DEATH ON THE NILE
A film review by Cerberus Nabakov
Copyright 1996 Cerberus Nabakov
Rating (From 0 TO 10 Signs and Symbols): 7.5
Video Distributor: Republic Pictures Home Video U.S. Release Date: 1978 U.S. Video Release Date: ??? Running Length: 1:35
Cast: Peter Ustinov, Jane Birkin, Lois Chiles, Bette Davis, Mia Farrow, Jon Finch, Olivia Hussey, George Kennedy, Anglela Lansbury, Simon MacCorkindale, David Niven, Maggie Smith, Jack Warden, Harry Andrews, I.S. Johak, Sam Wanamaker Director: John Gullermin Producers: John Brabourne and Richard Goodwin Screenplay: Anthony Shaffer Cinematography: Jack Cardiff Music: Nino Roth (Orch: Marcus Dods) U.S. Distributor: Republic Pictures Home Video
This movie is, of course, based on the Agatha Christie novel of the same title. It involves the exploits of Hercule Poirot as he endeavors to solve a series of murders aboard a steamboat traveling along the Nile river in Egypt.
Obviously, the main difficulty in a review of this sort is reviewing it both as an adaptation of a Christie novel and as a film in and of itself. Given this, I will break this review into two parts.
AS A MOVIE:
Murder mysteries don't get much better than this. A beautiful but abrasive heiress has been shot through the temple in her cabin aboard a Nile riverboat during her honeymoon cruise. Virtually every one of the passengers has a reason to wish her dead, and it falls to Hercule Poirot, the famous Belgian (NOT French) detective, to find the truth. As he delves deeper into the history and motives of the passengers, two more murders are committed. Only Hercule Poirot can sort the wheat from the chaff and solve the mystery with a breathtaking confrontation with the suspects and murderer(s). The pace is great, the twists and turns maintain interest, and the performances are first-rate.
AS AN ADAPTATION:
Very faithful to the novel. The only downside is, of course, Peter Ustinov's rendition of Hercule Poirot. A large, sweaty, overbearing interpretation of Christie's Belgian detective, Ustinov sports "les moustaches" that the *real* Poirot would have found "insupportable," and speaks in an accent that is as far from Belgian as the waffles down at IHOP. Especially given David Suchet's faithful and pleasing portrayal of Poirot in the Highbridge Productions series, it's a little hard to take. But this is a quibble--the storyline itself is very much tied to that of the original novel, and transfers well to the big screen.
THE PERFORMANCES:
Excellent all around, especially that of Bette Davis, David Niven, Olivia Hussey, Angela Lansbury, and Jon Finch. I'll even give Peter Ustinov a nod for those who aren't fans of the book--while totally faithless to the "je ne sait quoi" ambiance of Christie's Hercule Poirot, it is an engaging performance in its own right.
THE UPSHOT:
The best of the Brabourne/Goodwin 70s film adaptations of Poirot books. A must-see for Christie fans, especially Hercule poirot fans, and a very good choice for anyone looking for a traditional convoluted mystery flick.
Cheers, cey
-- Cerberus Nabokov cnabokov@netone.com
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