Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		4.0
Overall		4.0

Murder on the Orient Express 4K Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Dr. Svet Atanasov October 2, 2024

Sidney Lumet's "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974) arrives on 4K Blu-ray courtesy of Kino Lorber. The supplemental features on the release include new audio commentary by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson; archival program with producer Richard Goodwin; documentary film; vintage trailer; and more. In English, with optional English SDH subtitles for the main feature. Region-Free.

Sidney Lumet’s Murder on the Orient Express is a prime example that a great cast is not enough to deliver a great film. A good one is a possibility, but the stars would have to be ego-free and willing to remain silent for a long period of time.

The film opens with a couple of flashbacks that highlight important facts about a famous case: the kidnapping and killing of Daisy Armstrong, the daughter of a wealthy American couple. The facts are delivered in the form of quick newspaper headlines. The action then moves to Istanbul, where the famous Orient Express is prepped for a long journey. While final deliveries are made, various colorful characters board the train. Amongst them is the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney).

Soon after the Orient Express leaves Istanbul, the wealthy businessman Ratchett (Richard Widmark) is found dead in his berth. Detective Poirot immediately steps up and quickly discovers that Ratchett is in fact an alias and that the dead man was responsible for the kidnapping of Daisy Armstrong. Encouraged by his close friend Bianchi (Martin Balsam), director of the Orient Express, who wants the murderer identified before the train reaches the next stop in Yugoslavia so that he can avoid embarrassment, Detective Poirot begins questioning the wealthy passengers.

Director Lumet’s take on Agatha Christie’s famous novel has an appropriate exotic flavor, but the film’s big stars quickly create the impression that they are having a rather difficult time coexisting in front of the camera. One reason why is the fact that there are so many of them that managing their time in a way that allows the viewer to remain interested in everything they do is virtually impossible. As a result, it often feels quite awkward to see the likes of Sean Connery and Jacqueline Bisset simply passing by or quietly observing the rest of the stars as they share important information with the Belgian detective. Another reason is the uneven characterizations. There are various sequences throughout the film where the humor is a lot more important than the suspense, but not all of the stars seem to agree. One of these stars is the great Ingrid Bergman, who won an Oscar for her performance, whose body language and facial expressions consistently demand a much more serious atmosphere.

Finney’s Poirot is a rather unusual character as well. At times, he has a commanding presence, but elsewhere he looks like an irritable old man who simply wants to be alone with his thoughts. Also, the man has a fake accent and frequently mumbles while he reveals to the viewer what his supposedly brilliant mind is telling him. He can be very entertaining at times, but it is not easy to fully embrace him as Christie’s famous character.

Arguably the most convincing characterizations belong to Lauren Bacall's Mrs. Hubbard, Anthony Perkins' McQueen (played with a very familiar intensity), and Vanessa Redgrave' Mary Debenham.

Murder on the Orient Express was lensed by the great cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth, who won Oscar Awards for his contributions to Bob Fosse’s Cabaret and Roman Polanski’s Tess. The use of warm colors and soft lighting is most appropriate for the sense of nostalgia that permeates the film.

The excellent orchestral score was created by British composer Richard Rodney Bennett (John Schlesinger’s Billy Liar, Ken Russell’s Billion Dollar Brain).

Murder on the Orient Express 4K Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Kino Lorber's release of Murder on the Orient Express is a 4K Blu-ray/Blu-ray combo pack. The 4K Blu-ray disc is Region-Free. However, the Blu-ray disc is Region-A "locked".

Please note that some of the screencaptures that appear with this article are taken from the 4K Blu-ray and downscaled to 1080p. Therefore, they do not accurately reflect the quality of the 4K content on the 4K Blu-ray disc, including the actual color values of this content.

Screencaptures #1-29 are from the Blu-ray.
Screencaptures #32-38 are from the 4K Blu-ray.

We have reviews of several Blu-ray releases of Murder of the Orient Express, all of which I still have in my library. The weakest one is this Region-B release, which StudioCanal produced a decade ago, so I am not going to reference it all. Next is this Region-B release, which was sourced from a recent remaster and again produced by StudioCanal. The last is this release, which Paramount produced just a few years ago. Kino Lorber's combo pack introduces a new 4K restoration of Murder of the Orient Express sourced from the original camera negative. In native 4K, the 4K makeover can be viewed with Dolby Vision and HDR grades. I chose to view it with Dolby Vision and later spend time with the 1080p presentation.

Until now, I preferred how Murder on the Orient Express looked after it was remastered by StudioCanal for two big reasons -- the remaster gave it a nice balanced appearance and plenty of visuals with superior detail and depth. The previous release from Paramount was sourced from an older master with plenty of fluctuations that impacted the strength of its visuals in different ways. In some areas, the visuals became too noisy, while elsewhere there were obvious inconsistencies in the highlights and select darker shadow nuances. Also, there were inconsistencies in the area of color reproduction that impacted color temperature.

The 4K makeover is the most convincing presentation of the film that I have seen to date. It produces the freshest and most attractive visuals with the most convincing color scheme. To be honest, I felt that it borrows all of the major strengths of the previous two releases while enhancing the organic appearance of the visuals as best as possible. For example, the native 4K and 1080p presentations have the sharpest visuals, so there is plenty of material that simply looks better now. Also, the 4K makeover has the best color balance, which is combines what I thought was right on the previous two releases. For example, if you compare this screencapture from Paramount's previous release and this screencapture from the 4K makeover, you will see how the latter eliminates the unnatural pinkish hue that aging has introduced. Also, if you compare this screencapture from StudioCanal's remaster and this screencapture from the 4K makeover, you will see how the latter further improves balance and delineation. How does the Dolby Vision grade handle darker material? Even though light is managed in some quite delicate ways, I thought that darker material look very good. In fact, the light black crushing that I observed on the StudioCanal remaster is missing, so there is a bit more to see now. (For what it's worth, this is also true on the 1080p presentation). Fluidity is excellent. There are no stability issues. The entire film looks immaculate as well. Finally, I thought that small encoding optimizations could have been done to strengthen a couple of the darkest sequences, but you should not worry about distracting anomalies. My score is 4.75/5.00.

Murder on the Orient Express 4K Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

There are two standard audio tracks on this release: English DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 and English DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0. Optional English SDH subtitles are provided for the main feature.

Previous releases of Murder on the Orient Express have offered 5.1 and 2.0 tracks, too. While purists would obviously prefer the restored Mono track, I tend to like the 5.1 track a little bit better. It is very nicely done and creates a lot of memorable dynamic contrasts that fit the film's period atmosphere very well. The dialog is clean, clear, and always easy to follow.

Murder on the Orient Express 4K Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson.

BLU-RAY DISC

• Commentary - this exclusive new audio commentary was recorded by critics Howard S. Berger, Steve Mitchell, and Nathaniel Thompson.

• Agatha Christie: A Portrait - in this archival featurette, Mathew Prichard discusses the life and legacy of his famous grandmother, Agatha Christie. Additionally, Mr. Prichard addresses the legendary Belgian character Hercule Poirot and the period environment he is placed. In English, not subtitled. (10 min).

• Making Murder on the Orient Express - this archival program takes a closer look at the production of Murder on the Orient Express. It features numerous clips from archival interviews with director Sidney Lumet and cast and crew members. It is broken into four episodes. In English, not subtitled. (49 min).
  
  1. All Aboard!
  2. The Ride
  3. The Passengers
  4. The End of the Line

• Interview with Producer Richard Goodwin - in this archival program, producer Richard Goodwin recalls how he became involved with Murder on the Orient Express, and discusses his interactions with director Sidney Lumet and impressions of his working methods. There are also some very interesting comments about the payments that were promised to the various big stars that are seen in the film. In English, not subtitled. (19 min).

• Trailer - a vintage U.S. trailer for Murder on the Orient Express. In English, not subtitled. (3 min).

Murder on the Orient Express 4K Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

While certainly quite attractive at times, Sidney Lumet's Murder on the Orient Express is not a particularly convincing cinematic adaptation of Agatha Christie's classic novel. A lot of its troubles begin with Albert Finney's transformation into the famous Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, but you will not have to look too long and too hard to find plenty of other issues as well. On the other hand, I would not trade Lumet's adaptation for Kenneth Branagh's modern take on the same material, which does not even get the period atmosphere right.

Kino Lorber's combo pack introduces a new 4K restoration of Murder on the Orient Express completed by Paramount. It is the best all-around presentation of the film that I have seen to date. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.