International The Agatha Christie Mystery Collection (1 Viewer)

[Will Krupp]

And the original credits without the typographical errors... and the 5.1 remixed sound.

Hahah...In all honesty the DVD is my "go-to" when I want to watch that particular movie, not the blu.

 

[haineshisway]

And the original credits without the typographical errors... and the 5.1 remixed sound.

And the correct color, rather than the sorry mess that's on this Blu-ray disc. The DVD is better in every way, most likely because Paramount has the original negative and Studio Canal has some dupe negative for foreign territories. Funny how that works.

 

[bigshot]

I watched Orient Express last night, and it looked and sounded OK. Probably could be a bit better, but the movie itself is such a fragmented over blown mess, this release is all I need.

 

[Will Krupp]

I watched Orient Express last night, and it looked and sounded OK. Probably could be a bit better, but the movie itself is such a fragmented over blown mess, this release is all I need.

Nice to know I have some company in not loving that one as much as the others that followed. It sounds as though I like it a bit MORE than you do (I wouldn't personally go so far as to call it a mess) but it's definitely my least favorite of the EMI Poirots.

 

[bigshot]

I liked the characters, it was beautifully shot and art directed, and who could not like that cast. But the film was obviously shot like a jigsaw puzzle to work around the schedules of all of the stars. Lots of stuff that should have been shot as a two shot are handled as cutaway shots where the two characters speaking weren't even on the set together at the same time. It had no feeling of ensemble, the editing was choppy and the complexity of the plot just made it feel even more jumbled.

 

[PMF]

The real mystery here is why "Orient Express" has yet to be rolled out by Criterion, TT or even Paramount in an elevated transfer and treatment that is up to the standards of the film created. And I'm talking about a stand alone edition.
One must argue, first, for the cinematography of Geoffrey Unsworth. Mr. Unsworth, to refresh the memory of some, was Oscar nominated for "Orient" and "Becket" and won for his work on "Cabaret" and "Tess". His other works included "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Superman I and II"; "The Return of The Pink Panther"; "A Bridge Too Far"; "Cromwell"; and Olivier's "Othello".

"Murder on the Orient Express" received 6 nominations in all:
Best Actor - Albert Finney
Best Supporting Actress - Ingrid Bergman (won)
Best Cinematography - Geoffrey Unsworth
Best Costume Design - Tony Walton
Best Music - Richard Rodney Bennett
Best Writing - Paul Dehn
Not a bad take in the year of "Godfather Part II", "Chinatown", "Lenny", "The Towering Inferno" and "The Conversation".
And since we're on the subject, let's remind TT, Criterion and/or Paramount of the entire cast found within "Orient Express":
Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Richard Widmark and Michael York

Oh, and did I mention that Tony Walton ("Mary Poppins" and "All That Jazz") was also the films Production Designer, as well?

Or that Anne V. Coates ("Lawrence of Arabia", "Beckett", "The Elephant Man", "Chaplin" and "Fifty Shades of Grey") was the Editor?

Or that Sidney Lumet ("Dog Day Afternoon", "Network" and "The Verdict") was it's director?

We, at the HTF, know this...but it doesn't hurt to put it all here on one long and handy little list for Paramount, TT or Criterion to review, right?

 

[PMF]

P.S.
Commentaries.
Those, too, must be captured for the next edition of "Orient Express".
There are many key survivors of this cast and crew who could produce a highly informative conversation about how all involved had worked together and/or collaborated.

 

[Andrew Budgell]

I would certainly upgrade if Murder on the Orient Express were re-released. I enjoy it a lot... much more than the recent David Suchet version, although he is absolutely without question the definitive Hercule Poirot, just as Joan Hickson is the Miss Marple. I'm actually travelling on the Orient Express this fall, so I've pulled out my Blu-ray copy a few times to get me in the spirit!

 

[ChromeJob]

The real mystery here is why "Orient Express" has yet to be rolled out by Criterion, TT or even Paramount in an elevated transfer and treatment that is up to the standards of the film created. And I'm talking about a stand alone edition.
One must argue, first, for the cinematography of Geoffrey Unsworth. Mr. Unsworth, to refresh the memory of some, was Oscar nominated for "Orient" and "Becket" and won for his work on "Cabaret" and "Tess". His other works included "2001: A Space Odyssey", "Superman I and II"; "The Return of The Pink Panther"; "A Bridge Too Far"; "Cromwell"; and Olivier's "Othello".

"Murder on the Orient Express" received 6 nominations in all:
Best Actor - Albert Finney
Best Supporting Actress - Ingrid Bergman (won)
Best Cinematography - Geoffrey Unsworth
Best Costume Design - Tony Walton
Best Music - Richard Rodney Bennett
Best Writing - Paul Dehn
Not a bad take in the year of "Godfather Part II", "Chinatown", "Lenny", "The Towering Inferno" and "The Conversation".
And since we're on the subject, let's remind TT, Criterion and/or Paramount of the entire cast found within "Orient Express":
Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Sean Connery, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Richard Widmark and Michael York

Oh, and did I mention that Tony Walton ("Mary Poppins" and "All That Jazz") was also the films Production Designer, as well?

Or that Anne V. Coates ("Lawrence of Arabia", "Beckett", "The Elephant Man", "Chaplin" and "Fifty Shades of Grey") was the Editor?

Or that Sidney Lumet ("Dog Day Afternoon", "Network" and "The Verdict") was it's director?

We, at the HTF, know this...but it doesn't hurt to put it all here on one long and handy little list for Paramount, TT or Criterion to review, right?

Well done sir.

The documentaries on my DVD are priceless, I'd be exceedingly disappointed if they weren't carried over to a new home video release. So many great moments and memories, not least of which is Michael York talking about the camel hair overcoat, then introducing it to us as he tells of being reunited with it on another film production!

(My gosh, they dragged Anne Coates into that "Fifty shades" debacle? )

 

[Matt Hough]

I know Murder on the Orient Express was the holy grail of Poirot books to film for David Suchet, but it has to be one of THE most disappointing of all his work as the character. I have never enjoyed watching his version at all, but maybe I was just spoiled by the grand, glamorous first version that spoiled me for anything else that would come after. Of course, Death on the Nile and Evil Under the SUn are also much more entertaining in the film versions rather than their TV counterparts (those all-star casts are pretty spectacular). So is Michael Winner's (in some ways feeble) Appointment with Death, but that's mainly because the TV version changed the ending completely using neither the book nor the play endings (they were both different) but something entirely different from either of them and not nearly as effective.

 

[AshJW]

just as Joan Hickson is the Miss Marple.

Is she closer to the book character?

For me Margaret Rutherford will be the Miss Marple although I know the four films she made are maybe not that close to the books.
I just grew up with her as Miss Marple.

 

[Matt Hough]

Joan Hickson is exactly like the Miss Marple of Christie's books, much closer than any of the other incarnations. Margaret Rutherford is very entertaining in her Marple films (I watch them regularly and always enjoy them) but she is nothing like the Marple of the books.

 

[Will Krupp]

Joan Hickson is the Miss Marple.

I heartily concur Mr. Budgell, and hers is the voice I hear now whenever I re-read the books. Not to take anything away from Margaret Rutherford or even Geraldine McEwan though, as Miss Marple is one of those characters who will live long after everyone who's reading this post is gone. It's okay by me if every incarnation isn't exactly like the books (they'll be another one along soon enough) as long as they are entertaining for what they are.

Which brings up a good point (I think.) As much as I love Joan Hickson, I DON'T love all of the Hickson adaptations equally and some I just plain dislike. I would place A MURDER IS ANNOUNCED, for example, not only at the top of the Hickson pile, but I would also go so far as to count it as some of the best Christie ever committed to film (it's also, IMO, one of the best of the McEwan Marples; it's just a fool-proof story) but MURDER AT THE VICARAGE, my personal favorite of the Marple books, is treated terribly in the Hickson series and given a downright dull, depressing adaptation. The Hickson series tends to come off as a little austere, cold and remote which works wonderfully well for some of the later, more melancholy stories (NEMESIS and MIRROR CRACK'd for example) but not for those earlier stories that should feel "cozier." For all of the wild changes in the controversial McEwan adaptations, her VICARAGE is a hell of a lot more fun.

Of course, Death on the Nile and Evil Under the SUn are also much more entertaining in the film versions rather than their TV counterparts (those all-star casts are pretty spectacular). So is Michael Winner's (in some ways feeble) Appointment with Death, but that's mainly because the TV version changed the ending completely using neither the book nor the play endings (they were both different) but something entirely different from either of them and not nearly as effective.

I'm glad you brought up APPOINTMENT WITH DEATH (the often un-loved illegitimate love child of the EMI Poirots), Matt. I remember seeing it in theater back in 1988 at the age of 20 (please don't do the math) and being really terribly disappointed in it. I had such high hopes going in, as we hadn't seen a big screen Poirot in six years (a lot of which having to do with producer John Brabourne's fall out with EMI in the wake of PASSAGE TO INDIA) and had just suffered through a few years of really cheap, updated, CBS-movie-of-the-week adaptations of Christie's works that were only made to capitalize on the success of "Murder She Wrote." I was all in for a big screen, all-star Ustinov Poirot IN PERIOD, not realizing at the time that A) Brabourne had nothing to do with it B) Michael Winner is more enjoyable if you don't expect too much and C) It was a Cannon Group cheapie. I hated it at the time and didn't think of it at all for years to come, preferring to tell myself that Ustinov's big-screen Poirots ended with EVIL.

I happened to catch it not that long ago and, I have to say, my attitude towards it has certainly mellowed over the years. Maybe it's a case of more managed expectations now, but there is a lot in it that's quite good. Your use of the word "feeble" is completely accurate because its main problem is a curious lack of connection to any of the characters and an overall "been there, done that" feel to it but it's really not a bad little movie at all. It's fun to see the big cast, even though it does come across with a murder-mystery "Love Boat" vibe more often than not ("oh look, Carrie Fisher! Where's she been? OMG, Hayley Mills...she looks good!) and the period feel is fun and the locations are stunning. It can't hold a candle to what came before it but I thought it was far better than I remembered it to be.

 

[Matt Hough]

I'd love to have Appointment with Death on Blu-ray (I have an open matte DVD-R which I recorded from the laserdisc). I think Mr. Lime said it was with Warners now.

Yes, it was a Cannon Group cheapie, but I think it might look quite nice in HD.

 

[Konstantinos]

I haven't bought this set due to the excessive DNR (or what) on Death of the Nile, which is my favourite of these, but now that I see there are other problems too (like the credits in Orient Express) I definitely won't buy it!
Hope someone releases updated and corrected versions in USA.

 

[Will Krupp]

I haven't bought this set due to the excessive DNR (or what) on Death of the Nile, which is my favourite of these, but now that I see there are other problems too (like the credits in Orient Express) I definitely won't buy it!
Hope someone releases updated and corrected versions in USA.

As I said earlier, individual mileage may vary and to each his own, obviously, but to have all four of these in HD with 75% of them looking better than they ever have for under $25.00 delivered is well worth it, in my book.

 

[Konstantinos]

As I said earlier, individual mileage may vary and to each his own, obviously, but to have all four of these in HD with 75% of them looking better than they ever have for under $25.00 delivered is well worth it, in my book.

yes, I understand but I prefer when I pay for something (even if it's not much) to be error-free and to my satisfaction.

 

[PMF]

(My gosh, they dragged Anne Coates into that "Fifty shades" debacle? )

I couldn't resist throwing that one in.

 

[Mikey1969]

Appointment With Death is available, legally, for free on Youtube from the Paramount Vault.

 

[Tony Bensley]

ChromeJob said: ↑
(My gosh, they dragged Anne Coates into that "Fifty shades" debacle? )

Anne was dragged by her "Coate" Tails!