| |
|
Yar, you be here: Murder on the Orient Express > Customer Reviews Murder on the Orient Express Customer Reviews (1 - 3 of 11 Reviews)Reaching Classic Status
This is an excellent motion picture featuring Agatha Christie's incomparable detective Hercule Poirot. It is competently acted, well scripted and neatly directed. Albert Finney as Poirot is excellent. The film boats a huge cast including Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Martin Balsam, John Gielgud, Richard Widmark, Anthony Perkins, Michael York, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Cassel who give standout performances. It will keep you on the edge of your seat. One of the last films made in the style of the great Hollywood tradition. May be disappointing
While the movie is a faithful adaptation of Agatha Christie's book, Albert Finney's portrayal of the quirky but brilliant Hercule Poirot is disappointing. Even those who are not familiar with David Suchet's interpretation will be disappointed if they have read many of the Poirot mysteries. Gone are most of Poirot's most obvious traits--his enormous vanity, his charm, his fastidiousness. If Albert Finney was familiar with Agatha Christie's character at all before the movie, it was only a very slight aquaintance. The rest of the cast is impeccable--Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Ingred Bergman--the list goes on and on. While some parts of the story have been changed, they are only slight changes and the movie remains true to the spirit and story of the book.
But enough about that. They rarely make films this lavishly entertaining anymore. "Murder on the Orient Express" is visually striking to say the least; the Orient Express and its various set pieces are magnificently rendered, and at no small expense either. The all-star cast is impressive; from Lauren Bacall's scene-stealing American chatterbox to Anthony Perkins' disturbing, PSYCHO-reminiscent secretary, the cast list adds emphasis to the idea of the house-party whodunit. The film is, essentially, a Hollywood party on a grand scale. Although the film is sluggish at times and the unraveling of Agatha Christie's labyrinthine plot doesn't work as well on the screen as it does on paper, this is still great fun, the perfect Saturday night movie for viewers who like a dose of wit and intelligence with their entertainment.
|
|
||||||||||||||||||||
© 2004 DVD Booty | Don't Plunder Our Cache of Booty, Matey! Hosting Provided by Debt Relief Clearinghouse |
