IMDb > Agatha (1979)
IMDb Holiday Movie Guide

Overview

User Rating:
6.0/10   836 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Down 9% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Michael Apted
Writers:
Kathleen Tynan (story)
Kathleen Tynan (writer) ...
more
Contact:
View company contact information for Agatha on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
9 February 1979 (USA) more
Genre:
Drama | Mystery more
Tagline:
A fictional solution to the real mystery of Agatha Christie's disappearance.
Plot:
full synopsis
Plot Keywords:
more
Awards:
Nominated for Oscar. Another 1 win & 1 nomination more
User Comments:
Imaginative tale of the true Agatha Christie mystery more (15 total)

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Dustin Hoffman ... Wally Stanton

Vanessa Redgrave ... Agatha Christie

Timothy Dalton ... Col. Archibald Christie
Helen Morse ... Evelyn Crawley
Celia Gregory ... Nancy Neele
Paul Brooke ... John Foster
Carolyn Pickles ... Charlotte Fisher
Timothy West ... Kenward
Tony Britton ... William Collins
Alan Badel ... Lord Brackenbury
Robert Longden ... Pettelson
Donald Nithsdale ... Uncle Jones
Yvonne Gilan ... Mrs. Braithwaite
Sandra Voe ... Therapist
Barry Hart ... Supt. MacDonald
more
Create a character page for: ?

Additional Details

Parents Guide:
Add content advisory for parents
Runtime:
105 min
Country:
UK
Language:
English
Color:
Color (Technicolor)
Aspect Ratio:
1.85 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono
Certification:
Canada:14+ (Ontario) | Netherlands:AL | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (video rating) | Argentina:Atp | Australia:PG | Chile:TE | Finland:K-8 | Peru:PT | USA:PG
Filming Locations:
Bath, Somerset, England, UK more
Company:
Casablanca Filmworks more

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
British composer Howard Blake composed an original score for the film that was rejected and replaced by Johnny Mandel. more
Movie Connections:
Version of Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures (2004) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
CLOSE ENOUGH FOR LOVE more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.

User Comments

   (Comment on this title)
15 out of 15 people found the following comment useful.
Imaginative tale of the true Agatha Christie mystery, 20 July 2001
7/10
Author: Graham Ditcham from England

This quirky tale of Dame Agatha Christie's eleven-day disappearance in December1926 is a speculative account of the mystery, combining a romantic interlude, suicide attempt and desperate race to avert the loss of the world's most popular `Queen of Crime'. The film is not exactly in the style of a Christie plot or typical of one, as there are none of the trademark multiple corpses that usually litter her storylines.

With her marriage on the rocks after being asked for a divorce, following closely upon the death of her mother, Agatha Christie seeks refuge from her coldly indifferent husband (a very apt Timothy Dalton), in the North Yorkshire spa town of Harrogate. With the whole country looking for her, Dustin Hoffman is the American reporter, writing for an English paper, who finds, and then seeks to help, her. The difference in stature between the leading protagonists makes for an amusingly incongruous sight on the dance floor, and wisely the invitation to dance the Charleston together is declined. Although Dustin Hoffman's strident journalist strikes a jarring note, Vanessa Redgrave sensitively displays a troubled, if rather elegant, Agatha Christie.

Helen Morse (Picnic at Hanging Rock; Caddie) is delightful as Evelyn Crawley who befriends Agatha, and is very discriminating in her choice of men, making an interesting observation on the unrealistic expectation (by both sexes) of men's fidelity, when she sagely states `Hardly seems worth it. Men change so, that's why choosing is important. Well we can't just let things happen to us.' The fine talents of Timothy West are also involved as the diligent deputy chief constable who withstands Colonel Christie's attempts to quash the hunt for his wife.

When, as expected, her husband's mistress also arrives in Harrogate, Agatha, who had been using her surname as a pseudonym whilst unconvincingly trying to pass herself off as a widow recently returned from South Africa, begins to plot an elaborate revenge. A large part of the film is given to scene setting with nice observations of English class snobbery and a time past. The final part of the film then changes gear from its languorous pace and moves into thriller mode with a race against time.

A fine sense of period detail and Vittorio Storaro's beautifully crafted cinematography enhance this film, with its gentle evocation of the 1920's gentility taking the spa waters for the relief of their multifarious ailments. The famed Victorian architecture borrows from Bath as well as Harrogate, along with York's railway station, and the Old Swan Hotel and Royal Baths are given full promotional treatment.

Although Agatha Christie returned to her husband her marriage finally ended two years later.

In the UK video copies are available through Blackstar and Amazon.

Was the above comment useful to you?
more (15 total)

Message Boards

Discuss this movie with other users on IMDb message board for Agatha (1979)
Recent Posts (updated daily)User
DVD when? dizzhrt
Filming dansherry43
Sherlock Holmes three-seven-ace
Needs to be on DVD widescreen tiger_cobrajet
Agatha konstantinov_ljupco
more

Recommendations

If you enjoyed this title, our database also recommends:
- - - - -
Gypsy Agatha Christie: A Life in Pictures Longford The Three Faces of Eve Chariots of Fire
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
IMDb User Rating:
Show more recommendations

Related Links

Full cast and crew Company credits External reviews
IMDb Drama section IMDb UK section Add this title to MyMovies

You may report errors and omissions on this page to the IMDb database managers. They will be examined and if approved will be included in a future update. Clicking the 'Update' button will take you through a step-by-step process.