Death on the Nile (2004)

Memorable, crazy movie

A lot of fun.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

Suspense and intrigue with Hercules Poirot on board a cruise in Egypt . This is is a fine episode , as the flick will appeal to mystery lovers and Agatha Christie-Poirot novels buffs .The set design and costumes are riveting , the tale is magnificently set by that time . Very good chapter in which Poirot investigates the killing of a mysterious person stabbed in his compartment and aboard a luxurious Nile cruise steamer . This whodunit deals with Hercules Poirot (David Suchet) as the Belgian sleuth man in he case of killing a rich heiress honeymooning on a Nile cruise ship , being found murdered, shot through the head . Poirot investigates the travelers and numerous suspects , all the support cast , such as : Linett's financial advisor (David Soul) from the US, her French maid , the Austrian doctor , a wealthy aristocrat , a left wing philosopher , among others . Who is the killer? , can he find the guilty? . Along the way Hercules is helped by Colonel Race (James Fox, Edward Fox's brother) . After the clues have been shown we will get a chance to give the answer with Poirot finding out about the culprit at a twisted finale with outstanding surprises . Then are taken the murders from different viewpoints of everyone aboard which it makes a little bit boring , endless and overlong .The film is a detective story in which you are the detective . In the picture there is mystery , emotion , a twisted love , suspense and wonderful outdoors just like : the pyramids Keops , Kefren , Micerinos , sphinx Gyze , temples : Karnak , Luxor and the rout of river Nile in the cruise ship . The premise is simple : a newlywed heiress is found murdered on board , can Poirot identify the killer before the ship reaches the end of its journey? . As Belgian detective Hercule Poirot, who is also a passenger aboard the cruise, is about to uncover a murder so carefully planned that even he must admit that the murderer has thought of everything .The pace is deliberate , slow and relaxed . And while the dialogue is in English, the film has a deliciously international flavor , with a mix of interesting accents and word pronunciations . Actors's interpretations are wonderful and including sunny outdoors . At the beginning of the film talks about a rich British heiress who is stalked by a former friend, whose boyfriend she had stolen before making him her new husband , this one will be related with the subsequent death .This movie was made and released about 67 years after Agatha Christie's source novel of the same name was first published in 1937 . Filming had to be stopped every day at noon for around two hours because of the high temperatures . Nice acting by the great David Suchet , his acting is similar to Albert Finney (Murder on the Orient Express) and Peter Ustinov : Evil under the sun (Guy Hamilton), Appointment with Death (Michael Winner) and Death on the Nile (Guy Hamilton) . Interpretation of the support actors are first-rate , such as Emma Griffiths , Zoe Telford , JJ Feild , Judy Parfitt , Barbara Flynn Alastair Mackenzie , Frances De la Tour , Daisy Donovan and the ravishing Hollywood actress Emily Blunt and the American TV star David Soul . Martin Fuhrer' s cinematography is atmospheric and colorful ; being shot at Pinewood Studios and Egypt with nice production design by Michael Pickwoad . The movie gets a lush costume design and magnificent setting and art design. Evocative and suspenseful musical score by Christopher Gunning . This Hercule Poirot episode was efficiently directed by Andy Wilson .The TV movie will appeal to suspense enthusiasts and thriller lovers . There is another famous rendition based on this known novel by Agatha Christie ¨Death on the Nile¨(1978) by Guy Hamilton with Peter Ustinov , George Kennedy , Bette Davis , Lois Chiles , Angela Lansbury , Jane Birkin , Olivia Hussey , John Finch.

I first bought this DVD when it came out. I thought so little of it at the time that I sold my copy. While the plot was fine, the British actress' American accents were not quite convincing. In the interim, I have been reading the Christie cannon in order from the publishing date and David Suchet has completed all of the possible Poirots. After reading a book, it is nice to compare it to the movie. The script writing stayed very close to Christie's work. Three of the characters got subsumed into others or dropped completely making it able to follow the characters presented in the show. What I did not like was the changing of the ending for two characters who ended up engaged in the book. It did not seem necessary.The accents did not change in the subsequent years, but I deemed them better than some I have recently seen and am thus less of a snob.

The book Death on the Nile is long and complicated, but superb all the same, and one of my favourite Christies. The Peter Ustinov film is one of the better outings of his as while it wasn't completely faithful, it boasted a superb cast and it was sumptuous to look at. This adaptation for me is slightly inferior to the Ustinov film, and the only one of two to make me feel that way (the other is Evil Under the Sun). Starting with the pros first, it is breathtaking to look at. The Egyptian scenery and the costume and set designs were top draw, the script captured the style of the book perfectly and the music was excellent. And the acting was great, David Suchet is impeccable as Poirot, and Emma Malin is a superb Jackie, gorgeous and expressive. Frances DeLa Tour gives a first rate performance as Salome Otterborne, the same character that Angela Lansbury overplayed so deliciously in the 1978 film. In fact the only weak performance came from Emily Blunt as Linnette, she looked the part (more than Lois Chiles I'd say) but she wasn't quite bitchy enough. As a matter of fact, neither Blunt or Chiles quite nailed Linnette quite right. And there are slight improvements over the 1978 film too, one is that the pacing is faster, the other is that it is more faithful to the book, the murders are closer to the ones in the book and the ending done in Romeo and Juliet style is closer too. However, there are one or two flaws, namely the direction from Andy Wilson, it wasn't absolutely abysmal, but it wasn't quite as efficient or as suspenseful as it could've been. Also there were times where I felt that I had been told too much too early, and this was a similar problem I had with Murder on the Links. All in all, this is a very good episode. 7.5/10 Bethany Cox

I have just seen this movie and have the 1978 one on DVD. I do like Suchett as Poirot a lot but this remake can't stand up to the 1978 original. As a film the first one works much better. You just can't help but missing the likes of Bette Davis, Angela Lansbury and Maggie Smith. Not that i think a film needs an all star cast but here they provided us with a lot of good acting and humor. Francis De La Tour seems to do her best as Salome ( Lansbury in the 1978 version) but it's almost as if she does not have the freedom to let herself go. The same goes for the actress who plays the Bette Davis part. There is not as much humor in this version and the characters simply do not seem to come to life. I have only seen 3 full length Poirot TV movies with Suchett but they seem to lack something that IS there in the short Poirot stories he has made for TV. Maybe the makers should have a look at them again to see where they've gone wrong.