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And Then There Were None (2015) - General Discussion

giovannif7
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giovannif7

giovannif7

(edited)

BBC is offering a new 3-part miniseries adaptation of the famous Agatha Christie novel. The cast includes Aidan Turner (Poldark, Being Human UK) as Philip Lombard, Toby Stephens (Black Sails, Cambridge Spies) as Dr. Armstrong, Miranda Richardson (Mapp & Lucia, Parade's End) as Emily Brent, Charles Dance (Game Of Thrones, Jewel In The Crown) as Judge Wargrave, Sam Neil (Peaky Blinders, Reilly: Ace Of Spies) as General MacArthur and Burn Gorman (Torchwood, The Hour) as William Blore.

 

For the uninitiated, it's a classic period (set in 1939 for this adaptation) murder mystery  involving ten disparate people invited to an isolated location under false pretenses. Once the true reason for their presence is revealed, the deaths begin - leaving those remaining to try to identify who's responsible and stop the carnage.

 

The first episode aired on BBC One on Saturday, Dec. 26. Part 2 is scheduled for Sunday, Dec. 27, and the conclusion on Monday, Dec. 28th. Based on the first episode, I have high hopes that this will be an entertaining and very faithful adaptation of the book.

Edited by giovannif7
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ferretrick
ferretrick

It is.  All the other filmed versions that I know of (there are 4 English language ones, each one worse than the last) retained the play's ending and structure, where Vera and Lombard survive and fall

ApathyMonger
ApathyMonger

New this Christmas, from the same people who did ATTWN:

Ceindreadh
Ceindreadh

I was happy that they kept the book ending. Too many adaptations want to have a ‘happy’ ending by letting the last two characters survive.  

giovannif7

giovannif7

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Agreed. I just finished the final episode, and found it very satisfying. This is by far my favorite of the And Then There Were None adaptations - I'd love to see this writer (Sarah Phelps) and production team tackle a few more Christie classics.

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ApathyMonger

ApathyMonger

I thought was great. It could probably have been trimmed a bit in parts, but it mostly worked really well.

 

It helped that it had an excellent cast: Aidan Turner, Charles Dance, Sam Neill, Toby Stephens, etc. Miranda Richardson was a bit underused though. I don't recall seeing the lead, Maeve Dermody, in anything before; it looks like she's mostly done Australian TV like Serangoon Road, but I'm looking forward to seeing her in more stuff.

 

I wonder how much Lifetime will edit for the US version. Obviously there's some swearing they'll need to get rid of, but I assume they'll cut a few minutes out for time, at least.

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blackwing

blackwing

Great cast.  I'm excited to see this.  "And Then There Were None" is probably my favourite Agatha Christie book.  I hope this adaptation does it justice.

 

Did it stay fairly close to the book, or did it get mangled like some of the previous movie adaptations or infamously and badly mangled like the various BBC/PBS Poirot and Marples?

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

ARGH! I was so hoping that my cable provider carried BBC One, but it doesn't! And Lifetime will be airing this in TWO episodes!

 

That trailer looked awesome, and now I'm peeved that I won't be able to see the original.  Maybe it will show up online somewhere.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

ARGH! I was so hoping that my cable provider carried BBC One, but it doesn't! And Lifetime will be airing this in TWO episodes!

 

That trailer looked awesome, and now I'm peeved that I won't be able to see the original.  Maybe it will show up online somewhere.

The two episodes Lifetime is using will likely be two hours each vs. the three one hour installments.  There will be some things slashed out of it but it won't quite be the hatchet job it could be.

 

That said, Lifetime aired a Christmas movie recently and I've heard that the online version of the movie includes some scenes that had been cut from the broadcast.  So I wouldn't be surprised if Lifetime offers the full version On Demand.  Or at least I hope that will be the case.

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Calamity Jane

Calamity Jane

Oh, wow, I used to teach the novel to 7th graders. It's a good introduction to that style of literature, and the one-by-one-by-one killing off of the characters helps them see story structure very clearly.  I would have given a lot for a good video adaptation. The only one I had was an old black-and-white film which destroyed the ending completely.  The students always HATED that ending, which made me feel I'd accomplished something as their teacher. 

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

(edited)

FUUUUUUCK!

 

Final part has been deleted!!!!! ARGHHHH

 

ETA:

 

Never mind. It works now. Just be very careful, if you get a note from mediaeel to download/sign up! Don't do it. Just click on the link Ms Lark provided and choose Episode 3.

Edited by GHScorpiosRule
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Almost 3000

Almost 3000

Oh, wow, I used to teach the novel to 7th graders. It's a good introduction to that style of literature, and the one-by-one-by-one killing off of the characters helps them see story structure very clearly.  I would have given a lot for a good video adaptation. The only one I had was an old black-and-white film which destroyed the ending completely.  The students always HATED that ending, which made me feel I'd accomplished something as their teacher.

Calamity Jane, I hope you come back and let us know how this version stacks up to the book. Some of the you tube posters say the ending is closer to the book. I read this in high school but really only remember the re-make version where the lover's have an alliance.
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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

This was most excellent! And I was on the edge of my seat toward the end.

 

I'd never seen the other movie adaptations, so came into this as a blank slate.  Now, of course, I'll have to go and read the book.

 

Yes, yes, I'm very bad that I never read this one!

 

Watched all three episodes back to back tonight.

 

Well worth viewing, IMO.  (and I'm not just saying this because of Aidan Turner in a towel  ;-)

 

Agreed!

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LakeGal

LakeGal

I just watched it.  I really enjoyed it.   I was interested to see what ending they would use.  I read the book when I was a kid.  I really should reread it since I don't remember it that clearly.  I have seen several movie versions.  This one was very well done.

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blackwing

blackwing

Thanks for the heads up! Will be watching these via YouTube, hopefully in time before they get removed.

The only movie version I've seen was the one with "Goldfinger" Shirley Eaton as the Vera Claythorne type and Hugh O'Brien (from one of the TV Westerns) as the Philip Lombard type. It was ok I suppose but I remember the ending was butchered.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

Well the dvd isn't listed on Amazon, but I know that while I was watching, BBC One had a line about it being released on the 16th! Maybe from its website?

And do we need to spoiler tag when discussing this? I'd really like to post some of my thoughts.

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emjohnson03

emjohnson03

Everything about this! Thank you for making this thread as I remember this was being filmed but didn't know it was released!

 

It was....awesome!! Dark, sleek and sexy! I remember reading the book in 7th grade (as most people recalled) and I remember liking it but not all the work that went into having to go over and over it (yay for analyzing!).

 

The British know how to put on a mini series!

 

And I know it's been said before but God, Aidan Turner is just delicious in this! I love the shorter hair so I was digging him from jump.

 

Off to pre-order from Amazon!

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Blergh

Blergh

While it was a very tautly done, thrilling mystery, one thing that tainted it was the fact that Mrs. Christie originally titled it 'Ten Little N-----s'!  Even taking into account that there were NO people of color as characters, it seemed a needlessly rude title and the term was NOT considered acceptable in polite British society back when she wrote it. Oddly enough, a few decades later it was released in book/play form as 'Ten Little Indians' despite there ,again, being no Native Americans as characters. I think it would have been best for all concerned (including Mrs. Christie) had she titled it 'And Then There Were None' from the beginning.

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Irlandesa

Irlandesa

Well worth viewing, IMO.  (and I'm not just saying this because of Aidan Turner in a towel  ;-)

I'm not usually overly susceptible to eye candy but Aidan Turner in a towel was one of those rare exceptions. 

 

It could be because everything about this worked so well that even though it was gratuitous, it was done in a way that didn't feel overly gratuitous. 

 

All three eps are now on YouTube: Start with ONE

Thank you! Even though I could tell that this is an adaptation that likely looks gorgeous in HD, the lack of a US air date and my anticipation led to me watching all three episodes today.

 

While it was a very tautly done, thrilling mystery, one thing that tainted it was the fact that Mrs. Christie originally titled it 'Ten Little N-----s'!  Even taking into account that there were NO people of color as characters, it seemed a needlessly rude title and the term was NOT considered acceptable in polite British society back when she wrote it.

She was likely inspired by the poem. It wasn't about the characters themselves.  In thsi adaptation it was replaced with "soldiers" even though they clearly were not soldiers either. Although I agree, And Then There Were None works much better.  What surprised me is that twenty years later,  the British TV adaptations still had that old title.

 

The optimist/romantic/and-yet-another-twist-lover in me likes Christie's play version better.  The part of me that likes dark tales likes the book version as well.   

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emjohnson03

emjohnson03

Aargh, youtube link posted upthread no longer works.  Copyright claim was made by Agatha Christie Limited.  Was too busy to watch over the weekend.  Oh well, will wait for Lifetime I suppose.

There are other links out there...just sayin :)

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

So, I faltered over whether Vera was the only "innocent" amongst all the people that had been brought to the island.  I think right around the time she and Lombard had that hot kiss, and the dead look in her eyes, I started to suspect her, but I also remembered how Remington Steele did an episode based on this movie, so I kept thinking, it can't be her. But I do think somethink was hinky with Cyrill's death.

 

So, before that was revealed, I was left confused as to why she screamed like a banshee after she had killed Lombard. Another red herring to throw me off?

 

And of course it was the judge!

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Anela

Anela

I thought it was obvious who was behind it, just because of how they were all gathered, but I briefly changed my mind, and suspected that it was none of them - and that it was the man who said he would see her hang, if he had his way. They did get me there. 

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mansonlamps

mansonlamps

While it was a very tautly done, thrilling mystery, one thing that tainted it was the fact that Mrs. Christie originally titled it 'Ten Little N-----s'!  Even taking into account that there were NO people of color as characters, it seemed a needlessly rude title and the term was NOT considered acceptable in polite British society back when she wrote it. Oddly enough, a few decades later it was released in book/play form as 'Ten Little Indians' despite there ,again, being no Native Americans as characters. I think it would have been best for all concerned (including Mrs. Christie) had she titled it 'And Then There Were None' from the beginning.

It was based on a British song which was very relevant to the plot and the book was written (and titled) in the thirties. Although it makes sense to change the title now, I can't see where the original would taint anything. Christie used nursery rhymes and songs for a lot of her titles, she couldn't have known that word would become what it has in modern times.

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junemeatcleaver

junemeatcleaver

I'm sure that this will be available on dvd once Lifetime airs it; plus, as it is, the version of the dvd available on Amazon's U.K. site is not one I could play on my bluray anyway.

 

I can wait.  Barely.

 

The listing for the North American version of And Then There Were None is here.  It says it will be released on April 19th.

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blackwing

blackwing

Any news on when Lifetime is airing this?  I went to the Lifetime site (and as a result, my Facebook will probably be littered with ads for the upcoming remake of "Mother May I Sleep With Danger" for days....) and couldn't find any information.  Tried googling and my googling juju powers aren't up to snuff.

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GHScorpiosRule

GHScorpiosRule

Any news on when Lifetime is airing this?  I went to the Lifetime site (and as a result, my Facebook will probably be littered with ads for the upcoming remake of "Mother May I Sleep With Danger" for days....) and couldn't find any information.  Tried googling and my googling juju powers aren't up to snuff.

 

See junemeatcleaver's post above, which I've quoted below: April 19th.

 

 

The listing for the North American version of And Then There Were None is here.  It says it will be released on April 19th.

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blackwing

blackwing

 

See junemeatcleaver's post above, which I've quoted below: April 19th.

I did see that, but that appears to be Amazon's listing for when the Blu-ray will be on sale.  If I don't want to buy the Blu-ray, I was hoping to see it on TV.  Not sure if Lifetime will air it on, before or after that date.  They are advertising the James Franco "Mother May I Sleep With Danger" remake as "sometime in 2016" but they don't have "And Then There Were None", which is odd if it is to be aired in April.

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Chrissytd

Chrissytd

I did see that, but that appears to be Amazon's listing for when the Blu-ray will be on sale. If I don't want to buy the Blu-ray, I was hoping to see it on TV. Not sure if Lifetime will air it on, before or after that date. They are advertising the James Franco "Mother May I Sleep With Danger" remake as "sometime in 2016" but they don't have "And Then There Were None", which is odd if it is to be aired in April.

Saw a teaser last night on Lifetime saying that it's coming soon.
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Evie L

Evie L

It really is great - the BBC nailed it. It's creepy and delicious and brilliantly acted, and a huge hit on British TV, where I saw it. I hope Lifetime doesn't hack it about because there are some great sweary-insults in the sharp dialogue.

By the way, in the interests of being true to the source material, Lombard does indeed not get 'nakedish' in the book. He just gets naked. "Stripped to the skin" says Christie. So luckily it's not at all gratuitous :) And I can admire Mr Turner's predatory slink almost as much as his impressive acting chops!

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ChlcGirl

ChlcGirl

When I first started getting the Lifetime updates on facebook - BECAUSE I LIKED AGATHA CHRISTIE!!! - I started digging around and decided to watch the BBC version first because, Lifetime. So glad I did!! I thought this version was exceptional. Beyond exceptional. I've been reading Christie since I was 8 (And Then There Was None was the first play I ever saw and I fell in love) and this was by far the best adaptation I ever saw, including the Matt Houston one! %uD83D%uDE1C While I will watch the Lifetime one tomorrow, I am hoping that they don't cut too much, especially not the swearing. It wasn't at all gratuitous. In fact it seemed pretty natural within the story.

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Gadge

Gadge

I very much enjoyed this adaptation, and as noted, it's more faithful to the original book than the play or previous adaptations. I appreciated that, because I think it really works because of the solution, tempting as the alternative may be.

Handsome and faithful without getting too fussy - a very strong Christie adaptation overall.

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bmoore4026

bmoore4026

Well, surprised they kept the cussing!  Very colorful language, much more than Dame Agatha ever used.

 

I see that they're going with previous adaptations in making Rogers an abusive shithead.  Wonder if he and PolldarkLombard will fistfight.  Hopefully shirtless with the latter.

 

Blore killed a man due to repressed homosexuality?  What was the reason in the book?  It's been a while since I last read it.

 

And they made Ms. Brent a closeted lesbian, judging from that scene.  The 1990 version had a similar plot, though she was not that closeted.  She confided in Vera that she was partially responsible for her lover's death.

 

The flashbacks were awesome and creepy.  Can't wait to see what else they've got in store.

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LeighAnne

LeighAnne

 

Blore killed a man due to repressed homosexuality?  What was the reason in the book?  It's been a while since I last read it.

 

And they made Ms. Brent a closeted lesbian, judging from that scene.

 

No, there's no homosexuality in the book; they invented that for the TV show.

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