Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express

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Just the name "Orient Express" conjures images of a bygone era. Add an all-star cast (including Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, and Lauren Bacall, to name a few) and Agatha Christie's delicious plot and how can you go wrong? Particularly if you add in Albert Finney as Christie's delightfully persnickety sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Someone has knocked off nasty Richard Widmark on this train trip and, to Poirot's puzzlement, everyone seems to have a motive--just the setup for a terrific whodunit. Though it seems like an ensemble film, director Sidney Lumet gives each of his stars their own solo and each makes the most of it. Bergman went so far as to win an Oscar for her role. But the real scene-stealer is the ever-reliable Finney as the eccentric detective who never misses a trick. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Murder on the Orient Express.......2007-07-04

An unrecognizable Finney transforms himself into Agatha Christie's renowned Belgian sleuth, Hercule Poirot. Beyond this star's astonishing portrayal, the fun of this whodunit comes from the fascinating assortment of characters he interrogates, played by some of our most accomplished acting veterans: Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Wendy Hiller, and John Gielgud among them. Predictably, in addition to Finney, old pros Hiller and Gielgud steal the show. "Murder" should be nirvana for any mystery lover, and director Lumet gives the film plenty of period charm and atmosphere.

Unlike so many DVD's, this one is worth owning.......2007-07-03

I remember seeing this movie when I was 5 years old in 1974. Fortunately for me, I forgot "whodunit" and was able to enjoy when I saw it again as a teenager. Having viewed the movie at least 20 times since then, I find it hard to see how plebian works like "The Usual Suspects" garner such rave reviews when such obviously better fare like this exist. Everyone involved in this film gives it their finest effort. Only with many viewings does one get the opportunity to observe the details that are so interwoven into the script and acting. The story is among the most perfect murder mysteries ever penned, and the performance of the cast is resplendent. Throughout, the cast crackles with sparking witty dialog that is matched perfectly with the deftest of facial expressions and gestures that continuously lay clues at your feet until your so confused that you'll be begging at the conclusion to find out who the murderer is.

So few movies stand up to repeated viewing and thus are seldom worth the cost of the DVD or the space it takes up in your home. Buy this movie so you can watch it, so that your parents can watch it, your children and your grandchildren. Heck, you will probably want to mention it in your will!

Beautifully Realized: A Classic Of Its Kind.......2007-07-01

In the early 1960s Agatha Christie (1890-1976) sold the film rights to several of her most celebrated novels--and although the public liked the ensuing films, she herself did not. She was forever after suspicious of the film industry and rejected one offer after another until the early 1970s, when Lord Louis Mountbatten interceded on behalf of son-in-law and film producer John Brabourne for the film rights to MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. Christie reluctantly agreed. In 1974, upon seeing the film, she declared it to be the ONLY film version of any of her novels that she liked.

The story is famous. Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) is a celebrated private investigator traveling via the legendary Orient Express. The train is snowbound in the Balkans--and Mr. Rachett (Richard Widmark) is found brutally stabbed in the bed of his luxury room. At the request of Signor Bianchi (Martin Balsam), an official of the train, Poriot agrees to investigate the murder... but the more he learns from the numerous passengers, the more impossible the crime seems.

Even today, most film versions of Christie novels are played with a bit of a twinkle in the eye, as if to say "this is all just in good fun." Not so MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. The all star cast includes John Gilegud, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Michael York, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, Vanessa Redgrave, Anthony Perkins, and Rachel Roberts, to name but the most obvious, and they play out the story with tremendous style but without the self-knowing cuteness that tends to undercut most similar films. The novel is among the more convoluted Christie works, but the Paul Dehn manages to encapsulate it without simplifying it. And then there is the look and sound and feel of the movie, which is simply amazing.

The Orient Express had passed into legend by 1974, but this film returns the celebrated luxury train to sparkling reality. From costumes to art design, from cinematography to score, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is so richly detailed that it becomes an almost tactile experience. This is truly an example of "no expense spared." The film was nominated for no fewer than six Academy Awards, winning one for Ingrid Bergman, and was also nominated for no fewer than seventeen awards from other groups, winning at least six. All in all, it was one of the most celebrated films of its era.

For many years MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS was only available in mediocre VHS and DVD transfers, but this particular edition not only returns the film to a near-pristine state, it includes several memorable bonuses as well, most especially a "making of" documentary that includes many of the cast members; a short documentary on Agatha Christie; and a short documentary on the Lindberg kidnapping, which was among Christie's inspirations for the novel. Slick, beautiful, and seductive, the 1974 MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS sets a standard for mystery movies that few have equaled--and none have surpassed. Strongly recommended.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

The Best of Christie.......2007-06-12

Murder on the Orient Express is undoubtedly the best Christie mystery ever filmed. Not only is the acting superb, the producers and writers stayed very close to the original novel in their presentation, which was not true in later Christie presentations by the same production team. But in Orient Express one gets a real feel for what it was like to travel from Istanbul on the Calais Coach.

Christie's best.......2007-05-29

The best of the movies from Christie's books, Well done and a lot of fun.

Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express

Average customer rating:

Where's the A Team when you need them?
Murder On Orient Express TV Movie
let's be fair
We need a vaccine to immunize Hollywood against unneeded remakes
Mildly Entertaining If You Don't Know the Older Version

Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express
Starring: Alfred Molina , Meredith Baxter , Leslie Caron , Amira Casar , and Nicolas Chagrin
Director: Carl Schenkel
Manufacturer: Allumination
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BO0LLI
Release Date: 2005-12-20

Customer Reviews:

Where's the A Team when you need them?.......2007-08-09

Even with Alfred Molina and Peter Strauss, this production leaves a lot to be desired. Poirot and computers and PDAs? Please! And removing 3 characters from the panel of 12 who decide the fate of and execute the offender is more than Agatha Christie herself would stand for!

Murder On Orient Express TV Movie.......2007-07-26

A poor updated attempt to remake a classic film. While any remake of a classic is difficult, this tv movie was extremely poorly done with an unremarkable cast. Alfred Molina sleepwalked his way through the film as Poirot. He had absolutely no chrisma nor humor. Not much more can be said of the remainder of the cast. The attempt to update by giving Poirot a love interest really missed the mark.

let's be fair.......2007-05-27

After watching Sidney Lumet's wonderful 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express, it is hard to understand why anyone would want to remake it. However, the earlier version did have some glaring problems - the waltz music, which I hated even in 1974, although the kidnap music makes up for it - and Albert Finney, who is a great actor, but a caricature in that movie. David Suchet has the wrap on Poirot, but Alfred Molina is an interesting choice and very watchable. Vera, the thief, is actually a creation of Agatha Christie and appears in a couple of her stories (not as sexy of course, but I like the updated character) and Poirot is obviously in love with her even in Christie's more sedate stories. That said, this movie obviously suffers from a lack of budget - the supporting cast is often interchangeable and hard to sort out since the men all look alike, the lack of snow, the lack of period, everything on a laptop screen rather than the wonderful newspaper scenes in the original. If you haven't seen Lumet's version, then you have missed the real deal. But I gave this one a three because of Molina's performance - less eccentric and more human. Even Christie is said to have hated Poirot.

We need a vaccine to immunize Hollywood against unneeded remakes.......2006-10-01

I'm not going to reiterate other reviewers' specific criticisms of this movie. However some general comments for your consideration...

Dame Agatha's books and characters seem at times to suffer mightily at the hands of filmmakers. For example, take George Pollock's four early '60s films starring Margaret Rutherford, whose Miss Marple bore little or no resemblance to the character in the books. Remakes have been even less kind to the Dame. The best (worst?) example of remake-itis is And Then There Were None. Rene Clair's 1945 B&W film is very good (two versions available, restored original or bargain priced), and true to Agatha Christie's play of the same name (which has a justifiably different ending from the novel). ATTWN was remade twice (in 1965 and 1974), and neither came up to the standard of the original.

That brings us to Murder on the Orient Express. Sidney Lumet's 1974 film of Agatha Christie's remarkable novel was a star-studded atmospheric period piece. This 2001 made-for-TV remake, brought into the Internet age, was an incredible waste of time and money. For the same price as this turkey (which didn't air until 2005, which ought to tell you something), you can get the stellar 1974 version on DVD for (at this writing) the same price! Spend your money wisely.

Mildly Entertaining If You Don't Know the Older Version.......2006-08-20

Modernized adaptation of Agatha Christie classic mystery? Excuse me, but what is the point?

Anyway, the famous story about the murder on the Orient Express is retold. A stubbed body is found in a train on which a world-renowned detective Poirot is traveling from Istanbul. The passengers are interrogated, but their contradicting statements only help confuse the investigation.

So far, the same, but remember, this time the story is told in modern setting. That means Poirot doesn't have to use his brain to obtain some of the important information. Blackmailing is done with a video tape, and luckily one of the car is equipped with a VCR. In case you think the new film lost the exotic touch, it can show you a belly dancer.

There are also some visible changes done to the Christie's whodunit, most of which are pointless. For example, the train is stopped by rockslide, not by avalanche, which means much less claustrophobic feeling. Hercule Poirot (Alfred Molina) has a girlfriend in Istanbul named Vera (Tasha de Vasconcelos) and she happens to a reformed thief.

And of course there is a murder. Sorry that I cannot reveal too much about it, but if you have seen the Sidney Lumet film or read the original book, this remake would only disappoint you. Alfred Molina is not bad the Belgian sleuth, but he is not Albert Finney who was in character.

Of course you don't always have to compare. Some people have not seen the 1974 version, and they will see the newer version without (perhaps unfair) comparison. However, even they might find the murder mystery here too slow and talky, and the solution is way too incredible. Actually, most of the Christie books end with incredible solutions, but there is one unique quality about the original story of the `Murder on the Orient Express' which is totally missing in the new version.

That is, as you know (and I am trying to write without spoilers), Agatha Christie's story is inspired by one of the biggest and most notorious real-life crimes committed in the history of America as the background of her story. The (unsolved, some say) mystery plays a significant role in the original book and Sidney Lumet film, but in the new film it is completely taken away, replaced by one fictional crime that is not intriguing at all. The altered setting makes the whole story less authentic and the motive of the killer or killers more unaccountable.

Remakes are often considered unnecessary, but some of them can hold on its ground against the originals. You may prefer the original Peter Lorre version, but the remade "The Man Who Knew Too Much" is generally more popular than the other. As far as `Murder on the Orient Express' is concerned, however, I don't see any reason this should be told again.

Average customer rating:

Murder on the Orient Express
Unlike so many DVD's, this one is worth owning
Beautifully Realized: A Classic Of Its Kind
The Best of Christie
Christie's best

Murder on the Orient Express
Starring: Albert Finney , Lauren Bacall , Martin Balsam , Ingrid Bergman , and Jacqueline Bisset
Director: Sidney Lumet
Manufacturer: Paramount
ProductGroup: Video
Binding: VHS Tape

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Bacall, Lauren | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Balsam, Martin | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Bergman, Ingrid | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Bisset, Jacqueline | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Blakely, Colin | ( B ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Cassel, Jean Pierre | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Connery, Sean | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Coulouris, George | ( C ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Dobtcheff, Vernon | ( D ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Finney, Albert | ( F ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Gielgud, John | ( G ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

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Perkins, Anthony | ( P ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

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Redgrave, Vanessa | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Roberts, Rachel | ( R ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Widmark, Richard | ( W ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

York, Michael | ( Y ) | Actors & Actresses | VHS | Video

Lumet, Sidney | ( L ) | Directors | VHS | Video

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ASIN: 6300216721
Release Date: 1998-02-13

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Customer Reviews:

Murder on the Orient Express.......2007-07-04

Unlike so many DVD's, this one is worth owning.......2007-07-03

Beautifully Realized: A Classic Of Its Kind.......2007-07-01

The Best of Christie.......2007-06-12

Christie's best.......2007-05-29

The best of the movies from Christie's books, Well done and a lot of fun.

Average customer rating:

Murder on the Orient Express
Unlike so many DVD's, this one is worth owning
Beautifully Realized: A Classic Of Its Kind
The Best of Christie
Christie's best

Murder on the Orient Express [Region 2]
Starring: Albert Finney , Lauren Bacall , Martin Balsam , Ingrid Bergman , and Jacqueline Bisset
Director: Sidney Lumet
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

( M ) | Titles | Features | DVD | Video
Similar Items:

ASIN: B00004XOBX

Amazon.com essential video

Customer Reviews:

Murder on the Orient Express.......2007-07-04

Unlike so many DVD's, this one is worth owning.......2007-07-03

Beautifully Realized: A Classic Of Its Kind.......2007-07-01

The Best of Christie.......2007-06-12

Christie's best.......2007-05-29

The best of the movies from Christie's books, Well done and a lot of fun.

DVD:

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