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Thought the Branagh version of 'Orient Express' was one of the worst films i've ever seen !
Watched the 1978 version immediately after to wash away the bad experience
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Thought the Branagh version of 'Orient Express' was one of the worst films i've ever seen !
Then you've lived a blessed life as a moviegoer.
Fortunately, ..... yes ! 
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Thought the Branagh version of 'Orient Express' was one of the worst films i've ever seen !
Then you've lived a blessed life as a moviegoer.
Fortunately, ..... yes !
Worst? C´mon. You did not like Branagh´s choices. But the movie itself was made more than competently. And the way he told the story through camera moves at least disqualifies it from such internet-bashing.
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I'm also a big fan of the (1974 not 1978) Orient Express. So much so that it's the only movie poster I have hanging up in my office. (Also love the book.)
For me, Branagh kind of went the "Indiana Jones solves a mystery!" route in his new version, which I was ok with but didn't love. But I must say I've never seen a version (including the Suchet TV adaptation which was oddly hard on Poirot) with such an emotional take on the solution. I was driven to tears, just a few minutes after I was kind of rolling my eyes at the needless scene with Ridley and Odom (I won't do any spoilers).
I may not have agreed with lots of Branagh's choices, but he found something heartfelt in the story that went further than the almost-chilling toast scene in Lumet's. On the other hand, my wife was not, as Katherine Hepburn says in Lion in Winter, moved to tears. And the next time we watch a version, I doubt it'll be this one.
That said, Branagh is for me too entertaining to ignore, so I plan to see Death on the Nile, which I don't give a flying fig about anyway so no harm there (I've always kind of boycotted the Ustinov versions, even though I otherwise love the guy, because of the unique charm Finney found that was utterly squandered in the follow ups).
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Like Indiana Jones putting the old movie adventure tropes into overdrive, Doyle ramped up the melodrama and action considering the source - a pretty dang sedate mystery trapped on a train.
This is especially true in the first part prologue, where Poirot uses his cane in a silly action-movie way - but also the scene mentioned above that I'm not going to explain for people who haven't seen it, the slightly ludicrous staging of everyone outside around a big table, the heightened threats to the train, etc. Not so much that this Poirot IS an action hero like Indiana, but the same kind of ballooning of earlier tropes that make him a lot more florid and over-the-top than earlier versions, just as Indiana is compared to anthropologist heroes of earlier decades.
And also because it's the same period being more and more romanticized by these movies.
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But I must say I've never seen a version (including the Suchet TV adaptation which was oddly hard on Poirot) with such an emotional take on the solution. I was driven to tears, just a few minutes after I was kind of rolling my eyes at the needless scene with Ridley and Odom (I won't do any spoilers).
Agreed with you on that much! Went directly from one of the film's weakest moments to probably its strongest. I didn't love every choice Branagh made but I honestly loved the film overall. It was enough to win my goodwill for a sequel.
Yavar
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Yeah, I wondered about that, Thomas.
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Looking forward to seeing Death On The Nile, the trailer looks good. I enjoyed Murder On The Orient Express, I don't care much for the 1974 version, maybe it was Albert Finney's Poirot I didn't like, & the TV Suchet version was a big misfire, they turned what should have been a bit of a romp into a full on tragedy, with Poirot being a right old misery guts.
As for Patrick Doyle, he must be a blind spot for me. I've never noticed his music or remembered any of it afterwards. Oh well, you can't like everything.
The 1974 version of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS is to Branagh's version what STAR WARS is to STAR CRASH, and I have little doubt his green-screen DEATH ON THE NILE will serve a similar comparison to the 1978 version.
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Posted: |
Aug 20, 2020 - 7:08 AM
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By: |
ddddeeee
(Member)
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The 78 version of Death on the Nile is fun but poorly paced, repetitive and overlong. Farrow is great but Chiles' character is obviously at the story's centre, and she's really not up to the task. It's got nothing on Lumet's Orient Express or even the subsequent Evil Under the Sun, which pulls off the 'fun, campy romp with a ton of luvvies' vibe much better. Rota's music is wonderful in the first section of the movie, but it all but disappears until the end.
The 04 version isn't especially good either. It's a nasty story, really, and that's been lost in the other two versions. I think Branagh's got a much better chance of succeeding here than he did with Orient Express (which was decent enough). It already looks more sensual and sinister than the previous versions.
I do agree regarding the green screen, though. They shot in Egypt for two weeks, so hopefully that's on the screen.
If nothing else, the prospect of Doyle mixing his knack for writing love themes with his terrific music for Murder on the Orient Express is enticing.
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