This film was an unexpected delight for many reasons, not the least of which was this wonderful score. Richard Rodney Bennett's score lifted this Agatha Christie whodunnit above most other films of 1974.
The film won six Oscar nominations, including one for Best Original Score. It was also nominated for best actor (Albert Finney) and won Best Supporting Actress (Ingrid Bergman). Directed by Sidney Lumet and blessed with an amazing all-star cast, the film managed to tell Christie's story with style and chills.
Subsequent productions of this story have, for me, been mixed bags. The David Suchet Poirot is always wonderful, but the version with him is depressing, dour and embellishes Poirot's dilemma with religious guilt. Branagh's film was also disappointing, and Patrick Doyle's score not particularly memorable (again, for me).
Here are some selections from the score in concert:
(I previously identified the conductor as Bennett himself, but another reader informed me that it is Keith Lockhart!)
This film was an unexpected delight for many reasons, not the least of which was this wonderful score. Richard Rodney Bennett's score lifted this Agatha Christie whodunnit above most other films of 1974.
The film won six Oscar nominations, including one for Best Original Score. It was also nominated for best actor (Albert Finney) and won Best Supporting Actress (Ingrid Bergman). Directed by Sidney Lumet and blessed with an amazing all-star cast, the film managed to tell Christie's story with style and chills.
Subsequent productions of this story have, for me, been mixed bags. The David Suchet Poirot is always wonderful, but the version with him is depressing, dour and embellishes Poirot's dilemma with religious guilt. Branagh's film was also disappointing, and Patrick Doyle's score not particularly memorable (again, for me).
Here are some selections from the score conducted by Bennett in concert:
Richard Rodney Bennett is not conducting here....it is Keith Lockhart .....
Subsequent productions of this story have, for me, been mixed bags. The David Suchet Poirot is always wonderful, but the version with him is depressing, dour and embellishes Poirot's dilemma with religious guilt. Branagh's film was also disappointing, and Patrick Doyle's score not particularly memorable (again, for me).
Yep, Suchet was a fine Poirot, but from what I read, by the time they shot the MotOE episode, he was very powerful and a producer on the series. He is apparently a conservative Christian in real life and demanded those changes to the story, which is unfortunate.
As for the Branagh film, it was just a Marvel version of Christie, to me. It added ridiculous CG, silly fight scenes, campy humor, especially Poirot's obsession with order (touches like him stepping in one pile of horse poop with one foot, causing him to purposely do the same with the other foot, for "balance," made the character ridiculous). It added a pointless backstory of a mysterious woman he pined for, and combining the Sean Connery colonel character and the doctor character was a stupid choice on a narrative level, those characters both have important functions. Everything was far too broad for my taste, Lumet found just the right level of theatricality and real emotion and suspense. The one thing I really liked in Branagh's film, aside from the main melody for Daisy in Doyle's score, was Michelle Pfeiffer's final monologue. having her sing a song based on that lovely melody over the end titles was a nice touch too.
Even the final moment of Branagh's film was strange, because, having solved this case, a British officer arrived, telling him he was needed in Egypt, where there had been a murder on the Nile. However, in Death on the Nile, as we'll see if the film is ever released, he is already in Egypt on vacation when the murder happens, just like MotOE, he doesn't go to Egypt in the aftermath of the murder.
The Lumet film is the definitive adaptation of the book, and the score captures perfectly the opposing tones of exuberant, decadent adventure and also nightmarish horror - the opening cue over the kidnapping sequence gave me nightmares for weeks as a kid, and still gives me chills even now as I type this.
Totally agree. Definitely the best film version and the score is a masterpiece. From the wonderful waltz theme for the train to the eerie disquietening music for the kidnapping and the murder there is not a note wasted.
Wonderful movie and score - a great favourite of mine growing up in the 70s. One gripe I have with all re-recordings I have heard is that in the film, when the main light on the OE is lit, there is a wonderful bell sound at this moment in the score. For some reason this seems to be missing from all re-recordings I have heard.
This film was an unexpected delight for many reasons, not the least of which was this wonderful score. Richard Rodney Bennett's score lifted this Agatha Christie whodunnit above most other films of 1974.
The film won six Oscar nominations, including one for Best Original Score. It was also nominated for best actor (Albert Finney) and won Best Supporting Actress (Ingrid Bergman). Directed by Sidney Lumet and blessed with an amazing all-star cast, the film managed to tell Christie's story with style and chills.
Subsequent productions of this story have, for me, been mixed bags. The David Suchet Poirot is always wonderful, but the version with him is depressing, dour and embellishes Poirot's dilemma with religious guilt. Branagh's film was also disappointing, and Patrick Doyle's score not particularly memorable (again, for me).
Here are some selections from the score conducted by Bennett in concert:
Richard Rodney Bennett is not conducting here....it is Keith Lockhart .....
Thank you! The clip did not identify Lockhart and I assumed....!!!
EMI has it also out there, coupled with Lady Caroline Lamb which is also very good, especially the viola concerto with Peter Mark as the soloist. As good as Murder on... is, I prefer Lamb.
By the way, I don't think RRB was a trained conductor. His scores have usually been conducted by others, like Marcus Dods.
I have the Cloud Nine CD (how I miss that company and the late David Wishart...) which pairs this one with the Nino Rota score for "Death on the Nile".
RRB was an excellent composer. He wrote one of the TOWERING masterpieces of the '60s, "Far from the Madding Crowd"!
I'm partial to the Roger Williams version of the Main Title. Picked it up not long after the Thanksgiving opening day viewing at the cinema. Still have the LP. Gonna put it on right now.
A great score...and...I must admit the only RRB score I own. Than again there are not really that much scores by Benett available.All I can think of besides "Orient" is EQUUS...FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD...MILLION DOLLAR BRAIN..LADY CAROLINE LAMB ....AND NICHOLAS...right?
A great score...and...I must admit the only RRB score I own. Than again there are not really that much scores by Benett available.All I can think of besides "Orient" is EQUUS...FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD...MILLION DOLLAR BRAIN...AND NICHOLAS...right?
There are a few score tracks from Four Weddings on the British soundtrack album, but not on the completely different US soundtrack album.
Unfortunately, the British soundtrack album was assembled around the time when it was "cool" to add dialogue clips over the music, like Pulp Fiction, Richard III and Apollo 13, so almost all the pop songs and the score cues have dialogue over top of portions of them. Thus, the reason to own both the UK and US CDs.
A great score...and...I must admit the only RRB score I own. Than again there are not really that much scores by Benett available.All I can think of besides "Orient" is EQUUS...FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD...MILLION DOLLAR BRAIN..LADY CAROLINE LAMB ....AND NICHOLAS...right?
ENCHANTED APRIL and FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL. There is a recording with suites.
