Murder on the Orient Express | Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall | Beautifully Realized: A Classic Of...

Murder on the Orient Express | Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall | The Best of Christie

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Murder on the Orie...

	Murder on the Orient Express Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall Paramount, 1998 average customer review:based on 106 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Beautifully Realized: A Classic Of Its Kind

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

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The Best of Christie

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.

A Great classic ,a Renoir Classic

If you enjoy a mystery, you will enjoy this. All my years in Law Enforcement and this is a Classic Mystery for all.

Christie's best

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

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A little too heavy on the accent

This is a good movie. But I can't understand a thing that the detective is saying. His accent is too thick. It's almost as if he's speaking another language entirely.

I can pretty much figure out what he's saying throughout the movie. But when it gets to the end and he's got everyone together in the same room and is explaining everything to them, I've absolutely no idea what he's saying. If it wasn't for the "flashbacks" while he's talking, I wouldn't know who killed who and why even after watching the entire movie. Someone who doesn't have such a horribly thick accent should have played the part of the detective.

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