Rating: 
Summary: A Beautiful Adaption of a Classic Mystery
Review: Sometimes at night I lay in bed and try to suppress a memory or two. I meditate. I will myself to forget who did it (or whodunnit, as they say) so that I can experience the Hercule Poirot stories again...but for the first time. This is one film that I wish that I could see for the first time...again. I would like to watch or read without recollection of the end. Poirot is one of those characters who stays with me, whom I remember, regardless of who is plating him; and this is a flawless adaption of the story.I usually fall asleep incidentally, during these mental exercises but often wake up screaming from the same recurring nightmare...In my dream I am being interrogated by a dark figure demanding to know whether I prefer Ustinov to David Suchet!
Rating: 
Summary: A lavish adaptation of a much loved whodunit
Review: Take a star studded cast with legendary actors such as Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Richard Widmark, John Gielguld, Wendy Hillier and many more and put them on a train together and what do you have? You have one of the best "whodunits" of all time. Even now I can watch this film again and again even though I know who killed the "baddie." With a deliciously complex plot, "Murder on the Orient Express" takes you on a suspenseful train journey across Europe in which one man will die a gruesome death and another will attempt to find out the truth surrounding his demise. Hercule Poriot, Albert Finney at his best plays the diminutive but brilliant Belgian (not French) Detective who by a quirk of fate finds himself on the Orient Express with an odd group of people, from a Regal Russian Countess, to a loud mouthed American woman, a Hungarian diplomat and his fragile and beautiful wife, a well spoken English Butler, a nervous female Swedish Missionary out to save "little brown babies,", an ex-British Military Officer, a young woman on a touring holiday, an educated young man acting as a personal secretary to a shady art dealer, a surly German cook, a timid French Conductor, an Italian salesman, a Pinkerton Detective whose lives are to interlink in the strangest of ways with the despised murder victim Ratchett (the shady art dealer) played by the often under valued actor Richard Widmark. This case of murder most vile will be one of Hercule's most difficult cases and as he systematically digs for the truth among the frightened and sometimes hostile passengers he is eventually confronted with a moral dilemma of frightening proportions and a question arises that he never thought he would have to answer. Should he bring the killer to justice or should he let sleeping dogs lie? A remake of this film was made in 2001 putting it into a modern context and though it was enjoyable to watch it was not a patch on the 1974 version. A treat of a film for all you Agatha Christie and Hercule Poriot fans out there.
Rating: 
Summary: I am Reviewing the Tape Itself, Not The Film.
Review: The movie is great. If you buy this, make sure you get the 1974 theatrical version and not the recent CBS TV remake (which as far as I know is NOT available on home video - yet!) The reason I am giving this particular tape version a low rating is that for more than a decade, films of this length (just over 2 hours) have been available on ONE tape - no longer TWO. That tells me this version is OLD. OLD, and NOT remastered and cleaned up - and NOT worth your money. The other Agatha Christie films from this time period have all come out in new transfers on both tape AND DVD. So why isn't this one? That version, in widescreen, would be worth the wait.
Rating:
Summary: AGATHA CHRISTIE's BEST
Review: This 2-tape movie is contagious, and well worn, here. Sharp dialogue, swift, and subtle clues that are planted right in front of your eyes. Traveling the Orient Express Train as a last moment plan, a common character with a superior mind, Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney), is forced into investigating a murder. But which mystery is more important, who was killed, why he was killed, or how and by whom? ADD: Lauren Bacall, Sean Connery, Ingrid Bergman, Richard Widmark, John Gielgud, Martin Balsam, Jacqueline Bisset, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Michael York, and many others. The unbelievable is made real.
Rating:
Summary: On the Whole, Excellent
Review: This classic 1974 film is, for the most part, an excellent adaptation of Agatha Christie's most famous novel, MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS, which stars Hercule Poirot as the ingenious yet slightly egotistical little Belgian detective. The cast is filled with distinguished actors: Albert Finney, Ingrid Bergman, Dame Wendy Hiller, Lauren Bacall, Michael York, Richard Widmark, and many more. I must state right away that I don't care for Finney's interpretation of Poirot; perhaps I am simply biased, having been "brought up" on David Suchet's refined, humorous, yet never ridiculous characterization, which strikes me as definitive. The rest of the actors play their parts to perfection; particular standouts for me include Martin Balsam as Poirot's Italian friend, Bianchi (Balsam's Italian accent is wonderful; one would never guess that the actor was in fact Jewish and from The Bronx) and Sir John Gielguld, very witty as the murdered man's butler (!) Sidney Lumet's direction is, of course, beyond criticism. The elegant yet cramped atmosphere of the train is ideally conveyed, while such sequences as the opening, the discovery of the murdered man, and the flashback-reenactment of the murder are stunningly effective. You should watch this if you want to see a filmed version of MURDER ON THE ORIENT EXPRESS; however, I would suggest also watching any of the "Poirot" episodes to experience David Suchet's interpretation of the title character.
Rating:
Summary: Elegant, Entertaining Murder Mystery
Review: This film is faithful to the book, which is always a plus for Agatha Christie adaptions. The set and cast are excellent, with the plot moving at a brisk pace. Albert Finney is a good but hyper Hercule Poirot, Ingrid Bergman won an Oscar for her Bible beating Swedish maid, Lauren Bacall is an American motormouth, Sean Connery is a Colonel, and Anthony Perkins and Martin Balsam are brought together again (echoes of PSYCHO?). An odious man is murdered while the famed Orient Express is caught in a snowdrift, which means the murderer is still on board. As Poirot questions each of the passengers, her learns the shocking truth of the solution to the murder. Excellent.
Rating:
Summary: Keep Guessing
Review: This is a great Agatha Christie. Keeps you guessing till the end. And the plot is great. A train. A homocide. And the passengers are all connected with the murdered victim. Everyone that is...except for Poroit. Agatha's detective in this story. And he's not going to get off this train untill he solves the mystery.
Rating:
Summary: Reaching Classic Status
Review: This is an excellent motion picture featuring Agatha Christie's incomparable detective Hercule Poirot. It is competently acted, well scripted and neatly directed. Albert Finney as Poirot is excellent. The film boats a huge cast including Sean Connery, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Martin Balsam, John Gielgud, Richard Widmark, Anthony Perkins, Michael York, Vanessa Redgrave, Rachel Roberts, Jacqueline Bisset and Jean-Pierre Cassel who give standout performances. It will keep you on the edge of your seat. One of the last films made in the style of the great Hollywood tradition.
Rating:
Summary: Poirot-Murder On The Orient Express
Review: This is one of my all time favorite movies. This is one of the few films I can watch over and over again and not get bored. Without spoiling it for anyone this is the best of the Poirot films for two reasons. First off this is not a normal Christie whodunit. If you pay close attention you can pretty easily figure out the puzzle. But that's not a problem at all in this particular case because as viewers we are emotionally invested in the people involved; which very rarely ever happens in a story like this. Secondly, the acting from the cast is so thought provoking, emotionally connected and not gimmicky (doing movies like this can sometimes fall into a lot of traps where actors are concerned) in this one everyone has a sense of purpose and we fully understand their motivations. Without spoiling anything the victim (Richard Widmark) is a really really bad guy and Christie brilliantly brings in a piece of dark and tragic U.S. history to hold it altogether (Think of the Lindbergh baby kidnapping). I have to give both Christie and Sidney Lumet (Network) serious props for undertaking a lenghty project like this and pulling it off with such flying colors. If I had to make one complaint about it now it would be that Finney is somewhat miscast. I only say that because us Poirot lovers have since been blessed with the likes of Ustinov and David Suchet in the role and they consistently played it much better. But Finney is still fun with more of a gruff take on the character...Poirot is much more agressive in this one although he does inevitably (spoiler)let the killer or killers off the hook. I love this movie. It is the best murder mystery story ever made in my opinion because it is rare to be so emotionally connected to all of the characters in a story/film like this.
Rating:
Summary: One of the Best Christie Movies
Review: This is one of the best.It has an all star cast of Albert Finney,Martin Balsam,John Gielgud,Rachel Roberts,Anthony Perkins,Vanessa Redgrave,Ingrid Bergman,Richard Widmark,Lauren Bacall,Wendy Hiller,Michael York,Jaqueline Bisset,and Sean Connery.This is a suspenceful movie and a sheer classic.I've watched it a hundred times and still love it.Buy this.
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