tangreat-bk Being huge fan of Agatha Christie's books and mystery movies in general, my attention was peaked when I was made aware of this movie's existence. Well it's alright ....nothing groundbreaking , just solid mystery movie and I daresay a pretty faithful adaptation. Perhaps too faithful! Some of the plot structures haven't aged well. It does feel a little artificial when Poirot rounds up the suspect and pinpoints the culprit. But it is solidly acted and wildly entertaining thanks to it's colorful cast. Peter Ustinov is probably my favorite Poirot!

classicalsteve I'll begin this review by saying I've always enjoyed Peter Ustinov. But Ustinov as Hercule Poirot?? This was definitely not a casting choice made in Heaven. However, the rest of the cast is no less than superb which only makes the choice of Ustinov appear weak. Peter Ustinov was just about as diametrically opposite from David Suchet who will probably go down as the quintessential Poirot. This film was shot not long after "Murder on the Orient Express" and it seems like it would have been fairly easy to get Albert Finney to reprise his role, although maybe the producers had asked him and he declined. For audiences who had just seen Finney as Poirot, Ustinov as the Belgian sleuth was probably a let-down.The other problem with the film concerns Poirot confronting each of the suspects of the murder. Poirot interviews the suspects in "Murder on the Orient Express" in a similar fashion. However, the filmmakers decided to show endless "hypothetical" scenarios in which each suspect engages in the murder. When the final solution is eventually revealed and the real events are shown, it's somewhat anticlimactic. Seeing Angela Lansbury grabbing the gun and almost dropping it caused me to fall down and roll over on the floor. The actual story and events which lead up to the murder definitely rank as one of Christie's better offerings. We meet Jacqueline de Bellefort (Mia Farrow in an outstanding performance), a nice middle-class young woman and her fiancé Simon Doyle (Simon MacCorkindale). We learn Bellefort works for a filthy-rich heiress, Linnet Ridgeway (Lois Chiles). After engagement announcements, Doyle meets Ridgeway and he seems more enthralled with her than his fiancé. The film then cuts to later events. Doyle and Ridgeway have married, Bellefort having been dumped by Doyle. The honeymooners are on holiday in Egypt, and Bellefort has been following them, desiring to disrupt the newlyweds' enjoyment before they return to day-to-day living back in Britain. When they're observing one of the giant pyramids and having an intimate moment, Bellefort appears out of nowhere and offers them a history lesson. The couple then board a boat to tour the Nile with other passengers. Bellefort also becomes a passenger on the same boat (not surprising).In true Christie style, it turns out just about everyone on the boat hates Linnet Ridgeway now Linnet Ridgeway Doyle. Several have direct and indirect connections to her, including her uncle Andrew Pennington (George Kennedy) who just happens to be traveling in Egypt as well, and Salome Otterbourne (Angela Lansbury), a trashy novelist. A character in one of Otterbourne's books appears to be strikingly similar to Linnet, and she's suing for libel. So just about every character has a motive. When the murder occurs, everyone is a suspect, although the one suspect with the best motive has an unshakeable alibi. Hercule Poirot agrees to take the case with the help of Colonel Race (David Niven). Marie Van Schuyler (Betty Davis) had heard about the Nile tour and the rich cargo. She has eyes on Linnet's pearls.Without giving too much away, the night which leads up to the murder is one of the most compelling I've seen. If it weren't for the bad casting of Ustinov as Poirot and the endless "scenarios", this would have been nearly as good as "Murder on the Orient Express". So in other words, 90% of the cast works superbly with the one exception of Ustinov. If you could somehow take this movie and inter-splice David Suchet into the role it and get rid of the endless hypotheticals, it would be an amazing film.

sol- Taking the role of Hercule Poirot (played by Albert Finney just four years earlier) and making it his own, Peter Ustinov is excellent in this Agatha Christie adaptation, capturing character's trademark indignation at being called French and fixation on his moustache while providing charisma too. The most striking aspect here is the story though. As with 'Murder on the Orient Express', Poirot is confounded by an enigmatic mystery as a much despised woman is murdered on a cruise. Again, everyone is a suspect with a motive and again it is up to Poirot to solve the murder as police intervention is impossible when travelling down the River Nile. The story admittedly does not have quite the same impact once one knows the solution. The comic relief (mostly from a wide-eyed I.S. Johar) also gets more on the nerves upon revision. In general though, the film stacks up well to revision since everything hinges on the character interactions and all concerned are in top form. There is a condescending Bette Davis whose nasty wit is only matched by her spiteful servant, played by Maggie Smith. There is also the always solid Jack Warden, here with a German accent, David Niven as dignified as ever and the list goes on. The revelation scene is also handled brilliantly. The camera never sits still as Poirot converses with the killer, unsteadily walking around the room in close-up and medium close-up, providing an air of uncertainty that sends a chill down the spine. And for a film set among such picturesque locales, 'Death on the Nile' offers a delightfully spine-tingling tale.

binapiraeus After Agatha Christie's world famous fictional sleuth Hercule Poirot, the eccentric Belgian with the distinguished mustache and the brilliant 'little grey cells', had been brought to the screen again at last after many years in 1974 with "Murder on the Orient Express" starring Albert Finney, it took the producers four more years to 'dare' trying their hand at another one of Christie's most famous novels; anyway, it had to become an oeuvre able to compete with the previous film, which had been celebrated from the day of its release as one of the GREATEST movie masterpieces of all times - and yet, they DID manage! The atmosphere of the 30s here is recreated in just the same careful way, with magnificent settings (most of them ACTUALLY genuine, since many scenes were shot on location: the Cataract Hotel in Alexandria, the Pyramids and temples of Ancient Egypt, even the original S.S. Karnak) and most beautifully designed costumes (for which Anthony Powell was awarded an Oscar), the plot, with a few little changes, is kept VERY close to the novel - and the cast, of course, quite equals that of "Murder on the Orient Express": the 'creme de la creme' of Hollywood's past and present superstars give the picture a touch of GREAT glamor. Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury, Mia Farrow, Maggie Smith, David Niven, Olivia Hussey - and, of course, Peter Ustinov in the role of Hercule Poirot!Now, inevitably we're being tempted to compare Albert Finney and Peter Ustinov and ask ourselves: who was the 'better' Poirot? From his appearance, Finney matched Agatha Christie's description more, and his behavior and movements also made us feel that the fictional Poirot had actually come 'alive'. But, on the other hand, Peter Ustinov undeniably spoke better French - and not only that: he actually managed to put his OWN stamp on the role of Hercule Poirot; and one that was so popular with the audience that he'd play the master detective five more times, both on the screen and on TV! In fact, for many people he really became 'identified' with Poirot - thanks to his continental charm, his unique humor, and of course his enormous range of facial expressions and tones of voice.And so, with all these ingredients, this big scale production turned out not only an immediate box office hit, acclaimed and highly praised by the critics and beloved by the audience - but in the course of more than 35 years, has become a REAL modern classic, a sort of 'cult movie' for both Agatha Christie and Peter Ustinov fans; and a wonderfully suspenseful and at the same time entertaining movie to simply watch over and over again!