I wasn't the least bit impressed with MotOE, and don't think it deserves a sequel.
shareI am definitely looking forward to it. Very much so.
I enjoyed MOTOE when I saw it in the theater and enjoyed it even more--significantly more, in fact--after rewatching it at home. I ended up buying the Blu-Ray and turning it inside out, watching all the special features and listening to Branagh's commentary.
I love the Poirot character and Christie's books, and I think that Branagh is the right guy to helm a series like this, so I hope the adaptations continue indefinitely.
Me also.
shareAfter 'Orient Express' it's difficult for me to have any enthusiasm for this one. David Suchet's Poirot series has all I need.
shareI love Suchet and the Poirot series, but there's no doubt that Suchet's MOTOE is inferior to the '74 version. I still like it well-enough, but I can't really get on board with Suchet being the end-all-be-all when it comes to Christie adaptations.
shareI'm going to re-watch the 1974 'Orient Express' soon. Albert Finney looks good visually in that I remember. And plays Poirot oddball. But it's going to be difficult for any new Poirot to come along now. Let's hope that a new Christie adaption will take us by surprise with something pleasing but I doubt whether any Branagh's Poirot effort will offer that for me.
shareFinney was an inferior Poirot, so much so that after a few years of doing nothing but watching Suchet, it was off-putting to go back and rewatch Finney. He definitely plays the role oddly BUT he was also the first Poirot I ever saw, so for that reason he'll always have a place in the Christie compartment of my heart.
Finney notwithstanding though, you can't argue against the lavishness of the production, the excellent direction, and the strength of the cast.
As far as future attempts at playing Poirot go, I like Branagh's portrayal as a likable and ideosyncratic detective, though I don't really see his Poirot as the Poirot of the books. I'm willing to give others a shot as well. Suchet was excellent, and I doubt anyone else will do justice to the role like he did, but I'm interested in seeing what future actors can come up with.
I agree that the 1974 'Orient Express' has a great cast. Also I think that a film production can outdo a TV production on that sort of story. I like mysteries set on trains. People can feel trapped more on trains than, say, remote spooky houses. It's lovely to talk to a fellow mystery fan.
shareI can't remember exactly how it happened that I was turned onto Christie, but according to my recollection it was something like this: About 10 years ago a friend of mine recommended that I watch the '74 version of MOTOE. I did, and thought it was great, and decided to try reading one of her books. I went to Barnes & Noble and browsed through what they had and ended up going with Cards on the Table. I read it, really liked it, and soon after that the same friend who recommended MOTOE recommended the Poirot series.
There's something very pleasant and comforting about Christie's stories that keeps me coming back to her work.
Have you seen what the BBC has been doing with their most recent Christie adaptations? Some of them are okay, but others are a travesty. A few are completely butchered and bear little resemblance to the source material. It's a shame.
Regarding mysteries set on trains, I agree. There's just something cool about trains, especially luxury trains. I've also watched the Hitchcock original and BBC remake of The Lady Vanishes and enjoyed both. What others can you recommend?
There was an episode of Doctor Who in the Orient Express that wasn't bad.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3787400/
Thanks for the heads up! I might have to track that down.
shareOne year later.... 😁
I was just watching this thread and saw this. What the odds, but precisely this XMas I started to watch Orient-Express, le voyage d'une légende. It's a french documentary about the Orient Express released a couple of year ago. Check it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9HU-4EnF4kc
Ha, you know what, I've actually seen this. I had a HELL of a time tracking it down, too. I ran across the trailer randomly, decided I needed to see it, and looked everywhere. Ultimately it was a friend who found it in some forgotten corner of the Internet who located it for me. I would be curious to know how you watched it.
I did think it was very good. It was certainly well-produced and also informative.
I would like to one day ride the Orient Express. I've looked into the costs though and it is very expensive.
What did you think about the BBC's adaptation of 'The Pale Horse?' It's such a Christie rarity so I was pleased to see it covered by the BBC. There's a stunning Wicker-Man-type sequence in it. Some others reacted negatively to my 9/10 rating of it. That shows adaptations can work for some while not for others.
I agree that 'The Lady Vanishes' must be the best onboard train mystery. Two particularly good foreign language films from the 1960s are 'Compartiment Tueurs' and Trans-Europ Express.' There are some good suspenseful train sequences in 'The Interrupted Journey' (1949) with Richard Todd. More recent mysteries worth trying include 'Night Train To Lisbon' (2013) and 'Transsiberian' (2008).
I have not yet seen The Pale Horse. By the time that one was released I felt like I had already been bludgeoned by some of the previous adaptations, and also saw a lot of fans complaining, so I haven't gotten to it. I will though. Eventually I will watch them all.
I was very excited when I heard the BBC was going to be doing a series of new Christie adaptations. But then they started showing up and I have felt like the results have been distinctly mixed.
For some reason they have given writer Sarah Phelps carte blanche with the writing, and it's become clear that Phelps has little concern for being faithful to Christie's stories, throwing in a lot of modern politics and sexual content that appears nowhere on the pages of the books. Christie's stories were meant to be light and cozy mysteries and I have felt like Phelps and the BBC are instead wanting to make these modern, edgy productions. The result is something that only vaguely resembles the source material and that has lost all the spirit of what Christie wrote.
I've heard that Sarah Phelps is a problem for Christie fans. I'm hoping to see a 1997 TV movie of 'The Pale Horse' sometime. It has Colin Buchanan in the leading role. He plays Peter Pascoe in 'Dalziel and Pascoe.'
shareSounds interesting. I may have to see if I can find that.
And yeah, Sarah Phelps is definitely a problem. What she did with Poirot in The ABC Murders is inexcusable. Like I said before, she just has no respect for the source material. She was absolutely the WRONG person for the BBC to pick, and the Christie estate should be ashamed of signing off on her.
So far, of the BBC productions, I'd say the two I have liked the most were And Then There Were None and The Witness for the Prosecution. Those weren't bad. Still a little too serious with none of the twinkle in the eye of the books, but not bad.
I look forward to catching up with 'And Then There Were None' and 'Witness For The Prosecution.' I know one Christie fan who doesn't like the 1945 version of 'A Then There Was None' because it isn't serious enough. Personally I like that version over the other cinematic versions. If I can find a source for the 1997 'Pale Horse,' I'll come back to you on that one.
shareOh, I had forgotten about that 1997 version of A Pale Horse. I'll have to check if it's on any screening platforms. (I love Jean Marsh.)
shareI like Jean Marsh too. I bet she's good as witch Thyrza Grey in the 1997 version.
Thyrza Grey was played by Pauline Collins in the Julia McKenzie's Marple version of 'The Pale Horse' (2011). I must watch that one too when I get the chance.
I keep forgetting to watch the rest of The Pale Horse. It's not my favorite Christie (occult), so I haven't been highly motivated to watch it. But I'm a huge fan of Rufus Sewell so I should just soldier on and make myself watch it!
shareRufus Sewell remains so calm surrounded by the supernatural terror he has to face in 'The Pale Horse.' And he looks scary himself at times as he does in some of his other roles.
share4:50 from Paddington is great, though most of it is set at a country estate. It’s part of the BBC Miss Marple series starring Joan Hickson.
A later version was filmed for the ITV Marple series starring Geraldine McEwan.
Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to give it a look. I still haven't seen any of the Marple stuff but have been meaning to check it out.
shareWell in that case…
I really love the BBC Joan Hickson versions. I also enjoy the ITV Geraldine McEwan ones, though they tend to stray from the books more than most Christie fans can tolerate. ( I enjoy them for what they are: fun UK tv cozy mysteries.)
I do find it enjoyable to watch the different versions one after another. E.G. watch Hickson’s Mirror Crack’d, then the ITV (by this time McEwan had retired and was replaced by Julia McKenzie in the lead role). There’s also a film version with Elizabeth Taylor that has Angela Lansbury as Miss Marple. It’s interesting to see them in sequence this way and compare.
I think my favorite ITV/McEwan title is The Moving Finger. My favorite BBC Hickson title is A Murder is Announced.
Interesting stuff. Thanks for the info.
I was first really introduced to Christie by a friend several years ago when he recommended that I watch the '74 version of Murder on the Orient Express. I enjoyed it greatly and then read my first novel of hers, Cards on the Table. I have since gone on to read a handful of other Poirot novels, and a few of her standalone novels (for instance, Crooked House and And Then There We're None), but I have not explored of the Marple stuff in any form.
I understand what you're saying about taking in multiple adaptations of the same story. I've done that with MOTOE (having read the book and seen the '74, '10 and '17 films). It's always interesting to compare and contrast.
I will have to start getting into Marple and see how the character compares to Poirot.
I thought the first one Brannagh did was as boring as hell. So no, I do not consider this to be a needed film at all.
shareGood for you.
shareLooking forward to it being delayed a year like every other movie.
shareThe trailer just dropped today and they're saying October 23 on the release date. If they weren't committed to hitting that date, they wouldn't be kicking off their marketing campaign.
Unhinged is officially rolling out to theaters this week, so it seems that Hollywood is now officially releasing movies again, come what may.
I liked Murder on the Orient Express well enough, but I'll wait for it to hit streaming.
shareI'd much rather watch the Peter Ustinov version. It may not be perfect, but at least it's not trash.
shareI think it's customary to actually SEE a film first before having an opinion on it.
I agree that the Ustinov version is quite good though.
"I think it's customary to actually SEE a film first before having an opinion on it."
Nope, you're wrong about that. Lots of people already have an opinion about a movie before seeing it, based on premise, casting and other known information. In this case, I pretty much know what to expect based on the previous movie.