Death on the Nile - EMI Films Ltd 1978 distributed by Universal 2003

Principal Cast: Peter Ustinov; Bette Davis; David Niven; Mia Farrow; George Kennedy; Angela Lansbury; Maggie Smith and many others;

Director: John Guillermin

SYNOPSIS

This is a story of murder and mayhem aboard a paddle steamer on the River Nile in the eccentric early 1900s. An all-star cast seem to enjoy themselves immensely in putting together an old-time “whodunit” with some degree of aplomb.

The plot involves the death of an arrogant millionairess, and the battle of the redoubtable super sleuth Hercule Poirot (Ustinov) and his dapper sidekick Colonel Race (Niven) to identify murder/s before too many others meet the same fate.

While the sets and scenery are impressive, the actors (principally Ustinov, Davis Farrow and Lansbury) enjoy good lines and generate interesting characters, and the outcome comes as a bit of a surprise; to me the film suffers from excessive length (140 minutes) where overlong character build ups in the opening half leads to the viewer being somewhat tired by the time the much more interesting finale takes place. Much of the sharp wit - synonymous with Agatha Christie’s writing - seems to fall flatter than usual because of this fault, I’m sure that with tighter direction, a good 20 minutes or so could have been shortened from the film.

It is clear from viewing the special features that the film has been remastered, and the result is a bright, crisp image.

Running Time: 2hrs 20mins;

EXTRAS

? 36-chapter scene selection index

? Theatrical trailer

? A 22-minute “making of” featurette containing interviews with cast and crew. Mildly interesting, but it is questionable whether this film is worthy of such attention.

OVERALL

I have always imagined Peter Ustinov as the ideal Hercule Poirot; and in this movie he didn’t let me down - though with the previous comments about the film’s length, it could have been better. The cast seem to have a good time overall (apart from the ones that died in the film!). With tighter direction, this movie could have been a gem.

Nevertheless, fans of whodunits will not be disappointed with the overall effort.