Product Details

• Actors: Alfred Molina, Meredith Baxter, Leslie Caron, Amira Casar, Nicolas Chagrin
• Directors: Carl Schenkel
• Writers: Agatha Christie, Stephen Harrigan
• Producers: Carol Rodger, Daniel H. Blatt, Jeffrey S. Grant, Liam Foster, Marion Rosenberg
• Format: Closed-captioned, Color, DVD, NTSC
• Language: English
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: Unrated
• Studio: Allumination
• DVD Release Date: December 20, 2005
• Run Time: 100 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 2.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000BO0LLI
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,060 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
• For more information about "Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express" visit the Internet Movie Database (IMDb)

Editorial Reviews

This made-for-television mystery is a contemporary version of the Agatha Christie book that was made into the classic 1974 all-star version starring Albert Finney Lauren Bacall and Ingrid Bergman. This time around Hercule Poirot (Alfred Molina) uses modern technology to help solve the murder of a corrupt and devious Antiques dealer named Ratchett (Peter Strauss). Agatha Christie originally based MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS on the infamous Charles Lindbergh kidnapping case. This adaptation is given a current twist by making the despised Ratchett the abductor and murderer of the little girl of a wealthy software tycoon named Armstrong instead of a famed aviatrix. When Ratchett is found stabbed to death in his compartment and the train comes to a halt as a result of a rock slide that is blocking the tracks Poirot interrogates all of the passengers on the train. As the questioning proceeds Poirot realizes that virtually everyone has some kind of connection to Armstrong. But who is responsible for the grisly murder? Only Poirot can solve the mystery with the help of his "little gray cells of the brain" (and a few technological gadgets like a laptop computer palm pilot and VCR).System Requirements:Running Time 100 Mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: MYSTERY/SUSPENSE Rating: NR UPC: 783722735824 Manufacturer No: ARD27358

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars decent... if my memory serves me right, but not great by any means., November 8, 2005

By 

Jason Platt (Moline, IL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (DVD)

I first saw this production of Agatha Christie's "Murder on the Orient Express" when it was aired on Network TV back in 2001, and was more than excited to see it. I am a fan of the novel, Albert Finny movie, and even of the BBC radio drama version (which is still the closest adaptation to the novel). And while the acting, direction and the over all look is fine... I had a problem with the modern spin that was taken on it. Especially where Poirot uses a laptop computer to find information that he needed on the background of the case. Which left the traditional "detecting" out of the window, and made me think that the modern Poirot is only as smart as his Google search engine will let him.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Mildly Entertaining If You Don't Know the Older Version, August 20, 2006

By 

Tsuyoshi (Kyoto, Japan) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (DVD)

Modernized adaptation of Agatha Christie classic mystery? Excuse me, but what is the point?

Anyway, the famous story about the murder on the Orient Express is retold. A stubbed body is found in a train on which a world-renowned detective Poirot is traveling from Istanbul. The passengers are interrogated, but their contradicting statements only help confuse the investigation.

So far, the same, but remember, this time the story is told in modern setting. That means Poirot doesn't have to use his brain to obtain some of the important information. Blackmailing is done with a video tape, and luckily one of the car is equipped with a VCR. In case you think the new film lost the exotic touch, it can show you a belly dancer.

There are also some visible changes done to the Christie's whodunit, most of which are pointless. For example, the train is stopped by rockslide, not by avalanche, which means much less claustrophobic feeling. Hercule Poirot (Alfred Molina) has a girlfriend in Istanbul named Vera (Tasha de Vasconcelos) and she happens to a reformed thief.

And of course there is a murder. Sorry that I cannot reveal too much about it, but if you have seen the Sidney Lumet film or read the original book, this remake would only disappoint you. Alfred Molina is not bad the Belgian sleuth, but he is not Albert Finney who was in character.

Of course you don't always have to compare. Some people have not seen the 1974 version, and they will see the newer version without (perhaps unfair) comparison. However, even they might find the murder mystery here too slow and talky, and the solution is way too incredible. Actually, most of the Christie books end with incredible solutions, but there is one unique quality about the original story of the `Murder on the Orient Express' which is totally missing in the new version.

That is, as you know (and I am trying to write without spoilers), Agatha Christie's story is inspired by one of the biggest and most notorious real-life crimes committed in the history of America as the background of her story. The (unsolved, some say) mystery plays a significant role in the original book and Sidney Lumet film, but in the new film it is completely taken away, replaced by one fictional crime that is not intriguing at all. The altered setting makes the whole story less authentic and the motive of the killer or killers more unaccountable.

Remakes are often considered unnecessary, but some of them can hold on its ground against the originals. You may prefer the original Peter Lorre version, but the remade "The Man Who Knew Too Much" is generally more popular than the other. As far as `Murder on the Orient Express' is concerned, however, I don't see any reason this should be told again.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars We need a vaccine to immunize Hollywood against unneeded remakes, October 1, 2006

By 

Bruce W. Britton (Santa Clarita, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Agatha Christie's Murder on the Orient Express (DVD)

I'm not going to reiterate other reviewers' specific criticisms of this movie. However some general comments for your consideration...

Dame Agatha's books and characters seem at times to suffer mightily at the hands of filmmakers. For example, take George Pollock's four early '60s films starring Margaret Rutherford, whose Miss Marple bore little or no resemblance to the character in the books. Remakes have been even less kind to the Dame. The best (worst?) example of remake-itis is And Then There Were None. Rene Clair's 1945 B&W film is very good (two versions available, restored original or bargain priced), and true to Agatha Christie's play of the same name (which has a justifiably different ending from the novel). ATTWN was remade twice (in 1965 and 1974), and neither came up to the standard of the original.

That brings us to Murder on the Orient Express. Sidney Lumet's 1974 film of Agatha Christie's remarkable novel was a star-studded atmospheric period piece. This 2001 made-for-TV remake, brought into the Internet age, was an incredible waste of time and money. For the same price as this turkey (which didn't air until 2005, which ought to tell you something), you can get the stellar 1974 version on DVD for (at this writing) the same price! Spend your money wisely.