kdmagnusson

This episode of David Suchet's Poirot series is entertaining enough, but strays quite a bit from Dame Agatha's novel. Nurse Leatheran is removed from her role as narrator and assistant to the great detective, similar to that of Dr. Sheppard in The Murder of Roger Ackroyd (the same adjustment is made in the TV adaptation of that book). The assistant role is then mostly filled by Captain Hastings, who does not appear at all in the novel. At least two members of the archaeological team (and therefore that many potential suspects) are removed from the story, and some that are left in (including the main victim) are not developed even to the degree that they are in the novel. Christie is always fairly minimalist in her character development; characters are explained only as much as the plot requires, and this adaptation falls short even to that degree. To satisfy TV's blood lust, I guess, there is also an additional murder in this adaptation. Most of the changes to the story have the effect of granting Monsieur Poirot additional screen time and importance, which is understandable for TV, especially given how good Suchet is in this role, but is very far from the novel, in which Poirot does not appear until after the first murder, well into the story.

Those who have problems with the more recent Geraldine McEwan "Miss Marple" series might not like this very much either, though it does at least resemble the original in most important plot points. It's not bad, but in my opinion, the story as originally written was much more interesting.

But it's certainly not very good either. Most of the acting is pretty flat, but I blame that more on the writers' incompetent dialog than on the actors' ability. Ellen Pompeo is pretty, but in such as way to be believable as an art history expert. The plot has enough twists to keep you guessing (and keep watching) and yet enough clues to help you figure it out. That said, it's still pretty trite and implausible. You do get to see some famous Barcelona landmarks, but the filmmakers haven't exploited their locale to the fullest. I thought the chase scenes were fairly well done, except that they all start looking the same after a while.

All-in-all, I'd have to say that the current IMDb rating of 4.1 is fair; several of the reviews here give it a "1", which should be reserved to the worst movies of all time, which this certainly isn't.

I picked up a used DVD copy at a local bookstore hoping to revisit Barcelona. In that sense, "Art Heist" was a bit of a disappointment. It's (barely) worth seeing if you have an interest in art history and in Barcelona and can see it for free, but for those really wanting a sense of this wonderful city, the best bet is "L'Auberge Espagnole".

This excellent PBS documentary series consists of three parts of 1 hour each covering Japanese history from the arrival of the Portuguese in 1543 to the arrival of Perry and the Americans in 1854. Narrated by Richard Chamberlain, interspersed with interviews of Western and Japanese academics, this fascinating show is illustrated with re-enactments and period art work. Part I covers the Momoyama period of civil war through Nobunaga to Hideyoshi and tells of the rise of Tokugawa Ieasu and ends with the siege of Osaka castle in 1615. Part II covers the Tokugawa Shogunate from 1603 to the Shimabara rebellion in 1638, which led to the closure of Japan under Ieasu's grandson. Western influence, including Christianity, is important in this period. Part III covers the period of Japanese isolation, from the time of the Dutch concession in Nagasaki harbor up to the arrival of American commodore Matthew Perry in 1854. The Samurai class declines during this period as the merchant class rises, Japanese culture flourishes, and Edo (Tokyo) becomes the largest city in the world.