Murder on the Orient Express (2017)
- Before Kenneth Branagh was cast, several major A-list stars turned down the lead role because they felt the script was too risky.
- Kenneth Branagh originally wanted a completely different ending for the film, but test audiences preferred the one we see today.
- Many of the practical effects used in the climax were achieved without any CGI.
Murder on the Orient Express is a 2017 mystery film directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh as Hercule Poirot, Agatha Christie's legendary Belgian detective, in an adaptation of her most famous 1934 novel. While traveling aboard the luxurious Orient Express from Istanbul to Calais, Poirot is confronted with a murder when a fellow passenger, the disreputable American businessman Samuel Ratchett played by Johnny Depp, is found stabbed to death in his locked compartment during a snowstorm that has halted the train. Every passenger had the means, motive, and opportunity, and Poirot must unravel a web of connections between the passengers and the murdered man.
Kenneth Branagh assembled one of the most impressive ensemble casts in modern mystery cinema β PenΓ©lope Cruz, Willem Dafoe, Judi Dench, Josh Gad, Derek Jacobi, Leslie Odom Jr., Michelle Pfeiffer, and Daisy Ridley, among others. Branagh's Poirot, sporting an enormous and meticulously groomed mustache, was a more physically active and emotionally complex interpretation than most previous portrayals, struggling with OCD tendencies and a profound moral sense. The film was shot on 65mm film, giving the luxury train environments and Turkish landscapes a sumptuous visual richness.
Murder on the Orient Express earned $352 million worldwide on a $55 million budget and spawned a sequel, Death on the Nile.
