Murder on the Orient Express | Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall

Murder on the Orient Express | Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall | Poirot-Murder On The Orient Express

vhs video:

Murder on the Orie...

	Murder on the Orient Express Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall Paramount, 1998 average customer review:based on 110 reviews view larger image
	for more information click here

highly recommended

The stuff that movies are made of

It's one of those movies that made cinema important to me. I only read the book (or any of Agatha Christie's books, for that matter) much later on in life. Christie is full of little subtleties and, yes, pearls of wisdom about life that I feel never come across in adaptations of her work. They always smack a bit of overacting and sensationalism. She was really much colder than that, observing humanity amorally and without much love for it, as if it were a different species from her, that she didn't particularly care for.
I love the aesthetics of the movie. Albert Finney is definitive as Hercule Poirot, I think. I really liked Lauren Baccal, and I'm not usually a fan of hers. Too bad Ingrid Bergman is so frumpy looking here, but oh well...
And there's one thing the movie has that the book doesn't: that heart that is lacking in all of Christie's works. The assassination scene is one of the most moving, genuinely loving scenes I have ever seen (strange and morbid as it may sound for someone who hasn't seen the movie yet.)
It's glamorous, beautiful and with a message. It has it all.

for more information click here

Poirot-Murder On The Orient Express

This is one of my all time favorite movies. This is one of the few films I can watch over and over again and not get bored. Without spoiling it for anyone this is the best of the Poirot films for two reasons. First off this is not a normal Christie whodunit. If you pay close attention you can pretty easily figure out the puzzle. But that's not a problem at all in this particular case because as viewers we are emotionally invested in the people involved; which very rarely ever happens in a story like this. Secondly, the acting from the cast is so thought provoking, emotionally connected and not gimmicky (doing movies like this can sometimes fall into a lot of traps where actors are concerned) in this one everyone has a sense of purpose and we fully understand their motivations. Without spoiling anything the victim (Richard Widmark) is a really really bad guy and Christie brilliantly brings in a piece of dark and tragic U.S. history to hold it altogether (Think of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping). I have to give both Christie and Sidney Lumet (Network) serious props for undertaking a lenghty project like this and pulling it off with such flying colors. If I had to make one complaint about it now it would be that Finney is somewhat miscast. I only say that because us Poirot lovers have since been blessed with the likes of Ustinov and David Suchet in the role and they consistently played it much better. But Finney is still fun with more of a gruff take on the character...Poirot is much more agressive in this one although he does inevitably (spoiler)let the killer or killers off the hook. I love this movie. It is the best murder mystery story ever made in my opinion because it is rare to be so emotionally connected to all of the characters in a story/film like this.

for more information click here

On the Whole, Excellent

This classic 1974 film is, for the most part, an excellent adaptation of Agatha Christie's most famous novel, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, which stars Hercule Poirot as the ingenious yet slightly egotistical little Belgian detective. The cast is filled with distinguished actors: Albert Finney, Ingrid Bergman, Dame Wendy Hiller, Lauren Bacall, Michael York, Vanessa Redgrave, Sean Connery, Richard Widmark, and many more. I must state right away that I don't care for Finney's interpretation of Poirot. Perhaps I am simply biased, having been "brought up" on David Suchet's refined, humorous, yet never ridiculous characterization, which strikes me as definitive. The rest of the actors play their parts to perfection. Particular standouts for me include Martin Balsam as Poirot's Italian friend, Bianchi (Balsam's Italian accent is wonderful; one would never guess that the actor was in fact Jewish and from The Bronx) and Sir John Gielgud, very witty as the murdered man's butler (!) Anthony Perkins is outstanding as the murdererd man's secretary, a more sympathetic Norman Bates. Sidney Lumet's direction is, of course, beyond criticism. The elegant yet cramped atmosphere of the train is ideally conveyed, while such sequences as the opening, the discovery of the murder victim, and the flashback-reenactment of the murder are stunningly effective. You should watch this if you want to see a filmed version of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS. However, I would suggest also watching any of the "Poirot" episodes to experience David Suchet's interpretation of the title character.

for more information click here

Still one of the most stylish who-dun-its

Nearly 30 years after its release, the star-studded "Murder on the Orient Express" remains one the the best of the big screen's adaptations of Agatha Christie's works. Confined to the fabled train with the richest of the ultra-privileged class and trapped by a mammoth snow drift, everyone comes under suspicion when a self-described businessman (Richard Widmark) who turns out to be the mastermind of a child kidnapping that ends in murder of the child, is himself murdered (who can ignore the obvious similarity to the Lindbergh baby kidnapping?). Everyone in the all-star cast comes under suspicion, from Lauren Bacall as a character intended to scrape the nerves raw, to Ingrid Bergman in an Oscar-winning supporting role, to the breathtakingly beautiful Jacqueline Bissett, to Anthony Perkins, the late Sir John Geilgud and a magestic Wendy Hiller. But Albert Finney, as celebrated investigator Hercule Peroit, is amazing. True to Christie form, we come to a totally unexpected solution and resolution that doesn't deter us from watching this film time and again. Lavishly produced and rich in scenery, we actually get a sense of being trapped on the motionless train wondering who of our fellow passengers did the dirty deed, which is what makes this film so enjoyable with every viewing. More satisfying is that the viewer won't feel cheated by an ending that one critic at the time dismissed as "too easy." That aside, it's little wonder the film was an Academy favorite in multiple nominations.

for more information click here

Finney's not too impressive, though the movie is quite.

Altogether, a very entertaining movie, good acting etc. But one thing I feel very strongly about is that FINNEY IS NOWHERE AS CLOSE TO POIROT AS DAVID SUCHET IS. Finney doesn't quite have the panache of Poirot...not that he has anything else.
But, yes, the movie is almost excellent, and a must see.

reviews: 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, page 17, 18, 19, 20

products you might be interested in