Death on the Nile UHD Review

Kenneth Branagh returns as Hercule Poirot along with an all-star cast in the latest adaptation of the Agatha Christie classic.

The Production: 4/5

Poor Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh) can’t seem to catch a break. While vacationing in Egypt, he runs into an old friend, Bouc (Tom Bateman) and his mother Eupemia (Annette Benning), who invite him back to their hotel for a party to celebrate the wedding of wealthy heiress Linnet Ridgeway (Gal Gadot) to Simon Doyle (Armie Hammer). The detective gleefully accepts, realizing that he has met this couple months earlier at a music club in London. The newlyweds seem to have a problem, though, in the form of Simon’s jilted former fiancée Jacqueline de Bellefort (Emma Mackey), who is now stalking the couple everywhere they go. Poirot suggests they return home and begin their life together, but instead they move the honeymoon party to a cruise ship, the SS Karnak, as it travels down the Nile, with all of the wedding guests on board. This includes everyone listed above, plus Dr. Windlesham (an understated Russell Brand), jazz singer Salome Otterbourne (Sophie Okonedo) and her manager/niece Rosalie (Letitia Wright), socialite Marie Van Schuyler (Jennifer Saunders) and her nurse companion Bowers (Dawn French), Linnet’s cousin/lawyer Katchadourian (Ali Fazal), and Linnet’s maid Louise Bourget (Rose Leslie). As expected, Jacqueline also arrives as the party is ashore visiting the archeological finds.

SPOILER ALERT: When Linnet is found murdered one morning, Poirot begins questioning the guests, finding that every one has a motive for her murder, with some suspects finding themselves victims as well (perhaps the title should be Deaths on the Nile). Eventually, in true whodunnit fashion, Poirot gathers the suspects together into one room as he begins to unravel the mystery set in front of him and revealing the actual murderer.

Death on the Nile plays like an old-fashioned murder mystery from the 1940s including the pacing, but with today’s visual effects technology. Director Branagh and writer Michael Green (both collaborated on Murder on the Orient Express) do take some liberties with Agatha Christie’s source material, such as condensing and omitting some characters (the book features at least twenty possible suspects), but also adding in some original backstory to Poirot showing us how he came to wear his signature moustache after a tragic accident during World War I. The all-star cast is up to the task of bringing these characters to life, with Branagh, Gadot, Bateman, and Benning delivering the best performances in the bunch and Russell Brand being the biggest surprise with his restrained performance. Much was said in the press as the release date for this film was constantly shuffled due to the pandemic about Armie Hammer’s appearance in the film (some saying that the film was possibly unreleasable), however, I did not find his involvement to be distracting and his performance is rather satisfactory. The story is rather engaging although the pacing is a bit slow at times, but the production design, scenery, and cinematography by frequent Branagh collaborator Director of Photography Haris Zambarloukos (Belfast, Thor) are exquisitely beautiful.

Video: 5/5

3D Rating: NA

Photographed in 65mm by Haris Zambarloukos, Death on the Nile was completed as a true 4K digital intermediate with Dolby Vision HDR in the 2.39:1 aspect ratio. This UHD release features an HEVC-encoded 2160p transfer with HDR10 that helps to hide some of the more obvious digital effects shots that stick out more on the 1080p Blu-ray. Colors are nicely balanced, often appearing vivid without being overly saturated. Detail is off the charts, showing every wrinkle, strand of hair, and fiber texture, yet maintaining a natural yet very fine film grain. Blacks are deep and inky with strong shadow detail. There was no evidence of any banding or other compression artifacts.

Audio: 5/5

While not exactly demo-worthy, this is a rather effective Atmos mix with strong atmospheric effects all around and above you. Sounds move seamlessly around the listening area, particularly noticeable during some of the interrogation sequences where the camera moves and dialogue keeps the characters in place as if the camera was your head moving around the scenery. Dialogue is clear and understandable throughout.

Special Features: 3/5

As standard with nearly all 20^th Century Studios/Disney UHD releases, the UHD disc contains no special features, but can be found on the included Blu-ray edition.

Death on the Nile: Novel to Film (1080p; 15:30): Adapting the novel for the big screen, and working with the Christie estate on that adaptation.

Agatha Christie: Travel Can Be Murder (1080p; 5:53): The film was originally scheduled to be released in 2020, the 100^th anniversary of the publication of the author’s first novel, and this featurette briefly looks at her legacy.

Design on the Nile (1080p; 11:01): A look at the film’s production design and cinematography.

Branagh/Poirot (1080p; 5:35): Self-congratulatory piece on the actor/director.

Deleted Scenes (1080p;. 10:45): Eight scenes are included – The Market, Poirot’s Cabin, Rosalie and Bouc Outside Temple, Windlesham Jogging, Poirot Discusses Case, Confronting Bouc and the Ottorbournes, and Poirot Orders Books.

Official Trailer (1080p; 2:08)

Digital Copy: An insert contains a code to redeem a digital copy in UHD on Movies Anywhere.

Overall: 4/5

Death on the Nile is a throwback to classic cinema’s murder mysteries, with director Kenneth Branagh reprising his role as Hercule Poirot leading an all-star cast. It is a fun film that is presented nicely on UHD disc.

Death on the Nile [4K UHD]

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Todd Erwin

Todd Erwin has been a reviewer at Home Theater Forum since 2008. His love of movies began as a young child, first showing Super 8 movies in his backyard during the summer to friends and neighbors at age 10. He also received his first movie camera that year, a hand-crank Wollensak 8mm with three fixed lenses. In 1980, he graduated to "talkies" with his award-winning short The Ape-Man, followed by the cult favorite The Adventures of Terrific Man two years later. Other films include Myth or Fact: The Talbert Terror and Warren's Revenge (which is currently being restored). In addition to movie reviews, Todd has written many articles for Home Theater Forum centering mostly on streaming as well as an occasional hardware review, is the host of his own video podcast Streaming News & Views on YouTube and is a frequent guest on the Home Theater United podcast.