Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		5.0
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Murder on the Orient Express Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 27, 2018

There’s a perhaps inherent problem in adaptations of mysteries as iconic as some of Agatha Christie’s are — any mystery lover worth his or her salt is going to know the solution going in, especially if any given property has already been adapted at least once. That’s proved to be both boon and bane for various large and small screen transfers of some of Christie’s best known properties. I just recently reviewed one of many adaptations of what is arguably Christie’s best known work (and inarguably one of her best selling), Ten Little Indians (a review which had a mystery of its own — it actually enigmatically disappeared for a few days, no joke, rather like Agatha herself, in fact), and discussed some of the many versions of that tale that have made it through to both television and cinema, and some of the changes that have been attendant with those variant versions. Interestingly, the big “reveal” at the end of most versions of Ten Little Indians is not part of Christie’s original novelistic formulation, though the kinda sorta happy ending of several of these adaptations was in fact crafted by Christie for her own stage adaptation of the story. There’s something a bit trickier at play with regard to Murder on the Orient Express, since there’s really no way to successfully alter the ingenious plotting in the same way that Ten Little Indians in at least one adaptive guise was able to get back to the original (extremely dark) formulation of Christie’s climax as originally written (even if other elements in this very same adaptation strayed pretty seriously from Christie canon). And that’s at least part of the rub with regard to this handsome new 2017 iteration of what arguably might be Christie’s second best known mystery, Murder on the Orient Express, a film which is almost unavoidably going to invite comparisons to at least the celebrated 1974 film, if not the David Suchet Poirot: Murder on the Orient Express, a version which did indeed attempt to inject at least a little new content into the proceedings, mostly with regard to a (needless, in my not so humble opinion) subtext involving Poirot’s incipient religiosity and how that played into his reaction as to what really happened aboard the luxurious train.

Note: If you have somehow made it this far in life without learning the "secret" of Murder on the Orient Express, you may want to skip down to the technical portions of the review, below. I don't out and out spoil anything here, but those who are adept at reading between the veritable lines may be able to discern a few clues.

There have been attempts to rejigger classic Christie works, notably with the relatively recent Agatha Christie's Marple reboot, an effort which often seriously changed elements of various stories and characters, in an obvious stab (no murder pun intended) at keeping things surprising for those who knew the originals. That approach hasn’t always sat that well with me personally, since I’m something of a Christie purist, but some might argue that one of the chief problems with this new adaptation is that it doesn’t change enough (though interestingly one of the changes this version does indulge in is giving Poirot a long ago love, something that Marple also exploited). It’s probably no coincidence that this Murder on the Orient Express doesn’t even get to the titular train ride until several minutes into the enterprise, using a whole opening sequence to document a “Moishe the Explainer” moment from a mystery Hercule Poirot (Kenneth Branagh, who also directed) has solved in Jerusalem. It’s really a kind of pointless introduction, other than that it gives the first glimpse in this film’s emphasis on Poirot’s Monk-like tendencies toward obsessive compulsive disorder.

As arguably irrelevant as the opening of this Murder on the Orient Express is, it at least doesn’t follow the strategy of the 1974 version, one which started with supposed newsreel footage of a devastating kidnapping and murder, an element which (for those who know the story) could conceivably be seen as giving away the gist of the solution before anything really even gets going. Instead, the whole connection to this devastating event is revealed in a bit more piecemeal fashion in this version, albeit with one (short) flashback occurring close to an hour into the tale. Instead, this version has the audience flying (training?) blind for a while, along with Poirot himself.

For the uninitiated who don’t know the ins and outs of this mystery and who have forged ahead in this review despite my warning above, the central conceit of this piece is what might be termed a “locked train” conundrum where a nasty passenger named Ratchett (Johnny Depp, kind of nicely restrained for a change) is found repeatedly stabbed in his (locked) train compartment. While there are a number (perhaps too high a number) of clues pointing to an anonymous stranger who somehow got on the train to commit the murder and then just as quickly disappeared, Poirot begins to unravel a whole series of connections between the other passengers on the train, leading to one of the more ingenious denouements in Christie’s oeuvre. It’s all played pretty much according to “tradition” here, though Branagh attempts to infuse some new visual acuity to the proceedings by having the train stuck on a perilous bridge, and staging some of the interrogation scenes in snowy outdoor climes.

Some snarky critic (can you imagine?) made the comment years ago about the musical version of Jekyll & Hyde that it was a show that was all about the hair, given the fact the the titular character(s?) expressed his “changes” with a quick refashioning of his coif. In a way, a similar comment could be made with regard to this Murder on the Orient Express, albeit with regard to this film being all about Poirot’s iconic mustache, which in this version is almost absurdly baroque, covering not just the detective’s upper lip, but extending outward to mask his cheeks. It’s a patently bizarre “look” for the character, but one which some supplements on this Blu-ray insist is actually closer to Christie’s original formulation than some other, more “trimmed”, approaches that other versions have offered. Branagh is certainly okay as the detective, and brings a bit of the same sort of rage that Suchet displayed in the television version of the tale, but my hunch is those who spent decades loving David Suchet’s portrayal of this legendary character are probably unavoidably going to find Branagh’s take “second best”, at best (and maybe even third best, for those who liked Albert Finney in the 1974 version). The large supporting cast is perhaps not quite as starry as the 1974 version, but it provides a number of notable performers (Dame Judi Dench, Michelle Pfeiffer, Penelope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Derek Jacobi, et al) with some fun moments.

Branagh also doesn't shy away from investing the film with quite a bit of directorial flair. Pay attention to shots like the sequence where Poirot first walks next to the Orient Express, a really impressive (and long) tracking shot that basically introduces all of the main suspects, who are all inside the train. Branagh also doesn't hesitate to offer several overhead (and even under foot) shots.

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

Murder on the Orient Express is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. This is quite simply a ravishing and flawless transfer of a spectacularly gorgeous film, one shot on 65mm and finished at a 4K DI. What a thrilling viewing experience this, despite some patently artificial looking CGI tweaking at various moments (the IMDb lists some digital capture for this film as well, and I'm curious if perhaps some of this was for things like establishing shots or scenes of the train making its journey, two elements which can look a little artificial at times). Branagh and cinematographer Haris Zambarloukos, in the unenviable position of automatically being compared to the 1974's Academy Award nominated cinematography by the legendary Geoffrey Unsworth, offer a film which is in my estimation arguably much more scenic and generally gorgeously detailed than the 1974 version. The palette is deeply burnished in a number of different tones, including everything from the kind of ochre and dusty yellows of the opening Jerusalem scenes, to several deep blue moments at nightfall to a sort of richly warm brown ambience throughout the train. Despite some less than optimal lighting conditions in interior scenes at times, detail levels are continually impressive, and however variably graded and/or lit, the palette looks really beautifully vivid throughout. Fine detail is also great looking, offering precise views of the detailed stitching on costumes or even the appointments of the very, very deluxe Orient Express. This certainly rates as one of the most consistently gorgeous Blu-rays I've reviewed recently, and helps to elevate the viewing experience immensely. In fact, I'd go so far as to say for those who don't know the story and haven't seen previous versions, the sheer beauty of this film and its presentation in high definition could well make this the version to see.

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

While perhaps working at a somewhat more subliminal level than the visuals, Murder on the Orient Express' DTS-HD Master Audio 7.1 is similarly excellent, with a broad array of effects permeating the side and rear channels, and a really interesting use of LFE to suggest the hum of the train as it makes its way across the vast expanses. Even within the cloistered environment of the train itself, the sound design is expertly rendered, with clinks of glasses in the dining car or some of the muffled dialogue Poirot overhears offered in discrete channelization that is extremely effective. This edition of the tale gets out and about more than the 1974 version, and as such there's also regular placement of ambient environmental sounds. I have to confess I'm not as fond of Patrick Doyle's score as I am of Richard Rodney Bennett's for the earlier film version, but the music swells through the surrounds winningly throughout the presentation. Dialogue is cleanly presented, though I had to occasionally turn on subtitles to decipher Branagh's affected accent as Poirot.

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

• Agatha Christie: An Intimate Portrait (1080p; 19:03) may be a bit of wishful thinking in the title category, especially since it glosses over huge portions of her life, but this does feature some winning interviews with her grandson and great-grandson, and actually touches on some of the curating of Christie's immense work. This also features some fun audio recordings of Christie herself.


• Let's Talk About Hercule Poirot (1080p; 9:54) has more audio of Christie and gets into the decision to make the character's mustache so immense.


• Unusual Suspects: Part One (1080p; 5:08) is the first of three brief featurettes focusing on various characters. It's a little odd that the supplements have been ordered so that the parts are not presented sequentially.


• The Art of Murder (1080p; 16:23) is a kind of wide ranging EPK that deals with everything from production design to filming challenges. This has quite a bit of fun behind the scenes footage.


• Unusual Suspects: Part Two (1080p; 5:56)


• All Aboard: Filming Murder on the Orient Express (1080p; 16:35) has a lot more behind the scenes footage interspersed with brief interviews with various cast members, and has some good information on the large format filming process.


• Unusual Suspects: Part Three (1080p; 6:49)


• Music of Murder (1080p; 7:31) focuses on composer Patrick Doyle, who had the unenviable task of following in Richard Rodney Bennett's Academy Award nominated footsteps for the 1974 version.


• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 16:40) feature optional commentary by Kenneth Branagh and Michael Greene. Interestingly, these include an alternate opening sequence which is in fact at least a little like the 1974 version's opening newsreel vignette. There's also an even more detailed actual newsreel sequence that was also shortened for the film.


• Commentary by Kenneth Branagh and Michael Greene


• Theatrical Trailers (1080p; 3:36)


• Gallery (1080p; 3:03) offers either an Auto Advance or a Manual Advance option. The timing is for the Auto Advance option.

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

My hunch is if you've seen (and especially if you loved) the 1974 version of Murder on the Orient Express, you're simply going to go into inevitable "comparison mode" no matter what the blandishments of this extremely handsome and generally well cast outing may be. If you haven't seen a previous version of Murder on the Orient Express, you're probably going to think the film is a good deal more captivating than I may have indicated here. One way or the other, this disc offers superior technical merits and for those and some enjoyable supplements, Murder on the Orient Express comes Recommended.