Death on the Nile

The screen version of Agatha Christie's Death On The Nile would be one of the definitive adaptions of the very old fashioned(but still strangely popular) murder mystery genre. After twenty-seven years the movie holds up very well.

The most was made of the Egyption setting of the film as it was filmed mostly on location and the stunning ancient sites of Egypt are filmed beautifully. Tourism in Egypt apparently increased significanlty after the film's release. Not surprising.

Also making the film a treat is the wonderful cast. Peter Ustinov stepped into the role of Hercule Poirot for the first time and despite no resemblance to Christie's descriptions of Poirot, made the role his own for the next decade. Ustinov gives a stern but comic portrayal of Poirot which is balanced with the casting of Ustinov's close friend David Niven as Colonal Race, Poirot's sidekick.

Heading the feast of suspects is the legendary Bette Davis as a grand dame with a sour Maggie Smith as her paid nurse/companion. There bickering scenes together are a hilarious highlight of the movie. Angela Lansbury is also a scene stealer as a tipsy, uninhibited novelist who does a hilarious tango with David Niven. Mia Farrow delivers a very good dramatic performance, as the women scorned which almost steers away from the usual cardboard stereotype characterisations of Agatha Christie.

Director John Guillerman let his great cast have fun with their characters partly because veteran thriller writer Anthony Shaffer wrote the screenplay. Although the murder mystery is a clever one and played out very well Shaffer injected the script with more wit and spice than the original novel had. (The Bette Davis and Maggie Smith scenes being the best example) The soundtrack of the film is an underrated gem with veteran composer Nino Rota producing a grand, sumptuous, inviting and mysterious soundtrack which perfectly complements the setting and the drama. Also his arrangement of the tango tune "Jealousy" is the best I've ever heard.

All this makes for a fun, lively old fashioned treat of a film that can be returned to from time to time.

Having just watched the mess of a 2022 film of the same name I thought I would go back and see what this 1978 version was like.

It is much better and follows more closely the original plot.

This movie was the first and best of Peter Ustinov's performances as Hercule Poirot. Though physically not very accurate to Agatha Christie's description of the little Belgian detective, for this one movie everything worked and the discrepancy was not a problem. The film is well-paced, with all the plot turns and clues coming with perfect timing, not too fast to be confusing, but not too slow to strain the rather flimsy fabric of the story. The whole cast is very good, especially Bette Davis as a malevolent old spider of a woman, gleefully tormenting her long-suffering companion, Maggie Smith. The scene where she smiles indulgently at a group of Egyptian children waving at her on the river bank, only to sink into mortified disgust as they turn around and moon her, is a highlight of the movie. The climax of the film is quite surprising, and unlike many mysteries, does not cheat the viewer by withholding vital information until the last moment. We feel the pleasure of being honestly fooled throughout, and the conclusion is thoroughly satisfying.

Holds up well, even after multiple viewings. The violence for a PG rated movie is affectively brutal. A slew of great actors fleshing out memorable characters; what more do you need? One of the better movie adaptions of Christie's extensive library, even with a few of its more detailed threads reduced in film form. (It rarely hurts the story)

This contains one of Mia Farrow's best performances.

This film has to be one of my all-time favourites! I must have seen it at least 100 times and I always enjoy it as much every time. One of the greatest casts EVER, music is stunning (NINO ROTA) and the scenery is breathtaking. SEE IT. There haven't been many films like this and there certainly haven't been any to match it since when it comes to this particular genre. Surprised it hasn't been released on DVD yet.. oh well.