Murder on the Orient Express (2001)

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

Director:

Carl Schenkel

Writers:

Agatha Christie (novel), Stephen Harrigan (teleplay)

Stars:

Alfred Molina, Meredith Baxter, Leslie Caron

Cast

Complete credited 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

Storyline

Agatha Christie's classic whodunit speeds into the twenty-first century. World-famous sleuth Hercule Poirot has just finished a case in Istanbul and is returning home to London onboard the luxurious Orient Express. But, the train comes to a sudden halt when a rock slide blocks the tracks ahead. And all the thrills of riding the famous train come to a halt when a man discovered dead in his compartment, stabbed nine times. The train is stranded. No one has gotten on or gotten off. That can only mean one thing: the killer is onboard, and it is up to Hercule Poirot to find him.

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Plot Keywords:

laser surgery | snake tattoo | reference to ross perot | plastic surgery | web search | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 April 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

Asesinato en el Orient Express

Company Credits

Production Co:

Daniel H. Blatt Productions, Agatha Christie, Chorion

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Carl Schenkel's last film.

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Goofs

In the next exterior shot after departure from Istanbul, a differently colored diesel locomotive is on the train. During the night scenes before the journey is interrupted, a steam locomotive is shown. Then when the train stops at the rockfall, the same EWS diesel is back on it, but now it's facing the other way (the EWS letters and the locomotive number 47744 have swapped places as seen from the same side of the train). Finally, when the journey resumes the next night, the steam locomotive is back.

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Quotes

Hercule Poirot: She is an elderly lady. She has more strength in her will as in her arm.

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Connections

References Agatha Christie's Poirot: The Mysterious Affair at Styles (1990)

User Reviews

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