Murder on the Orient Express (1974)

VHS CASE/SIDE

MPPA Certifcate Number: 24034

Length of film:  128 Minutes

Rated: PG

Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery

Director: Sidney Lumet

Starring: Albert Finney, Lauren Bacall, Ingrid Bergman, Sean Connery, Martin Balsam, Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Cassel, John Gielgud, Wendy Hiller, Anthony Perkins, Richard Widmark, Michael York, Rachel Roberts

IMDB Rank: 7.3/10

Part 1 Time:   71 Minutes

Part 2 Time:   57 Minutes

***Officially not including a intermission, the VHS version was released in a two-tape set, thus breaking the film into two parts.

Where does the first part end? Hercule Poirot (Albert Finney) finishes questioning Count Andrenyi (Michael York) and Countess Andrenyi (Jacqueline Bisset).

Final line of dialogue on the first part: “Thank you both for your help and cooperation” states Hercule Poirot.

First line of dialogue on the second part: “Why have you stopped reading?” Princess Dragomiroff (Wendy Hiller) speaks to Hildegarde (Rachel Roberts).

How jarring is it when the first part ends? Minimal/Somewhat, the train has stopped due to snow, a passenger on the train has been murdered. Hercule begins questioning all possible suspects. Will Hercule Poirot discover the culprit?

Which part is better? Part two is significantly better as we begin to discover the motive to the murder and the individual(s) involved.

Academy Awards: Best Supporting Actress (Ingrid Bergman), Best Leading Actor (Nominated- Albert Finney), Best Writing-Screenplay Adapted From Other Material (Nominated), Best Cinematography (Nominated), Best Costume Design (Nominated), Best Music-Original Dramatic Score (Nominated)