Review of Murder on the Orient Express (1974) by Grant S — 18 Feb 2016
Great, star-studded adaptation of the classic Agatha Christie novel.
It is 1934 and master-detective Hercule Poirot is travelling from Istanbul to France on the Orient Express. On the first night the man in the next compartment is murdered. Once he starts investigating, Poirot faces a barrage of conflicting clues and potential motives.
A great whodunnit, one of the best. The murderer is not at all obvious. As you go deeper and deeper into the movie, the plot gets thicker and thicker, but without any clear guilty party emerging. Great, unforeseen twist at the end. Fantastic story-writing by Agatha Christie, well translated to screen by director Sydney Lumet and his cast and crew.
On the subject of cast, it is quite amazing - certainly one of the most star-studded every assembled for a movie. Just about every name is an icon of the silver screen - Albert Finney (as Poirot), Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Michael York, Jacqueline Bisset, Martin Balsam, Anthony Perkins, Richard Widmark.
None of them put a foot wrong,.
Ingrid Bergman got a Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her performance, but I'm not sure why. While she puts in a solid performance, she hardly stood out from the rest.
Albert Finney got a Best Actor Oscar nomination for his performance, though I think his makeup artist deserved it more - he was unrecognisable while playing Poirot.
This review of Murder on the Orient Express (1974) was written by Grant S on 18 Feb 2016.
Murder on the Orient Express has generally received positive reviews.
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