Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express
by Sidney Lumet
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DVD details
Actor: Albert Finney, Anthony Perkins, Ingrid Bergman, Lauren Bacall, Sean ConneryDirector: Sidney Lumet
Brand: PARAMOUNT HOME VIDEO
Cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth
Editor: Anne V. Coates
Producer: John Brabourne
Producer: Richard B. Goodwin
Writer: Agatha Christie
Writer: Paul Dehn
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono; French (Original Language), Dolby Digital 2.0 Mono
Format: Anamorphic, Closed-captioned, Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 128 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-09-07
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Reviews of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express
DVD Review: Superb cast in deluxe, restored edition of DVD
Summary: 5 Stars
Agatha Christie's mysteries changed the genre. With twists, turns and credible watertight plotting her novels divorced themselves from the hackneyed conventions of the genre. Sidney Lumet's superb film of Christie's novel looks marvelous on this deluxe DVD from Paramount. The rich, colorful cinematographer of Geoffrey Unsworth ("2001: A Space Odyssey") looks terrific. Lumet's assured hand guides the film without hesitation to a truly stunning conclusion. Paramount has remastered the soundtrack for Dolby Digital 5.1 giving the sound a richer feel than previous video editions of the movie. While it doesn't quite convey the detail one might hear in a brand new movie, it does a great job of improving an already great mystery movie.
After working on a case, Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) travels home on the Orient Express hoping for a relaxing journey. Instead, when the train is caught in the show he's drawn into a mystery on the very train he's traveling on. A millionaire named Ratchett (Richard Widmark) has been brutally murdered. Who could the murderer be and what was his or her motive? Poirot must work this out and discover which of the train's passengers committed the crime. He discovers an unusual link between the millionaire and many of the passengers on the train. Is this the vital link that will help him solve the crime?
Featuring a stellar all cast of Hollywood and London stage and screen veterans, "Murder on the Orient Express" chugs along on the charm of the performers, a solid script by Paul Dehn ("The Spy Who Came in the Cold", "Goldfinger", "Beneath the Planet of the Apes") and outstanding direction by Sidney Lumet ("The Verdict", "Deathtrap", "Network", "Prince of the City"). The casting is a bit unusual. While Albert Finney probably wouldn't be most fan's first choice for Poirot, he gives a marvelous performance as Agatha Christie's detective. I've read reviews criticizng Finney's performance and, while he may not be the "ideal" Poirot his interpretation is unique and works perfectly for this film.
I'm pleasantly surprised that Paramount has sprung for all the extras here. We get a documentary that can be viewed all at once or by segments. The documentary features interviews with Sidney Lumet, producers John Brabourne, Sean Connery, Jacqueline Bisset, Michael York, Richard Goodwin, writer-director Nicholas Meyer ("Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn", The Seven Percent Solution) and the grandson of Agatha Christie discussing the hard road to producing the film. Evidently, Christie reluctantly agreed to give the rights to the film to the producers at first but was won over when she found out that producer Brabourne had worked on "Tales of Beatrix Potter". Lumet comments on the difficulty in having Finney play Poirot as he was too young for the role (Alec Guinness and Paul Scofield were Lumet's first and second choices). The marvels of make up helped sell Finney in the role and the fact that he played against audience expectations worked for him in the role. Lumet recounts a funny story where the cast got together to read the script together the first time couldn't hear the cast. Why? Because the stage actors were in awe of the theater actors and vice versa. Lumet's challenge was honing an acting style that was consistent between all the very different performers. "Murder" is one of those few mysteries that live up to its potential despite considerable odds against it doing so. It's clear that the cast respect and love Lumet-how else to explain Connery, Bisset and York agreeing to appear in a documentary on the making of the film for the DVD? There's also a discussion of the real life inspiration for part of the story-the Lindbergh kidnapping. Another marvelous documentary by the talented Laurent Bouzereau, his work has become the standard against which all other writer/producer/directors of extras on DVDs should be measured. His work here as on "Duel", "E.T." and other DVDs continues the tradition of digging up the past to enlighten those of us who couldn't possibly have been there.
"Agatha Christie: A Portrait" gives us insight into the mysterious life of the elusive novelist. We're also told almost as much about her most famous creation Poirot who appears almost as elusive as the novelist herself. This eight minute featurette puts a human face on a remarkable mystery novelist who helped reinvent the genre. We also get the original theatrical trailer which demonstrates how much work went into restoring and transferring this beautifully shot film. Smudged with loads of analog blemishes, the comparison between the trailer and the film indicates the great work that went into improving this film for DVD. There's no commentary track but Lumet's insightful observations in the documentary more than make up for the lack of such a track.
Beautifully restored with enhanced sound, "Murder on the Orient Express" probably didn't look this good when it showed in theaters in 1974. The outstanding international cast of screen and stage veterans along with Dehn's sharp adaptation and Lumet's assured direction makes "Murder" one of the best films made from one of Christie's convoluted mystery novels. It's a joy to watch.
Description of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express
HERCULE POIROTI IS A DAPPER DETECTIVE FOR WHOM MURDER SOLVING IS A PRECISE, INTELLECTUAL EXCERCISE. POIROT AGREES TOINTERVIEW ALL ABOARD THE FAMOUS ORIENT EXPRESS' CALAIS COACH, HOPING TO FIND THE KILLER OF AN AMERICAN MILLIONAIRE BEFORE THE LOCAL POLICE ARRIVE.Bestsellers in DVD
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