Movie Review: Murder On The Orient Express (1974)

I know this is like so old, 1974, but I'm sure people are still watching this. If you're a fan of Agatha Christie like me, you will definitely love this movie. But if you're not, then it largely depends on your movie taste. If you're inclined toward movies with lots of action, chasing, bombings and a good dose of gunshots and explosions, this will not fit your bill.

If you're interested in cold-blooded murder, interrogation of suspects, piecing clues together and deducing how it happened, who was the murderer and what was his/her motive, then this is for you, especially if you've always found Agatha Christie's books intriguing but never bothered to read 300 pages long.

Truthfully speaking, I'm more inclined towards the books rather than the movies, even though I've seen this. The reason is because a book can tell so much more than a film could, and Agatha Christie's murder stories are always a total delight. If you like gory descriptions of murders, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed, but I super love the twists and turns in the books that left me dazed and never sure who was the murderer. I think I've only guessed correctly once (but I didn't know how he could have murdered the victim until it was revealed) about the murderer.

Maybe I'm stupid, but I really don't mind because I always end up pleasantly surprised that the murderer was someone I never expected, and the best part of A.C's books is where the detective (usually Poirot) finished by reconstructing the whole situation and takes the reader through the before, during and after of the murder, show you how it was done, and included all the clues and red herrings neatly into the plan. A.C's murder stories are perfect because you never end up wondering about a loose end that hasn't exactly tied up, and you always end up feeling LOL and thinking "perfectly crafted murder plan, why didn't I think of that?"

I love that SHHS has a huge collection of Agatha Christie's books. I've borrowed all of them that are available, and enjoyed them, especially ones with Hercule Poirot as the main detective because they have the best plots and endings. As modern and new as CHC's library is, the only gripe I have about it is there are only two A.C's books. :/

Back to the movie.
Murder On the Orient Express is almost like the book I supposed. I have not finished reading it. At the time of watching this movie, I was only halfway through the book (it was an ebook, hence the slow speed) and have not reached the part where the murderer is announced. So..I guess it quite spoiled the book for me, because I now know the ending, but I think it would have been better to watch the movie first.

This is because a movie is exactly a movie, you finish a 2 hour movie to know the ending. It would not have been nearly as enjoyable had you known the ending. This is a film adaptation of a book, there isn't much to discover except perhaps how the actor (Albert Finney) portrays Hercule Poirot in his lead role. On the other hand, it would still be an enjoyable read because I can still appreciate the various scenes and interrogations in the book that would lead towards the final how/who/why.

Atmosphere: The time is set sometime
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Screen Plot: