At the risk of being nostalgic and enjoying a good detective yarn now and again, this is old story in new cloths that was revisited. For those who are well acquainted with Agatha Christie not a great deal needs to be said - these were the books that kicked around well before I fist read from them when growing up. A number of films were made of them and this one, the 'Murder on the Orient Express' is a revised version (1974) and provides the backdrop of the skilled detective, Hercule Poirot. For those possibly not familiar, I'll add no spoiler in this whodunnit.
Agatha wrote the book, or it was produced I think in 1934. Agatha had also ridden on the Orient Express in 1928 which inspired the setting to become expressed in her novel years later.
Not being a good critic of films (but some critics I've added), a couple of things nonetheless stood out as follows;
Hercule Poirot was played by Kenneth Branagh, who also directed the film. I thought he did an excelled job with the character throughout the revised firm. This Belgian detective character was pivotal to Chistie's stories and this Branagh seemed to play him well, IMO.
The cast included Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley and then some.
The costumes and antiquities (vintage of the 30's) seemed very convincing with good detail.
The cinematography was great offering up nice landscape vistas, film angels, and of course inside/outside the Orient Express itself.
If the film is sourced from a DVD, and if it has a partition of 'extras' that can be selected, there were two sections whereby Agatha's family was interviewed, including voice recordings of Agatha explaining some things. Agathe even describes the Belgian detective's famous mustache in this section, which in this film they played around with extensively. In these sections a most remarkable recounting of Agatha's life is told and she did not have it easy for many years. I think they said that over all the years since, her books have sold 2 'B'illion copies - amazing really. So, this section is worth catching if possible.
Anyway, it was a last minute pick that I was not even aware that the film had been remade. I'll go out on a limb and recommend it, although some real critic were not so recommending with statements such as "a needless remake" or "Poirot's fussiness ... into obsessive compulsive tendencies" was "less distinct and, ultimately, less interesting" - One guy, Matthew Jacobs (HuffPost) "was impressed by the cast, but ultimately felt "Agatha Christie's whodunit has no steam.." The film rated 58% on one system or a B from a A - F scale on another. There were some good reviews too.
Here is a trailer:
https://youtu.be/Mq4m3yAoW8E
Agatha wrote the book, or it was produced I think in 1934. Agatha had also ridden on the Orient Express in 1928 which inspired the setting to become expressed in her novel years later.
Not being a good critic of films (but some critics I've added), a couple of things nonetheless stood out as follows;
Hercule Poirot was played by Kenneth Branagh, who also directed the film. I thought he did an excelled job with the character throughout the revised firm. This Belgian detective character was pivotal to Chistie's stories and this Branagh seemed to play him well, IMO.
The cast included Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, Daisy Ridley and then some.
The costumes and antiquities (vintage of the 30's) seemed very convincing with good detail.
The cinematography was great offering up nice landscape vistas, film angels, and of course inside/outside the Orient Express itself.
If the film is sourced from a DVD, and if it has a partition of 'extras' that can be selected, there were two sections whereby Agatha's family was interviewed, including voice recordings of Agatha explaining some things. Agathe even describes the Belgian detective's famous mustache in this section, which in this film they played around with extensively. In these sections a most remarkable recounting of Agatha's life is told and she did not have it easy for many years. I think they said that over all the years since, her books have sold 2 'B'illion copies - amazing really. So, this section is worth catching if possible.
Anyway, it was a last minute pick that I was not even aware that the film had been remade. I'll go out on a limb and recommend it, although some real critic were not so recommending with statements such as "a needless remake" or "Poirot's fussiness ... into obsessive compulsive tendencies" was "less distinct and, ultimately, less interesting" - One guy, Matthew Jacobs (HuffPost) "was impressed by the cast, but ultimately felt "Agatha Christie's whodunit has no steam.." The film rated 58% on one system or a B from a A - F scale on another. There were some good reviews too.
Here is a trailer:
https://youtu.be/Mq4m3yAoW8E
