Pre-Order Murder on the Orient Express (1974) (Blu-ray) Available for Preorder (1 Viewer)

[Ronald Epstein]

Thank you for supporting HTF when you preorder using the link below. If you are using an adblocker you will not see link. As an Amazon Associate HTF earns from qualifying purchases

 

[Garysb]

I am always concerned that well known Paramount films that are not part of Paramount Presents banner are of lesser quality as far as the elements used to produce the disc. Nice that this disc comes with a digital code unlike other recent or announced non Paramount Presents discs like "Lady Sings The Blues" and "Foul Play". For "Orient Express I wonder if Paramount has access to what was used in the latest European blu rays. I believe Paramount only has the rights to the film in North America.

 

[battlebeast]

I need this one for my collection… Ingrid Bergman won an unwarranted Oscar for five minutes worth of screen time…. Not unlike Dame Judy Dench or Sir Hannibal Lechter. But it’s a good movie, and I’ll enjoy watching it again.

It surprises me that the number of quality films not getting the “Paramount Plus” treatment…

 

[Trancas]

Isn't this just the same StudioCanal scan from 2017? Murder on the Orient Express

 

[battlebeast]

Isn't this just the same StudioCanal scan from 2017? Murder on the Orient Express

Not necessarily.

 

[Thomas T]

No word if all the extras from the DVD will be ported over. I assume they will but still ..... I'll probably stick with my British R2 blu ray import.

 

[Will Krupp]

Isn't this just the same StudioCanal scan from 2017? Murder on the Orient Express

Paramount and StudioCanal hold different ORIENT assets and the 2017 StudioCanal scan was from a much better element than the one they originally released, so the short answer is "maybe" but not "definitely."

I'll probably stick with my British R2 blu ray import.

Seeing as this is actually my least favorite of the Brabourne all-star adaptations, I'm likely to as well unless there's a major uptick in picture quality (which is conceivable but not a sure thing.)

 

[Jack P]

I'm glad this is finally getting a US Blu-Ray release. While Finney's performance hasn't stood the test of time IMO, the production as a whole is still the best interpretation of this classic Christie tale.

 

[JoeDoakes]

Finney is the number 1 reason to choose this version for me. He's delightful.

 

[Will Krupp]

I DO like the Amsel inspired cover design and I'm very curious as to what this will look like.

KINO released the two later Ustinov theatrical films in the US but they were a mixed bag. DEATH ON THE NILE used a slightly better compression of the existing StudioCanal 2017 4K scan, but EVIL UNDER THE SUN (inexplicably) bypassed the SC 4K remaster and used the old 2013 (ish) transfer. It isn't good.

Paramount holds superior elements on ORIENT (witness the strong DVD Paramount released) and the first scan SC put out in 2013 was atrocious (including rebuilt English credits since they likely only held a foreign language element to work with.) The 2017 remaster was a vast improvement but we shall see what Paramount can do with the better elements in their posession.

 

[lark144]

I DO like the Amsel inspired cover design and I'm very curious as to what this will look like.

KINO released the two later Ustinov theatrical films in the US but they were a mixed bag. DEATH ON THE NILE used a slightly better compression of the same transfer the StudioCanal 2017 4K scan used, but EVIL UNDER THE SUN (inexplicably) bypassed the SC 4K remaster and was the old 2013 (ish) transfer. It isn't good.

Paramount holds superior elements on ORIENT (witness the strong DVD Paramount released) and the first scan SC put out in 2013 was atrocious (including rebuilt English credits since they likely only held a foreign language element to work with.) The 2017 remaster was very good but we shall see what Paramount can do with the better elements in their posession.

Oh, blast you Will Krupp.

I've bought this twice already--I love this film, it's my favorite of the Christies, especially for Unsworth's cinematography--and now, reading your post, it sounds like I may have to buy it again!

BTW, I'm very happy with the second SC ititeration in Blu, but if it can even be better, I may have to bite.

 

[Will Krupp]

BTW, I'm very happy with the second SC ititeration in Blu, but if it can even be better, I may have to bite.

Sadly, we won't know until reviews come out, lol! Who knows? Maybe StudioCanal already accessed the Paramount elements in 2017 and that's as good as it gets? It's a fine release.

 

[lark144]

Sadly, we won't know until reviews come out, lol! Who knows? Maybe StudioCanal already accessed the Paramount elements in 2017 and that's as good as it gets? It's a fine release.

It looks pretty damn good in my opinion, but then I never saw this in 35mm. Only in 16mm at a Syracuse University film society--somehow I never got around to seeing it in NYC--and though it looked good, it was a bit dark. For me, the 2nd SC Blu was a revelation. Then again, this opened at the Baronet, which was a very small house, only 350 seats as I recall. Paramount booked it in there, rather than the big house upstairs, the Coronet, which may have been 1000, or 750 anyway-- the brain, as well as the bones are getting old--because the geniuses in the Paramount booking office thought no one wanted to see it, so for the opening week there were huge lines snaking around the corner and almost reaching the 59th Street Bridge. (I remember this, for at the time I lived nearby.) The Coronet was booked for the next 6 months, as were the other big or even medium size houses in NYC, so they were stuck, and the film, in first run, did not realize its potential in terms of audiences. As someone, I forget who, said, when it comes to movies, nobody knows anything. Anyway, that's probably why I didn't see it first run, because of the lines.

 

[Will Krupp]

Then again, this opened at the Baronet, which was a very small house, only 350 seats as I recall. Paramount booked it in there, rather than the big house upstairs, the Coronet, which may have been 1000, or 750 anyway

I don't mean to be rude, but it did open at the Coronet on Sunday, November 24th. The Night Porter was playing downstairs at the smaller theater. With advance reviews like these, they HAD to know it was going to hit.

I understand the confusion, though, because they expanded the release about three weeks later (on December 18th) to include the mammoth 2,000 seat Loew's Astor Plaza on Broadway and, in doing so, also moved the picture out of its berth at the Coronet and into the smaller house. The premiere engagement of The Front Page took its place at the Coronet that same day

It opened wide a week later (Christmas day) to theaters "everywhere":

 

[Matt Hough]

The theater was packed both times I saw it, about two weeks apart.

 

[lark144]

I don't mean to be rude, but it did open at the Coronet on Sunday, November 24th. The Night Porter was playing downstairs at the smaller theater. With advance reviews like these, they HAD to know it was going to hit.

View attachment 121549

I understand the confusion, though, because they expanded the release about three weeks later (on December 18th) to include the mammoth 2,000 seat Loew's Astor Plaza on Broadway and, in doing so, also moved the picture out of its berth at the Coronet and into the smaller house. The premiere engagement of The Front Page took its place at the Coronet that same day

View attachment 121570

They expanded the release again a week later (Christmas day) to theaters all over the metropolitan area:
View attachment 121566

Ah memories. I did a NY Times search for NYC ads and couldn't find them, and relied on a story a manager told me years later, clearly wrong. Guess I should have googled first before relying on that tale. Well, it was worth it just to see those old ads and those theaters which no longer exist.

 

[Will Krupp]

Ah memories. I did a NY Times search for NYC ads and couldn't find them

I no longer have access to the NYT archive since NYT access on ProQuest got so expensive that most libraries were forced to drop it. Newspapers.com, however, has a complete online archive of the NY Daily News which, for movie adverts, is just as good IMO.

 

[SeanSKA]

I don't mean to be rude, but it did open at the Coronet on Sunday, November 24th. The Night Porter was playing downstairs at the smaller theater. With advance reviews like these, they HAD to know it was going to hit.

View attachment 121549

I understand the confusion, though, because they expanded the release about three weeks later (on December 18th) to include the mammoth 2,000 seat Loew's Astor Plaza on Broadway and, in doing so, also moved the picture out of its berth at the Coronet and into the smaller house. The premiere engagement of The Front Page took its place at the Coronet that same day

View attachment 121570

It opened wide a week later (Christmas day) to theaters "everywhere":
View attachment 121566

Brings back memories- I saw it at the Coronet the week after it opened
Used to wait it lines a lot back in those days, when films often opened in NYC in only 1 or 2 theaters before they branched out to other locations, often months later

 

[battlebeast]

What do you think about Bergman winning the Oscar? Deserved?

 

[gjn123]

What do you think about Bergman winning the Oscar? Deserved?

Bergman deserves every award she ever got. One of the all time great stars and a personal favorite.