7.2 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Famous detective Hercule Poirot is on the Orient Express, but the train is caught in the snow. When one of the passengers is discovered murdered, Poirot immediately starts investigating.
Starring: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Martin Balsam, Ingrid Bergman, Jacqueline BissetPeriod | Insignificant |
Crime | Insignificant |
Mystery | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.78:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 (48kHz, 24-bit)
English: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
French: Dolby Digital 2.0 (224 kbps)
Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0
English, English SDH, French, Japanese
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
Digital copy
Region A (locked)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.5 | |
Extras | 3.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Sidney Lumet's "Murder on the Orient Express" (1974) arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Paramount Home Media Distribution. The supplemental features on the disc include an archival program with Mathew Prichard; archival documentary on the making of the film; and vintage theatrical trailer. In English, with optional English, English SDH, French, and Japanese subtitles for the main feature. Region-A "locked".
Presented in an aspect ratio of 1.78:1, encoded with MPEG-4 AVC and granted a 1080p transfer, Murder on the Orient Express arrives on Blu-ray courtesy of Paramount Home Media Distribution.
In previous years, we covered two different Region-B releases of the film that were produced by StudioCanal in the United Kingdom. The first release came out in 2014 and was part of the The Poirot Collection, a three-disc box set, while the second release came out in 2017. I still have both releases in my library and was able to do some direct comparisons with the U.S. release.
Each of the three releases offers a different technical pretension of the film. The master that was used to produce this upcoming U.S. release, for instance, isn't new, but it isn't the same old master that was used to produce the first release from StudioCanal. For example, there are some quite obvious color discrepancies between the two releases that affect the temperature of entire sequences in completely different ways. You can get an idea how different the grading is if you compare screencapture #10 with screencapture #7 from our review of the first StudioCanal release. While revealing certain similarities, the second release from StudioCanal looks different as well. On the U.S. release delineation and depth typically range from good to very good, but due to the nature of the original cinematography there are some noticeable fluctuations. Also, there are no traces of problematic digital adjustments, but in darker areas some of the grain becomes a tad noisy. When it does, it is usually where the age of the master shows the most. However, on the U.S. release a lot of the darker footage holds up nicely and looks significantly better than it does on the first release from StudioCanal. When the U.S. release is compared to the second release from StudioCanal, this isn't the case -- while not dramatically better, the second release, which was struck from a more recent remaster, reveals the best density levels and fluidity, and therefore produces the tightest visuals. On the U.S. release highlights can be rebalanced too, though there is plenty of soft light that hides quite well this particular limitation on the existing master. Image stability is very good. To sum it all up, the U.S. release offers a fine organic presentation of the film, but there is certainly room for meaningful improvements that can give the film a fresher and ultimately all-around more pleasing appearance. My score is 3.75/5.00. (Note: This is a Region-A "locked" Blu-ray release. Therefore, you must have a native Region-A or Region-Free player in order to access its content).
There are four standard audio tracks on this Blu-ray release: English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1, English: Dolby Digital 2.0, French: Dolby Digital 2.0, and Japanese: Dolby Digital 2.0. Optional English, English SDH, French, and Japanese subtitles are provided for the main feature.
I chose to view the film with the DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 but kept switching to the Dolby Digital 2.0 track, which is supposed to be restored. I probably overdid the switching quite a bit, but I feel that it was worth it. Why? Because I want you to know that even though the Dual Mono track is only lossy, it is very, very nice, so if you are a purist, do not automatically dismiss it. (I even did some tests with the DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 track from the remastered StudioCanal release and can confirm that there isn't a dramatic difference between the two). The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track clearly has an expanded range of nuanced dynamics, but it did not convince me that it can be the go-to track when viewing the film. Once again, I did a lot of switching between these two tracks and I would be perfectly fine viewing the entire film with the lossy Dual Mono track. Unless you have already made up your mind, you should experiment with them as well.
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. Paramount's release is sourced from an older but mostly good organic master, so if you enjoy Murder on the Orient Express pick up a copy for your library. RECOMMENDED.
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