Engaging and elegant adaptation of this classic Agatha Christie mystery.
Added 12/16/2009
When it comes to mystery movies I would have to rank 1974's "Murder On the Orient Express" right at the top of my list. This is a magnificent film that contains just about all of the elements I look for in a mystery movie. It goes without saying that the writing is first rate. The film is based on Agatha Christie's 1934 novel of the same name. "Murder On the Orient Express" is directed by Sidney Lumet who has been the guiding light for more than 50 feature films including such classics as "12 Angry Men", "Fail Safe", "Network", "The Verdict" and "Serpico" to name but a few. Add to the mix an all-star cast including such legendary performers as Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Michael York, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Martin Balsam and Anthony Perkins and you would seem to have all the ingredients in place for a first rate motion picture. In my view "Murder On the Orient Express" completely lives up to those lofty expectations.
Clearly the star of this production is Albert Finney who plays one of Agatha Christie's most famous and long-lived charactors, the fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Poirot just happens to be a passenger on the Orient Express when a gruesome murder takes place in the wee small hours of the morning. The victim was a gentlemen who called himself Ratchett. The previous evening Ratchett had attempted to engage Poirot as a personal bodyguard because he had been receiving threatening letters and feared for his life. Poirot turned down that job but would be persuaded to conduct an investigation of the brutal crime right there on the the train. Poirot would quickly discover that Mr. Ratchett was none other than a gangster named Carlo Cassetti who had allegedly masterminded the murder of Daisy Armstrong some years earlier. Daisy was the the baby daughter of a wealthy British Army Colonel who had settled in the U.S. with his American-born wife. This sensational case was headline news all over the world at the time. Poirot would also discover that 12 of the passengers on the Orient Express had some connection to the Armstrong case. After interviewing all 12 of these passengers and sifting through all of the available evidence Poirot would come to a startling conclusion.
"Murder On the Orient Express" proves that a great movie need not be filled with blood, gore and violence to be entertaining. I wish there were more films like it. I recently purchased the DVD and viewed this film for the first time in a good long while. I found it just as entertaining this time as I did when I first saw it in the theater back in 1974. Very highly recommended!
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Movies vs. Books
Added 11/22/2009
For those of you out there who are multi talented, able to read and watch television, you already understand that any book that is later represented by a movie is usually far different so if you take the movie for what it is worth as a movie this is one of my favorites. I feel Albert Finney does a fine job of more closely representing the character of Poirot. Though if you are a fan of Peter Ustinov as Poirot you may not like this movie at all. There are some big names in here for the time when the movie was made though I doubt most people today will know who half of them are. There are two actors in this story that also appear in a later Agatha Christie Movie (Evil Under the Sun). And there is also a young Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates from Pyscho). It is a fairly long movie when it was released on VHS it actually came on two tapes. The movie has a richness to it that seems to capture what we believe or want to believe that time period was like. Honestly at the price you not taking a loss, I hope you enjoy.
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Great except for Finney
Added 8/7/2009
I'd heard about this movie and had great expectations but was sadly disappointed in the performance by Albert Finney. With Poirot movies, he explains the murder at the end and so his spoken words are vital to the film. Albert Finney's voice modulation (with a profound American 'accent') was extremely difficult and mostly impossible to understand. Oddly, he did not even attempt a French or European accent, but only relied on changing the modulation of his voice - it was very odd and disappointing.
Also strange was his hair which looked as if a bottle of oil had been poured over it and then combed in - the result was a very odd look indeed.
The rest of the cast were wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of the cast of famous movie stars as well as the photography. I've given the movie 3 stars for these attributes. But over all, it was a disappointment. I'm looking forward to Murder on the Orient Express with Poirot portrayed by David Suchet. I understand that he has just signed to do more Poirot movies with this movie one of them.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Another Locked Room Mystery
Added 6/12/2009
The film begins at the Armstrong home in 1930. Their baby Daisy was kidnapped in the middle of the night. The ransom was paid but Daisy was found slain. Five years later Hercule Poirot is returning from a job. Others arrive on the ferry to Istanbul and the Orient-Express train to Paris. The scenes and costumes provide entertainment and padding. [Would those peddlers be allowed in the train station?] The train travels through the countryside while the people dine and converse. Mr. Ratchet has been threatened, he asked Hercule Poirot to take a job. The train halts because snow blocks the railway. The morning finds Mr. Ratchet dead, stabbed a dozen times. Poirot will investigate. "The murderer is with us now."
Poirot deduces the true identity of Ratchet. He then interviews the other travelers. [What do we learn?] What will they find in a suitcase? What secrets will be revealed? Finally the travelers are gathered in the dining car so Poirot can solve the murder. Is there a complex answer? Poirot begins by explaining the answers of the travelers. Then he reconstructs the murder and provides a solution. Believable? [Only in a fictional world is such a complex plan possible.] The rescue train arrives so the stalled trains continues on its journey. Was justice served by this ending?
Why was Hercule Poirot portrayed in such a hammy style? Editing would have reduced the length of this story.
0 out of 3 people found this helpful.
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Starts out slow but has a surprising ending
Added 5/21/2009
This movie drags on for the first 35 minutes or so. They could have easily condensed introducing the enormous ensemble of characters into 10 minutes or so.
The first 6 minutes does not have any dialogue. However, it contains important information for the movie. You may want to watch it twice, so that you can catch everything that is going on in the introduction.
The only things that kept me from turning this movie off in the beginning were the costumes and the sets. This movie is a period piece set in the 1930's. The train ride was first class all the way.
This movie was worth watching for the costumes, the sets, the brief appearance by Sean Connery, and surprise ending. I recommend it for a one time viewing.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Engaging and elegant adaptation of this classic Agatha Christie mystery.
Added 12/16/2009
When it comes to mystery movies I would have to rank 1974's "Murder On the Orient Express" right at the top of my list. This is a magnificent film that contains just about all of the elements I look for in a mystery movie. It goes without saying that the writing is first rate. The film is based on Agatha Christie's 1934 novel of the same name. "Murder On the Orient Express" is directed by Sidney Lumet who has been the guiding light for more than 50 feature films including such classics as "12 Angry Men", "Fail Safe", "Network", "The Verdict" and "Serpico" to name but a few. Add to the mix an all-star cast including such legendary performers as Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Michael York, Vanessa Redgrave, Richard Widmark, Martin Balsam and Anthony Perkins and you would seem to have all the ingredients in place for a first rate motion picture. In my view "Murder On the Orient Express" completely lives up to those lofty expectations.
Clearly the star of this production is Albert Finney who plays one of Agatha Christie's most famous and long-lived charactors, the fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot. Poirot just happens to be a passenger on the Orient Express when a gruesome murder takes place in the wee small hours of the morning. The victim was a gentlemen who called himself Ratchett. The previous evening Ratchett had attempted to engage Poirot as a personal bodyguard because he had been receiving threatening letters and feared for his life. Poirot turned down that job but would be persuaded to conduct an investigation of the brutal crime right there on the the train. Poirot would quickly discover that Mr. Ratchett was none other than a gangster named Carlo Cassetti who had allegedly masterminded the murder of Daisy Armstrong some years earlier. Daisy was the the baby daughter of a wealthy British Army Colonel who had settled in the U.S. with his American-born wife. This sensational case was headline news all over the world at the time. Poirot would also discover that 12 of the passengers on the Orient Express had some connection to the Armstrong case. After interviewing all 12 of these passengers and sifting through all of the available evidence Poirot would come to a startling conclusion.
"Murder On the Orient Express" proves that a great movie need not be filled with blood, gore and violence to be entertaining. I wish there were more films like it. I recently purchased the DVD and viewed this film for the first time in a good long while. I found it just as entertaining this time as I did when I first saw it in the theater back in 1974. Very highly recommended!
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Movies vs. Books
Added 11/22/2009
For those of you out there who are multi talented, able to read and watch television, you already understand that any book that is later represented by a movie is usually far different so if you take the movie for what it is worth as a movie this is one of my favorites. I feel Albert Finney does a fine job of more closely representing the character of Poirot. Though if you are a fan of Peter Ustinov as Poirot you may not like this movie at all. There are some big names in here for the time when the movie was made though I doubt most people today will know who half of them are. There are two actors in this story that also appear in a later Agatha Christie Movie (Evil Under the Sun). And there is also a young Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates from Pyscho). It is a fairly long movie when it was released on VHS it actually came on two tapes. The movie has a richness to it that seems to capture what we believe or want to believe that time period was like. Honestly at the price you not taking a loss, I hope you enjoy.
0 out of 0 people found this helpful.
|
Great except for Finney
Added 8/7/2009
I'd heard about this movie and had great expectations but was sadly disappointed in the performance by Albert Finney. With Poirot movies, he explains the murder at the end and so his spoken words are vital to the film. Albert Finney's voice modulation (with a profound American 'accent') was extremely difficult and mostly impossible to understand. Oddly, he did not even attempt a French or European accent, but only relied on changing the modulation of his voice - it was very odd and disappointing.
Also strange was his hair which looked as if a bottle of oil had been poured over it and then combed in - the result was a very odd look indeed.
The rest of the cast were wonderful. I thoroughly enjoyed the performance of the cast of famous movie stars as well as the photography. I've given the movie 3 stars for these attributes. But over all, it was a disappointment. I'm looking forward to Murder on the Orient Express with Poirot portrayed by David Suchet. I understand that he has just signed to do more Poirot movies with this movie one of them.
0 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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