"Actor: Peter Bergman"

• Agatha Christie DVD Collection | DVD | (24/06/2002) from £24.99   |  Saving you £15.00 (60.02%)   |  RRP £39.99

  The four films in this Agatha Christie Murder Mystery Collection demonstrate exactly why Christie's reassuringly formulaic whodunits have been extraordinarily resilient source material. In each we find a corpse (or several), an assorted group of suspects gathered in a self-contained location, all with a motive to commit murder, and the coincidental presence of the totem detective (Poirot or Miss Marple). Between 1974 and 1981, producers John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin mined the Christie seam for some of its ripest riches. Murder on the Orient Express (1974), directed by Sidney Lumet, features a cavalcade of stars including Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, John Gielgud and Sean Connery; while Christie herself gave Albert Finney's Poirot her blessing. The Art Deco setting exudes glamour; the plot is preposterously diverting; the lighting, silvery and washed-out, giving the suspects an appropriately grim and ghoulish air. With a superior Anthony Shaffer screenplay Death on the Nile (1978) saw Peter Ustinov taking over as Poirot. The backdrop of ancient Egyptian monuments helps bring this adaptation a touch of class, complemented by composer Nino Rota's epic theme tune. The Mirror Crack'd (1980) features Elizabeth Taylor and Kim Novak as rival Hollywood legends descending on a quaint English village to make a film, with Rock Hudson as Taylor's husband and Angela Lansbury as a rather unconvincingly robust Miss Marple. Shaffer returned to the fray, adapting Evil Under the Sun (1981) and moving Poirot from the Cornish Riviera to an island off the coast of Albania. Ustinov reprises his role and Maggie Smith returns, camper than ever, as the hotel owner inconvenienced by murder. On the DVD: It's a pity that the sound quality hasn't been sharpened up, though: Murder on the Orient Express sometimes evokes memories of the muffled incoherence of an old fleapit. Apart from trailers, extras are few and far between. There are no cast lists or filmographies. But Death on the Nile and Evil Under the Sun both feature interesting short promotional "'making of"' documentaries in 4:3 format. --Piers Ford

• Danielle Steel's Palomino | DVD | (30/06/2003) from £4.12   |  Saving you £1.87 (45.39%)   |  RRP £5.99

  After the break up of her marriage photographer Samantha Taylor retreats to the sanctuary of friend Caroline Lord's California ranch. An excellent rider Samantha is initially given a frosty welcome by the ranch hands but she begins to gain their respect as they see that she is more than able on a horse and in their environment. Samantha falls in love with ranch hand Tate Jordan and they share a deep and passionate love until Tate finds out that Samantha's ex-husband is popular and wealthy news anchor Warren Taylor. Ashamed by his profession and his 'status' he leaves the ranch. Samantha is heartbroken once again and tries to assuage her pain by embarking on a project photographing the 'real' cowboys of the west. Whilst visiting a ranch in California Samantha breaks her back in an accident and is paralysed and must learn how to walk - and ride - again. Caroline Lord tragically dies but leaves her ranch to Samantha who turns it into a riding school for paralysed children. Through this enterprise she begins to heal from the pain of Tate's desertion the loss of her friend and her own paralysis. Tate returns to the ranch after hearing of Caroline's death and finds Samantha there. Can they both overcome their own demons and learn to love each other again?