, starting with the widow psychic's extended mourning for her lost husband, the agonized terror of a beaten wife, and the percolating anger of a cuckolded spouse. All of this makes The Gift a worthy showcase for its esteemed cast, even as its plot twists grow increasingly familiar. --Jeff Shannon

Deathtrap

Ira Levin's cat-and-mouse Broadway suspense smash about a playwright's deadly game of murder gets diabolically comic screen treatment. Suspense and excitement are unleashed in this wickedly amusing who'll-do-it starring Golden Globe-nominee Christopher Reeve ("Superman") Academy Award and Golden Globe-winner Michael Caine ("Hannah and Her Sisters" "Little Voice") and Dyan Cannon ("Heaven Can Wait" "Honeysuckle Rose"). A tale of intrigue directed by Sidney Lumet ("Guilty As Sin" "Dog Day Afternoon") and based on the play by Ira Levin ("Sliver" "Rosemary's Baby" "A Kiss Before Dying" "The Stepford Wives").System Requirements:Starring: Michael Caine Christopher Reeve Dyan Cannon Irene Worth Henry Jones Joe Silver Rated: PG Format: DVD MOVIE

Man (Christopher Reeve) writes play. Older washed-up hack (the blissfully hammy Michael Caine) covets play. A meeting is arranged in a remote cabin festooned with various sharp objects. To reveal anything more would serve to ruin one of the most wondrously convoluted plots of the '80s and '90s. It's a cerebrum-bending romp from start to finish, with marvelously airtight plotting that simultaneously parodies and honors its genre, and two vibrant, continuously morphing lead performances (pity poor Dyan Cannon's weak-link wife, though, who gets stuck with the shrillest character and worst dialogue of the lot). Based on Ira Levin's long-running play, this adaptation's rhythm is thrown off a bit by director Sidney Lumet's somewhat misguided attempts to open it up for the screen, but the script and performers are so playfully adept that, as one of the characters says, "even a gifted director (which Lumet most certainly is, based on evidence such as Dog Day Afternoon and Network) couldn't hurt it." Delirious, nasty fun that's twistier than a corkscrew and loaded with enough red herrings to keep Flipper fed for a year. --Andrew Wright