GKCfan can you tell me what that post is referring to? as it looks like part of a discussion I would like to read but It looks like a half done post, (Sorry to say that, I mean no offence).
Female Strong Characters are Miss Marple, Lucy, Tuppence, Bundle, and Frankie, the others seem to me to let Men determine their lot in Life.
Agatha Christie is often accused of writing one-dimensional, stereotypical characters. But how are these male characters strong, three-dimensional, and multifaceted in your opinion?
In the cases I mention, you have a character where in most cases, you know a lot about their pasts, and by the ends of the books you have an idea about what made them what they are. I think a character becomes three-dimensional when by the end of the book you feel you understand how that character would and would not respond in various situations.
Those who say that Agatha Christie writes stereotypical, one-dimensional characters is saying this out of jealousy, in my opinion. Considering the fact that she's crowned the title "Queen Of Mystery" and heads the top of the list of popular mystery writers, all others trail "behind" her.
In your opinion, what is it about Agatha Christie, her writing, and her characters that critics and fellow mystery writers despise?
Those who say Agatha Christie wrote one-dimensional Characters and are Novelists themselves because It is due to her that the Genre is so popular, I admit people came before her, but her Books were at one time the most Popular after the Bible and the Works of Shakespeare and she made the Genre as popular as it is today, I think her Men cannot be described as Strong as the Men with the exception of Poirot because quite often women are the Driving force, Frankie with Bobby, Bundle with Bill and Tuppence with Tommy aswell as Megan in The Hollow and Bunch, Grizelda and ofvourse Miss Marple and Lucy.
Did you see in the news section of this website that screenwriter Sarah Phelps (who adapted And Then Were None and the upcoming Witness for the Prosecution) will also be "re-imagining" Ordeal by Innocence? That word, "re-imagining", makes me very nervous because it suggests that the upcoming version of Ordeal by Innocence will be very loosely based on the novel. Declaring that what she likes about Christie's work are "the really unnerving, unsettling qualities", Sarah Phelps seems, in my opinion, a bit too preoccupied with creating something edgy and shocking. Since Death Comes as the End is one of my favorite Christie novels, I really hope when the BBC eventually adapts it, Death Comes as the End will not likewise be re-imagined and sensationalized.
One of the nice things about Christie's work is its variety. Some of her stories lend themselves nicely to a darker approach, like that favored by Sarah Phelps. Others, especially Christie's earlier work, is much lighter in tone and would be ruined by attempting to darken them. So, I hope as the BBC proceeds with its adaptations it will move beyond its current trend of showing us only Christie's dark side and create some adaptations that highlight her brighter side too.
I think the term reimagining could be exciting but I have never seen a reimagining which worked unless Reimagining means updating and I am afraid to say because I know a lot of people will be cross but I actually like the Pauline Collins/Oliver Ford Davies version of Sparkling Cyanide and I have sometimes wished I could write and thought up Updating or reworking of some of the books but after hearing a review of Witness For The Prosecution by a Television Reviewer, I am not Sanguine at all, Don't expect something of the texture of the Laughton or Richardson versions, but I will still watch, A Reimagining will probably work with Death Comes As The End.
Since Death Comes as the End has not been filmed before, it would be such a shame if it were transformed into something totally different. As for updating Death Comes as the End, its setting in Ancient Egypt makes it unique among Christie's work. To lose that setting by moving the story into the modern world would rob the story of some of its originality and charm.
As for the news section, when you go to the homepage of this website (which you can get to by clicking Agatha Christie's name on the top of the screen), there will be 7 different sections to choose from (Home, About Christie, News, Stories, Characters, Shop, Community). By clicking on News, you will be able to read the article I mentioned. It is called "Sarah Phelps takes on her third Agatha Christie adaptation".
One of the nice things about Christie's work is its variety. Some of her stories lend themselves nicely to a darker approach, like that favored by Sarah Phelps. Others, especially Christie's earlier work, is much lighter in tone and would be ruined by attempting to darken them. So, I hope as the BBC proceeds with its adaptations it will move beyond its current trend of showing us only Christie's dark side and create some adaptations that highlight her brighter side too.
Christie shows her versatility very well with the tone of her stories and I think The Agatha Christie Hour which premiered in the 80's is a perfect example of demonstrating the light-heartedness and the dark side and that series portrayed that perfect balance. I noticed more of the recent adaptations tries to make Christie's work completely dark, ridding itself of the lighter and brighter facets that add to the story. For example, in the Poirot film Mrs. McGinty's Dead, they went more for the darker tone and the scenes from the book with the exchanges between Poirot and the Mrs. Summerhayes at Broadhinny were not completely gone but were stripped down.
I think until someone steps in and shows a good, broad knowledge of Christie and her work and a respect for it, the adaptations will continue to go the way they're going. And it's a shame that they are not trusting in the material. It's not like they don't have creative control because they do but when it comes to adapting someone's work I think there should be some limitations or else they should create their own original movie.
After reading this article (http://www.express.co.uk/showbiz/tv-radio/747495/Witness-For-The-Prosecution-sex-swearing-Agatha-Christie-BBC-Toby-Jones), I have no interest in watching this adaptation or in future ones made with the BBC, especially with screenwriter Sarah Phelps involved, because it seems clear that this ridiculous trend will continue which is an utter disrespect and misunderstanding of Christie's material. They claim how dark Witness For the Prosecution is and all that and I think they're making it darker than the story actually is. Now grant you, Prosecution isn't a lighthearted story but it isn't as dark and gritty as it's being made out to be. Honestly, I believe that Ordeal By Innocence and Death Comes As The End will be done in the same fashion as Prosecution and And Then There Were None -- gratuitous violence and racy sex scenes all for the sake of shocking rather than trusting in Christie's story to shock instead. The only adaptation I'm looking forward to is Crooked House which I hope will adhere to the story instead of veering off into unnecessary nonsense. Since Crooked House is written by Julian Fellowes who wrote Downton Abbey and also has a love for Christie's work, I'm hoping the movie will stay true to the book. With these upcoming BBC films down the pipeline, I'm not raising my expectations with them -- not anymore.
@ChristieFanForLife I'm excited for Crooked House as well...but I think with that production they will go head to head with BBC as I believe they want to adapt that novel as well.
@CrookedQuin: Well if BBC wants to take the story, it will be in incapable hands. My expectations for a faithful adaption no longer exists -- not with the BBC. The newer adaptations from BBC are no better than the ITV travesty.
@ChristieFanForLife Did you end up seeing Witness for the Prosecution? What did you think? People seem torn on it, an either love it or hate it situation since it was drawn out into two hours with a lot of extra sequences with no relation to the play, 1957 version, or the short story, which should have been the top inspirations for the script. I read that they changed the ending, and when I read spoilers it did not sound good at all.
spoilers!
Apparently the maid gets accused of the crime at the end while Romaine and Vole go free, and run away from the court after helping each other comitt the murder, taking the wonderful ending and replacing it with a Death on the Nile-esque situation except they get away laughing like a cartoon villain. I love the Death on the Nile ending, but shouldn't they have kept the original with Romaine loving her husband and was innocent (until, at least, in the play where she stabs him in the end). The play or short story ending would have resonated more with audiences in terms of the storyline.
Comments
GKCfan can you tell me what that post is referring to? as it looks like part of a discussion I would like to read but It looks like a half done post, (Sorry to say that, I mean no offence).
Female Strong Characters are Miss Marple, Lucy, Tuppence, Bundle, and Frankie, the others seem to me to let Men determine their lot in Life.
In your opinion, what is it about Agatha Christie, her writing, and her characters that critics and fellow mystery writers despise?
One of the nice things about Christie's work is its variety. Some of her stories lend themselves nicely to a darker approach, like that favored by Sarah Phelps. Others, especially Christie's earlier work, is much lighter in tone and would be ruined by attempting to darken them. So, I hope as the BBC proceeds with its adaptations it will move beyond its current trend of showing us only Christie's dark side and create some adaptations that highlight her brighter side too.
I think the term reimagining could be exciting but I have never seen a reimagining which worked unless Reimagining means updating and I am afraid to say because I know a lot of people will be cross but I actually like the Pauline Collins/Oliver Ford Davies version of Sparkling Cyanide and I have sometimes wished I could write and thought up Updating or reworking of some of the books but after hearing a review of Witness For The Prosecution by a Television Reviewer, I am not Sanguine at all, Don't expect something of the texture of the Laughton or Richardson versions, but I will still watch, A Reimagining will probably work with Death Comes As The End.
Where is The News Section of this site?.
As for the news section, when you go to the homepage of this website (which you can get to by clicking Agatha Christie's name on the top of the screen), there will be 7 different sections to choose from (Home, About Christie, News, Stories, Characters, Shop, Community). By clicking on News, you will be able to read the article I mentioned. It is called "Sarah Phelps takes on her third Agatha Christie adaptation".
I think until someone steps in and shows a good, broad knowledge of Christie and her work and a respect for it, the adaptations will continue to go the way they're going. And it's a shame that they are not trusting in the material. It's not like they don't have creative control because they do but when it comes to adapting someone's work I think there should be some limitations or else they should create their own original movie.
spoilers!
Apparently the maid gets accused of the crime at the end while Romaine and Vole go free, and run away from the court after helping each other comitt the murder, taking the wonderful ending and replacing it with a Death on the Nile-esque situation except they get away laughing like a cartoon villain. I love the Death on the Nile ending, but shouldn't they have kept the original with Romaine loving her husband and was innocent (until, at least, in the play where she stabs him in the end). The play or short story ending would have resonated more with audiences in terms of the storyline.