Murder on the Orient Express (2001) (TV)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Carl Schenkel

Writers (WGA):

Agatha Christie (novel)
Stephen Harrigan (teleplay)

Release Date:

22 April 2001 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

Agatha Christie's ultimate whodunit speeds into the twenty-first century.

Plot:

Hercule Poirot, now in modern times, investigates the famous crime on the famed train with a modern twist.

Plot Keywords:

Train | Hercule Poirot | Orient Express | Istanbul | Whodunit

Cast

Alfred Molina	...	Hercule Poirot
Meredith Baxter	...	Mrs. Caroline Hubbard
Leslie Caron	...	Sra. Alvarado
Amira Casar	...	Helena von Strauss
Nicolas Chagrin	...	Pierre Michel
Tasha de Vasconcelos	...	Vera Rossakoff
David Hunt	...	Bob Arbuthnot
Adam James	...	William MacQueen
Dylan Smith	...	Tony Foscarelli
Peter Strauss	...	Mr. Samuel Ratchett
Fritz Wepper	...	Wolfgang Bouc
Kai Wiesinger	...	Philip von Strauss
Natasha Wightman	...	Mary Debenham

Runtime:

100 min | Germany:85 min | Brazil:93 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

Daniel H. Blatt Productions

Goofs:

Errors in geography: The diesel locomotive hauling the Orient Express out of Istanbul has the prominent markings of EWS: the English, Welsh & Scottish freight train operating company.

Quotes:

Mr. Samuel Ratchett: All 200,000... dollars! Tax free!
Hercule Poirot: Thank you Mr. Ratchett, but I've made up my mind.
Mr. Samuel Ratchett: That's a lot of money to turn down.
Hercule Poirot: I've been very fortunate in my career, Mr. Ratchett, as you have been in yours. I've managed to pay for my needs and my caprices, and now I only take on cases that appeal to me.
Mr. Samuel Ratchett: Really! And what's wrong with this one?
Hercule Poirot: May I speak personally?
Mr. Samuel Ratchett: [With a sweep of his hand] Sure!
Hercule Poirot: I find you intolerable.
[He gets up slowly and leaves the table]
Hercule Poirot: Good-bye.

Movie Connections:

References Fight Club (1999)

Ill advised remake of classic Christie

Any new version of the classic Agatha Christie is almost certain to invite unfavourable comparisons with the 1974 cinema version in which Sidney Lumet directed a star studded cast in a lavish and expensive treatment of the book. This television movie is a less star studded affair and adds to its problems by setting the story in the present day ,complete with laptop computers and mobile phones ,thereby losing the period settings which are so essential a part of the writers continuing appeal. The plot remains the same -a passenger on board the famed train is killed and Hercule Poirot investigates and solves the mystery by the application of the "little gray cells" Alfred Molina does a fair job of Poirot and I would like to see him tackle the role in a better production ;while Leslie Caron and Peter Strauss are good in supporting roles. A pointless remake and I would advise going back to the 1974 picture if you want to see a movie of the book