As
cinematic adaptation of Agatha Christie mysteries go, MURDER ON THE
ORIENT EXPRESS ($15) is certainly one of the best (if not the best)
ever produced. Directed by Sidney Lumet, this stylishly mounted production
offers a perfect recreation of the period in which the film takes place,
which only serves intensify one’s enjoyment of the film as the mystery
unspools. Also adding to one’s enjoyment is the film’s all-star cast,
featuring many stage and screen legends, who bring their characters to
life in rich, vivid detail. Leading the film’s outstanding cast is
Albert Finney as Christie’s most famous creation- Hercule Poirot. Finney
is absolutely marvelous as the meticulous, cerebral, Belgian detective,
who finds himself facing one of his most perplexing mysteries of his
career in this highly entertaining film.
Opening
with a montage of images from the kidnapping and murder of a child in
1930, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS then flashes forward five years
where we find Hercule Poirot in Istanbul, where boards the famous train of
the film’s title on his return trip to London. Although it is December,
the train proves to be unusually crowded with passengers, which even makes
it difficult for the intrepid Belgian detective to find accommodations.
While The Orient Express journeys to its final destination, Poirot is
approached by a fellow passenger named Ratchett (Richard Widmark), who
wants to hire the detective to serve as a bodyguard, in light of a series
of death threats that the mysterious businessman has received.
However,
the morning after Poirot turns down the job offer, Ratchett is found
murdered in his compartment, just as The Orient Express is stopped in its
tracks by an impassible snowdrift. As expected, Poirot is tapped to solve
the murder before the authorities can arrive and free the snowbound train.
The wonderful cast of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS also features
Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Sean
Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave,
Rachel Roberts, Michael York, Colin Blakely, George Coulouris, Denis
Quilley and Ingrid Bergman, who took home an Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actress for her memorable portrayal.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS available
on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This is a very fine rendering of MURDER ON
THE ORIENT EXPRESS and certainly the best that the film has looked on
any home medium. Geoffrey Unsworth’s stylized cinematography really
sparkles, which really brings out the beauty of the film’s period sets
and lavish costumes. The image generally appears sharp, although some fog
and diffusion is applied to the photography, which does soften things up a
bit. Colors appear saturated at a relatively natural level, without any
noise or discernable fuzziness. Blacks are inky, whites are clean and
contrast is quite good. The film elements used for the transfer displays a
few more blemishes than I would have liked to seen on this thirty-year-old
movie, which leaves me wishing a bit more digital clean up could have been
applied to the transfer. A grain structure is somewhat noticeable
throughout the course of the movie, but is never excessive. Digital
compression artifacts are well contained throughout.
For
this release, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS has been upgraded to a
Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound mix. Considering that MURDER ON THE
ORIENT EXPRESS was originally presented in monaural, the remix does a
good job of spreading the sound throughout the soundstage, without pushing
the material to the point that it sounds artificial. Richard Rodney
Bennett’s delightful score gets the biggest push in 5.1; demonstrating a
great deal of musical presence and relatively good fidelity. There are
some nice active sound effects that make use of the outlying channels, but
there are limitations in the original sound design that keep such
opportunities somewhat low. Dialogue is well reproduced and maintains
complete intelligibility. Most instances of background hiss and other
audible anomalies have been cleaned up in the mastering process, leaving
the track with a smooth sonic quality. English and French monaural tracks
have also been encoded onto the DVD, as have English subtitles.
The
basic interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a few very nice supplemental features. Agatha
Christie: A Portrait is a nine-minute program that profiles the
famous mystery author, as well as looking at her book Murder On The
Orient Express, its inspirations and her popular character Hercule
Poirot. Making Murder On The Orient Express is a four-part
program; running runs forty-eight minutes in total that chronicles the
film’s production in extensive detail. Featuring new interviews with
director Sidney Lumet, producers Richard Goodwin and John Brabourne,
production/costume designer Tony Walton, composer Richard Rodney Bennett,
plus actors Sean Connery, Jacqueline Bisset, Michael York, as well as
additional comments from Nicholas Meyer, Making Murder On The Orient
Express provides fans with a wealth of production details, as well
as a series of amusing anecdotes. A theatrical trailer closes out the
supplements.
MURDER
ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is a personal favorite and just about the best
cinematic adaptation of an Agatha Christie mystery. Paramount has done a
very nice job with the DVD, offering the best looking home presentation of
the film, as well as some great supplements. If you’re a mystery fan or
a movie buff, then you’ll want to add MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
to your collection. Highly recommended.
As
cinematic adaptation of Agatha Christie mysteries go, MURDER ON THE
ORIENT EXPRESS ($15) is certainly one of the best (if not the best)
ever produced. Directed by Sidney Lumet, this stylishly mounted production
offers a perfect recreation of the period in which the film takes place,
which only serves intensify one’s enjoyment of the film as the mystery
unspools. Also adding to one’s enjoyment is the film’s all-star cast,
featuring many stage and screen legends, who bring their characters to
life in rich, vivid detail. Leading the film’s outstanding cast is
Albert Finney as Christie’s most famous creation- Hercule Poirot. Finney
is absolutely marvelous as the meticulous, cerebral, Belgian detective,
who finds himself facing one of his most perplexing mysteries of his
career in this highly entertaining film.
Opening
with a montage of images from the kidnapping and murder of a child in
1930, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS then flashes forward five years
where we find Hercule Poirot in Istanbul, where boards the famous train of
the film’s title on his return trip to London. Although it is December,
the train proves to be unusually crowded with passengers, which even makes
it difficult for the intrepid Belgian detective to find accommodations.
While The Orient Express journeys to its final destination, Poirot is
approached by a fellow passenger named Ratchett (Richard Widmark), who
wants to hire the detective to serve as a bodyguard, in light of a series
of death threats that the mysterious businessman has received.
However,
the morning after Poirot turns down the job offer, Ratchett is found
murdered in his compartment, just as The Orient Express is stopped in its
tracks by an impassible snowdrift. As expected, Poirot is tapped to solve
the murder before the authorities can arrive and free the snowbound train.
The wonderful cast of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS also features
Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Sean
Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave,
Rachel Roberts, Michael York, Colin Blakely, George Coulouris, Denis
Quilley and Ingrid Bergman, who took home an Academy Award for Best
Supporting Actress for her memorable portrayal.
Paramount
Home Entertainment has made MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS available
on DVD in a 1.78:1 wide screen presentation that has been enhanced for
playback on 16:9 displays. This is a very fine rendering of MURDER ON
THE ORIENT EXPRESS and certainly the best that the film has looked on
any home medium. Geoffrey Unsworth’s stylized cinematography really
sparkles, which really brings out the beauty of the film’s period sets
and lavish costumes. The image generally appears sharp, although some fog
and diffusion is applied to the photography, which does soften things up a
bit. Colors appear saturated at a relatively natural level, without any
noise or discernable fuzziness. Blacks are inky, whites are clean and
contrast is quite good. The film elements used for the transfer displays a
few more blemishes than I would have liked to seen on this thirty-year-old
movie, which leaves me wishing a bit more digital clean up could have been
applied to the transfer. A grain structure is somewhat noticeable
throughout the course of the movie, but is never excessive. Digital
compression artifacts are well contained throughout.
For
this release, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS has been upgraded to a
Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound mix. Considering that MURDER ON THE
ORIENT EXPRESS was originally presented in monaural, the remix does a
good job of spreading the sound throughout the soundstage, without pushing
the material to the point that it sounds artificial. Richard Rodney
Bennett’s delightful score gets the biggest push in 5.1; demonstrating a
great deal of musical presence and relatively good fidelity. There are
some nice active sound effects that make use of the outlying channels, but
there are limitations in the original sound design that keep such
opportunities somewhat low. Dialogue is well reproduced and maintains
complete intelligibility. Most instances of background hiss and other
audible anomalies have been cleaned up in the mastering process, leaving
the track with a smooth sonic quality. English and French monaural tracks
have also been encoded onto the DVD, as have English subtitles.
The
basic interactive menus allow one access to the standard scene selection
and set up features, as well as a few very nice supplemental features. Agatha
Christie: A Portrait is a nine-minute program that profiles the
famous mystery author, as well as looking at her book Murder On The
Orient Express, its inspirations and her popular character Hercule
Poirot. Making Murder On The Orient Express is a four-part
program; running runs forty-eight minutes in total that chronicles the
film’s production in extensive detail. Featuring new interviews with
director Sidney Lumet, producers Richard Goodwin and John Brabourne,
production/costume designer Tony Walton, composer Richard Rodney Bennett,
plus actors Sean Connery, Jacqueline Bisset, Michael York, as well as
additional comments from Nicholas Meyer, Making Murder On The Orient
Express provides fans with a wealth of production details, as well
as a series of amusing anecdotes. A theatrical trailer closes out the
supplements.
MURDER
ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is a personal favorite and just about the best
cinematic adaptation of an Agatha Christie mystery. Paramount has done a
very nice job with the DVD, offering the best looking home presentation of
the film, as well as some great supplements. If you’re a mystery fan or
a movie buff, then you’ll want to add MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS
to your collection. Highly recommended.
