Murder on the Orient Express Dvd

Murder on the Orient Express is a 2017 mystery thriller film directed by Kenneth Branagh with a screenplay by Michael Green, based on the 1934 novel of the same name by Agatha Christie. The film stars Branagh as Hercule Poirot, with Penélope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Johnny Depp, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daisy Ridley in supporting roles. The film is the fourth screen adaptation of Christie’s novel, following the 1974 film, a 2001 TV film version, and a 2010 episode of the television series Agatha Christie’s Poirot. The plot follows Poirot, a world-renowned detective, as he investigates a murder on the luxury Orient Express train service in the 1930s.

Principal photography began in November 2016 in the United Kingdom; it is one of the few productions in recent decades to have used 65 mm film cameras. Murder on the Orient Express had its world premiere on November 2, 2017 at the Royal Albert Hall in London, and was released in theatres in the United Kingdom on November 3, 2017, and in the United States on November 10, 2017, by 20th Century Fox. The film grossed over $351 million worldwide and received mixed to positive reviews from critics, with praise for the cast’s performances and the production value, but some criticism for not adding anything new to previous adaptations and for focusing too much on the character of Poirot.

A sequel, titled Death on the Nile, is scheduled to be theatrically released in the United States.

Plot

In 1934, renowned Belgian detective Hercule Poirot solves a theft at the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. Poirot has OCD, seeks balance in life, and considers his case-solving ability to spot lies a curse. His friend Bouc, director of the luxury Orient Express train service, arranges a bunk for him to return to London.

Businessman Edward Ratchett offers to hire Poirot to be his bodyguard during the three-day journey, having received anonymous threatening letters. Poirot refuses upon learning that he is a con artist. That night, Poirot hears noises coming from Ratchett’s compartment, and sees someone in a red kimono running down the hallway. An avalanche derails the train’s engine, stranding the passengers.

The next morning, Poirot discovers Ratchett has been murdered, stabbed a dozen times. Poirot and Bouc investigate the passengers as repairs begin. Evidence indicates that Ratchett was murdered by one person who dealt several blows, and Caroline Hubbard, a passenger, claims that a man was in her compartment in the night. Poirot discovers a partially burned note connecting Ratchett to the kidnapping of Daisy Armstrong, a child who was abducted from her bedroom and held for ransom. Though the family paid the ransom, Daisy was murdered. Ratchett’s true identity is revealed: he was John Cassetti, Daisy’s kidnapper and murderer. The shock of her death caused her mother Sonia to suffer a fatal miscarriage; her father, Colonel John Armstrong, committed suicide shortly after. The family’s nursemaid Susanne was wrongly suspected of complicity, leading to her arrest and subsequent suicide in police custody, only to be found innocent afterward.

More evidence is found, including a bloodstained handkerchief, and, in Mrs. Hubbard’s compartment, the button of a conductor’s uniform. The red kimono is later found—in Poirot’s own suitcase and the conductor’s uniform is found in the cabin of one of the testifying passengers. Hubbard is suddenly stabbed in the back; she survives but cannot identify the culprit. Poirot discovers many of the passengers have direct connections to the Armstrong family and uncovers their hidden pasts. While interviewing governess Mary Debenham, Poirot is shot in the shoulder by Doctor John Arbuthnot, who claims responsibility for the murder, but Bouc stops him from killing Poirot. Poirot realizes that Arbuthnot—a medical doctor and former army sniper—never meant to kill him.

Poirot confronts the suspects outside the train, offering two theories of how Cassetti died. The first is simple but does not meet all of the facts: An agent of Ratchett’s enemies disguised as a conductor boarded the train at a previous stop, murdered Cassetti, and fled at the stop as the train left. The second is more complex: with every single suspect connected to the Armstrongs, Susanne, or her trial in some way, they all had a motive against Cassetti. Poirot posits that they acted together. Hubbard is revealed to be Linda Arden, a former stage actress and aspiring director, and Sonia Armstrong’s mother.

Hubbard confirms the latter, admitting that she planned the murder and had recruited everyone else to help her. All the other passengers and the Conductor, Pierre Michel (Susanne’s brother), took turns stabbing Cassetti. Mary wore the kimono, and Arbuthnot stabbed Hubbard without endangering her life, to convince Poirot of a lone killer. Poirot challenges the passengers and Michel to shoot him with a confiscated gun since he is the only one who can expose their plot; Bouc can lie, but Poirot, obsessed with truth and balance, cannot. Hubbard grabs the gun and tries to kill herself, but it is not loaded; Poirot wanted to see how the suspects would react and her reaction confirms none of them are truly killers at heart.

With the train back on track, Poirot concludes that justice is impossible in this case, as Cassetti deserved death and none of them deserve to go to jail; for the first time, Poirot will have to live with a lie and imbalance. He presents the lone killer theory to the Yugoslavian police and they accept it, allowing the others to leave on the train. As he disembarks, a British Army messenger asks him to investigate a death on the Nile. Poirot accepts the case.

Cast

Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot, a world-renowned Belgian detective and former police officer.
Tom Bateman as Bouc, Poirot’s friend and nephew of owner of the Orient-Express.
Penélope Cruz as Pilar Estravados, the Armstrongs’ Spanish nurse.
Willem Dafoe as Cyrus Bethman Hardman, who initially pretends to be an Austrian university professor named Gerhard Hardman, but is later revealed to be Susanne’s American lover.
Judi Dench as Princess Natalia Dragomiroff, Daisy’s godmother and friend of Caroline.
Johnny Depp as Edward Ratchett/John Cassetti, a famous gangster, and Daisy Armstrong’s kidnapper and murderer.
Josh Gad as Hector MacQueen, Ratchett’s secretary who was devoted to Sonia.
Derek Jacobi as Edward Henry Masterman, Ratchett’s valet and butler. Mr. Armstrong’s former valet.
Leslie Odom Jr. as Dr. Arbuthnot, Mary’s secret lover, who’s also a doctor and former army sniper. Mr. Armstrong’s close friend.
Michelle Pfeiffer as Caroline Hubbard/Linda Arden, Sonia’s mother and Daisy’s grandmother.
Daisy Ridley as Mary Debenham, Sonia’s personal secretary and Daisy’s governess.
Marwan Kenzari as Pierre Michel, the conductor and brother of Susanne, who hanged herself in prison after being wrongly accused of killing Daisy.
Olivia Colman as Hildegarde Schmidt, Natalia’s maid and the Armstrongs’ cook.
Lucy Boynton as Countess Helena Andrenyi, Sonia’s younger sister.
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo as Biniamino Marquez, a car salesman and the Armstrongs’ chauffeur.
Sergei Polunin as Count Rudolph Andrenyi, Helena’s husband.
Phil Dunster as Col. John Armstrong, Daisy’s father.
Miranda Raison as Sonia Armstrong, Daisy’s mother.