Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express

MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Like many of Agatha Christie's mysteries, Murder on the Orient Express is predicated on an actual event, in this case the Lindbergh kidnapping. In the movie, everyone on board the Orient Express seems to have concluded that hateful financier Ratchett (Richard Widmark) was behind the abduction and murder of the infant daughter of a famed aviatrix. Thus, when Ratchett is himself found murdered, everyone is suspect. Normally, the police would handle the investigation, but the train has been stalled by a snowslide halfway between Istanbul and Paris. Thus, it's up to the insufferable but brilliant Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (an unrecognizable Albert Finney) to activate his "little grey cells" and determine who's guilty. Among the suspects are colorful characters played by Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Jacqueline Bisset, Sean Connery, Wendy Hiller, John Gielgud, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, and Ingrid Bergman, whose performance won her a third Academy Award. (In her acceptance speech, Bergman apologized for her win, insisting that Day for Night's Valentina Cortese deserved the prize.) The first and best in a long line of contemporary Christie adaptations, the film scores on atmosphere, period detail, and richness of characterization. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Region: 1
• Number of Discs: 1
• Audio: Dolby Digital Mono
• Screen: Enhanced Wide Screen Letterbox for 16x9 TV
• Features:
  • Agatha Christie: A Portrait
  • 4-Part series: Making Murder On the Orient Express - All Aboard, The Ride, The Passengers, The End of the Line
  • Theatrical trailer
  • Widescreen version enhanced for 16:9 TVs
  • Dolby Digital: English 5.1 surround, English restored mono, French mono
  • English subtitles

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1974 (Ingrid Bergman)
•     Nominated Best Actor - 1974 (Albert Finney)
•     Nominated Best Adapted Screenplay - 1974 (Paul Dehn)
•     Nominated Best Cinematography - 1974 (Geoffrey Unsworth)
•     Nominated Best Costume Design - 1974 (Tony Walton)
•     Nominated Best Original Dramatic Score - 1974 (Richard Rodney Bennett)

• British Academy of Film and Television Arts

•     Won Anthony Asquith Award - 1974 (Richard Rodney Bennett)
•     Won Best Supporting Actor - 1974 (John Gielgud)
•     Won Best Supporting Actress - 1974 (Ingrid Bergman)
•     Nominated Best Picture - 1974 (Sidney Lumet)

• Directors Guild of America

•     Nominated Best Director - 1974 (Sidney Lumet)

• National Board of Review

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1974

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Cast:

  
       Albert Finney - Hercule Poirot
       Lauren Bacall - Mrs. Hubbard
       Ingrid Bergman - Greta
       Sean Connery - Col. Arbuthnot
       Martin Balsam - Bianchi
       Jacqueline Bisset - Countess Andrenyi
       Anthony Perkins - McQueen

• Director:

  Sidney Lumet

• Producer:

  Lord John Brabourne, Richard Goodwin

• Screenwriter:

  Paul Dehn

• Book Author:

  Agatha Christie

• Cinematographer:

  Geoffrey Unsworth

• Composer (Music Score):

  Richard Rodney Bennett

• Musical Direction/Supervision:

  Marcus Dods

• Editor:

  Anne V. Coates

• Production Designer:

  Tony Walton

• Art Director:

  Jack Stephens

• Costume Designer:

  Tony Walton

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Peter Handford, Bill Rowe

• First Assistant Director:

  Ted Sturgis

• Draftsman:

  John Siddall

REVIEW:

• This lavish adaptation of Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express is uncharacteristic territory for director Sidney Lumet. The creator of socially conscious message movies (12 Angry Men, Fail-Safe), intense emotional dramas (The Pawnbroker), dark satires (Dog Day Afternoon, Network), and morally complex crime movies (Serpico), Lumet usually marks his films with a gritty, realistic edge. Rich and visually ornate, Murder is opulent in both style and pacing. The leisurely direction appears well-suited to most members of the large, talented cast. Albert Finney was nominated for an Oscar as Best Actor in the lead role and Ingrid Bergman won her third Oscar as a Swedish missionary (though Lumet initially wanted her for Wendy Hiller's role as the Russian princess). The elegant cinematography and costume design were also nominated for Academy Awards. The success of Murder paved the way for a number of other Christie adaptations. ~ Brendon Hanley, Rovi